The ‘Our Football’ brand was born out of an impulse given by the national football association, which hopes to use it to support the development and expansion of football codes in all their shapes and forms. The Czech Football Association is concurrently launching a campaign called ‘Our Football Makes Sense’ which voices respect and support to people without whom football could not exist. The creative concept, brand strategy and visual identity for this new brand were created by VMLY&R.
‘The world of association football is very rich and enjoys a long tradition even in our country. Just recently we celebrated the 120th anniversary of Czech football. And while football is still the number one sport in Czechia, there are fewer and fewer people who play it actively. One of the biggest challenges is reaching the younger generation, but also the lack of qualified coaches to train young talents. That is why we wanted to create a home base for Czech football, which would encompass the whole family of football codes and support the development of this immensely popular sport in all its forms’, says Václav Kudrna, Czech Football Association Strategy Director.
To that end, the independent brand ‘Our Football’ was created. It combines everything that doesn’t fall under the umbrella of the Czech Football Association, the national team, or the highest levels of professional football. At the same time, it also creates a framework the above-mentioned institutions can draw on. The idea is to give each individual member a free hand in their development and goals. ‘The brand voices respect and understanding to current members of the football family, yet at the same time it is entertaining, current and attractive in order to lure in ‘new blood’. The fact that we ourselves at the agency love football was helpful in elaborating the strategy and the creative concept. This helped us gain many valuable insights from active players but also passionate fans’, says Eliška Veselá, Account Manager at VMLY&R.
‘The name ‘Our Football’ expresses the basic notion that the brand belongs to everyone. Everyone can imagine their kind of football in it, be it woman’s, beach, youth team or indoors football, or even the so-called ‘forest leagues’. The brand believes that football is what people make it. From mowers who wage war against moles every day to selfless parents who drive their kids to training. The brand’s introduction is a celebration of all those who engage in football in different roles and on various levels. Which is also the main idea of the brand’s campaign named ‘Our Football Makes Sense’, explains Miroslav Pomlkal of VMLY&R, who, along with Tomáš Mrkvička, originated the strategy and creative idea.
The brand’s visual identity was created by VMLY&R in cooperation with designer Jan Moucha. Our Football’s so-called dynamic logotype represents the near-infinite variety of ways in which one can score a goal through the different positioning and size of the letter ‘O’ which stands in for a football. This allows for variation across different advertising and communication channels.
Credit:
– Strategy: VMLY&R
– Creative: VMLY&R
– Art: Jan Moucha
