UK Sports in Need of Rebranding? | London Logo Design Blog

We have recently written about a new brand and logo design for the sport of fencing, in an attempt to create popularity for the pastime as the London 2012 Olympics near. This has led us to spend an unfortunate amount of time thinking of all the sports and hobbies that really need rebranding. After all, much of the public support for any given thing is dependent on marketing.? The good people at the UK?s popular Design Week website obviously had the same thoughts, because this was the subject of a discussion there.

Among the suggestions were boccia, table tennis and general sportsmanship. In addition, one commenter suggested that the Paralympics do not receive enough attention despite happening at the same time and place as the Olympics. 43 different sports have been hosted at the Summer Olympic Games over the years, although only 26 of these will be played in London next summer. Boccia, interestingly, is not even on the list.

Many of the seventeen sports no longer played in the Summer Olympics were dropped simply because they had lost popularity. Jeu de Paume, for example, and croquet. Some globally popular sports, such as cricket and baseball, have also been dropped. Indeed, there is good reason for a person or organization that is interested in the continuing Olympic presence of a sport to begin creating demand for it.

Sports branding is more important than ever when it comes to building a following for any athletic activity. However, for many sports, branding is actually very difficult. The most successful and professional sports brands in the UK belong to teams, which have the advantage of both numbers (with several players on a team) and resources. Sports that have only one player on a ?team?, such as fencing, don?t have a team name or mascot. It is much more difficult to brand a person than a group, and also more difficult to attain sponsorship from local businesses. There is also the issue of pooled resources on a team, not just in manpower and finances but in charisma and lifespan. The David Beckhams of the football world may come and go, but Manchester United will still be here.

Perhaps pooling resources into a sporting association which can then market the activity, as we are seeing with fencing, is the answer. Even then, these brands will lose out on one powerful booster to sporting brands: rivalry. There is little reason to buy a shirt or other paraphernalia bearing the new fencing logo, but football logos are present and popular on almost every consumer item imaginable.

There are many sports in the UK in need of rebranding and logo design. The question is ?who?? followed by ?how?? and ?why??. More specifically, who will invest in the development of the brand? How will it be marketed on a national level? Why should consumers support the sport? Hopefully more athletes begin thinking in terms of branding, because it is essential to modern success in any field.

Source: http://www.logodesignworks.co.uk/blog/uk-sports-in-need-of-rebranding

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