WNBA

Brand, Audience, and Activation Strategy; Rebrand & Launch

Twenty-three years after its founding, the longest-running women’s professional sports league found itself operating in the red without a clear fan base. In a world aching to see and celebrate strong women, the WNBA needed to reimagine brand and business from the inside-out and seize its rightful place in culture.

Worked on at SYLVAIN

Learnings

Through stakeholder and player interviews, we identified a socially-engaged and deeply influential design target, centering millennial women of color and their allies. We discovered they seek the empowerment that comes from having one’s unapologetic self reflected and respected in culture. The ethos of the WNBA and its players was deeply relevant to this audience, even if the league itself was not yet on their radar. Through immersive ethnographies, we unearthed insights that set the foundation for a disruptive new purpose and positioning for the brand.

DELIVERABLES

Design Target Definition, Video, and Ecosystem Immersions

Strategy

We believed the WNBA could play a greater role in culture by unabashedly making space to celebrate the fullness of the players’ identities, on and off the court. We identified an opportunity to refresh the league’s brand identity to better represent the players and the culture around them—and created a long-term activation platform and roll-out strategy to bring the brand to life in meaningful spaces to connect with the design target over the course of the season and beyond.

DELIVERABLES

Brand Strategy, Action Principles, Manifesto, Activation Strategy

Making space for the WNBA to shine—on its own terms

From a new logo and design system to launch campaign, we created a brand and communication platform to house the bold, progressive identity of the WNBA. The system was designed for immediate launch with space to grow more fully into the identity in the years to come.

DELIVERABLES

Brand Identity (Visual and Verbal), Brand Guidelines, Launch Campaign

Brand System

Logo + Logo in “Reverb”

Wordmark lockups

WNBA Brand Guidelines

Launch

We developed a new brand identity for the league alongside a pipeline of content and activation ideas, all designed to get a new generation of fans to not only enjoy the League’s entertainment factor, but to also rally behind it as a beacon of their identity and personal politics.

The rebrand was launched with our Make Way campaign to kick-off the 23rd season. The spot was a strong signal to a new audience that the league was speaking to them—and this audience responded on social media, ready to engage.

Director: Christelle de Castro; Creative Directors: Cole Nielsen and Hawa Arsala; Producer: Hannah Jegart

Activation

From social content series to a special portraiture collaboration with Red Hook Labs to the iconic Orange Hoodie and apparel collaborations, our work laid the foundation for an entirely new way for the league to show up in culture in meaningful and trendsetting ways.

Work developed by WNBA (Creative Direction: Roman King) based on brand strategy, identity guidelines, and proposed activation concepts developed in collaboration between the league and SYLVAIN.

Results

In the year-and-a-half following the rebrand, viewership rose 68%, Instagram followers doubled, and mainstream sentiment shifted dramatically—including mass acclaim for the league’s leadership in race equity conversations and the cultural adoption of the iconic “Orange Hoodie” as a signature fashion statement for players, celebrities, and fans alike.

More importantly, perhaps, league and players signed a groundbreaking collective bargaining agreement, paving the way for better player pay and benefits, increased marketing and brand partnership initiatives, and ultimately establishing a foundation for long-term viability of the league as both brand and business.

awards & recognition

CommArts Excellence for Design and Typography, Eye Magazine Highlight, SBJ’s Best Fashion Statement Of The Year, GQ, Glamour, Brand New, New York Times, ESPN

Scope of Work

Operation Model Exploration
Design Target Definition
Brand Positioning + Strategy
Brand Identity
Activation Strategy
Launch Campaign

Role

Creative Director

Team

Alain Sylvain
Merideth Bogard
Cole Nielsen
Ilana Bondell
Katie Sadow
Hannah Jegart
Alexis Quarles
Myesha Evon Gardner
Hawa Arsala

Adam Silver
Christie Hedgepath
Lorelei Wall
Roman King

Hélène Marian
Production Type

Christelle de Castro