‘Beyond entertainment. Beyond lifestyle. Juventus is an identity.’ At least that is the background tagline from design agency Interbrand describing its January brand refresh of one of Italy’s oldest and most beloved football teams.
It may be steeped in history, have a cupboard stuffed with trophies and be able to boast more Italian fans than any other club, but that is not enough for the Old Lady and its marketers.
Aiming to explore potential for further growth in its international audience, the ambition behind the agency brief was to enable a growth plan to appeal to core fans and engage entertainment enthusiasts and to turn the team into a phenomenon.
The creative largely leaves the team’s famous black-and-white stripes untouched, but offers a new identity that allows the team to ‘be ambitious and to showcase future digital, social, and retail experiences to loyal supporters, soccer enthusiasts, business partners, and entertainment enthusiasts’.
The rebrand project aims to build upon a heritage founded on principles of ‘confidence’, ‘determination’, ‘perseverance’, ‘uncompromising conviction’ and ‘premoium Italian style’ and January saw Juventus launch its new brand strategy and identity with a campaign called ‘Black and White and More’.
The new identity campaign was unveiled simultaneously online and at an immersive event in Milan on 16 January.
At the core of the project is a simple, bold new logo (which symbolizes a J and replaces the classic charging bull from Turin’s coat of arms) that is described by the club as ‘iconic’ and ‘universal’ and flexible enough to appear on the shirt and alongside a range of new entertainment experiences.
It immediately rolled out across all of the club’s digital and social platforms, but won’t actually feature on the club’s shirts until July 2017.
Agnelli: "This new logo is a symbol of the Juventus way of living." #2beJUVENTUS pic.twitter.com/x5B3fapqGJ
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) January 16, 2017
The private launch event, in Milan’s Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo Da Vinci, centered around an identity presentation.
It was attended not just by designers and influencers, but also current club players, legends (including Gianluigi Buffon, Zinédine Zidane, Alessandro Del Piero and Pavel Nedved) and celebrities (such as model Emily Ratajkowski).
‘We are here to unveil the future of Juventus to you,’ said club president Andrea Agnelli at the launch event. ‘We spent a year trying to find out what the new markets want, but also to show a sense of belonging and looking to the future. This new logo is a symbol of the Juventus way of living. To grow, we must continue to triumph on the field and evolve our approach off it to reach new heights.’
The promotional new identity campaign is led by a central ‘Black and White and More: The future, now!’ spot.
This is supported by further films including ‘Black and White And More: Juventus from 1897 to 2017’
and a ‘Buffon and Nedved’ interview piece.
The campaign is also running across all of Juve’s channels and platforms from Twitter,
Il Presidente Andrea Agnelli introduce un video #2beJuventus pic.twitter.com/DpC4peTigy
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) January 16, 2017
and Instagram,
to Facebook and the brand’s website too.
Juventus also wrote the following explanation of its new identity on its website.
‘Football speaks an increasingly universal language. And in such a global sector, it is vital that we are able to pre-empt sporting, social and economic change before it happens in order to maintain a leading role.
‘Juventus has embraced the dynamics of the modern game and is determined to be a key player in future changes.
‘It is for this reason that the club has adopted a new visual identity and taken on a style with a more profound meaning. In line with the club’s values, Juventus will offer a range of unique experiences which are aimed at its passionate fans but also relevant for a broader audience.
‘This will enable the club to sustain its sporting, commercial and cultural development.’
Design agency Interbrand also released a brand refresh launch film explaining the project from the design agency’s perspective.
Comment:
It seems that in the world of future football design that ‘Less is undoubtedly more’: well, that’s if this minimalistic redesign is anything to go by.
Simplicity, of course, means the club will be able to move away from its core Italian football business into other markets and other entertainment spaces.
The new design has, of course, been met with mixed emotions and varied opinions on social media.
But the core spot has notched up 55,545 YouTube views in its first 24 hours, while the historical film has generated 57,000 views and the Buffon/Nedved’ spot 22,000.
Links:
Juventus
https://www.youtube.com/user/juventus
https://twitter.com/juventusfc
https://www.facebook.com/Juventus/
https://www.instagram.com/juventus/
Interbrand
