No mulligan needed for Wachovia’s event branding
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As the Wachovia Championship comes to our home city of Charlotte, NC, I started to think about the event’s effort in branding the Championship, while still keeping the characteristics of the main sponsor’s identity. It is easy to recognize the similarities between the Wachovia logo and the Wachovia Championship logo. Digging further into this, I noticed that Wachovia also has branded a “cycling series,” holding the same characteristics as, once again, the Wachovia brand. So, why is event branding important for large companies to pursue with a keen sense of design?
Simple. It extends your brand awareness into areas that might not aesthetically fit. For example, if Wachovia put their main logo underneath a separate identity (that was specific for the Championship), then it would seem like they were putting a square peg in a round hole. By combining the two ideas together (Wachovia logo and Event logo), it makes for one happy marriage of a pleasing logo through the rolling hills of the Quail Hollow Club or a cyclists speeding down hill to the finish line. Kudos to their success in extending the identity so fluidly.
Are there any other events that share similarities with the main sponsor brand, successful or not?
By: Nick Irwin
FedEx has a similar visual brand strategy with their FedEx Racing and FedExCup Logo, just to name a few.
http://www.fedex.com/us/sports/index_static.html
I have noticed Coca Cola does the same thing. If it is keeping the famous Coca Cola Logo, Coke wave, or the Coke Bottle, they always seem to implement it into their visual brand strategy. From the Coca Cola Olympic rings, the Nascar 600, to the FIFA logo, they always seem to stick with what we all have grown to love.