Premier League Revitalising a global brand

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Since the inaugural 1992/93 Season, the Premier League has become the most-watched domestic football league in the world. In a very short space of time commercial relationships have developed with global brands and broadcasters, and corporate social responsibility activities have had a profound impact.

The league was concerned that the speed of change had taken its toll upon the consistency and clarity of communication. Rapid growth, a raft of diverse partnerships and brand-extensions around the world had stretched the original identity to breaking point. It was no longer fit for purpose and the brand needed to evolve it’s positioning to keep it match fit.

Multiple brand names

The main problem, as a brand audit of fans and other key stakeholders confirmed, was that there was huge confusion over the multiple names used. The competition was variously called the ‘Barclays Premiership' in the UK, and the ‘Barclays English Premier League' or the ‘EPL' abroad, while 'The FA Premier League' was used corporately. There was clearly a need for a single, unified position to achieve greater consistency and clarity across all media platforms around the world. We worked with the Premier League to re-evaluate its identity and positioning, and to create a supporting brand architecture and brand management tools.

Clear positioning

At the core of our work was the proposition, 'The Best of Football', a phrase that homes in on the league's premier position in a game that makes a huge contribution to society today. We defined a single core brand name: 'Premier League', which works just as well in corporate relations as it does when combined with a competition title sponsor in both domestic and international markets, creating the ‘Barclays Premier League’ globally.

We evolved the brand to create a new identity that is both impressive and flexible. It combines a strong colour palette, a bespoke typeface and a new confident and majestic lion, a symbol chosen to express the energy and passion at the heart of the English game. The resulting global identity is at once simple and strong. It works on a corporate and a competition level, and reinforces the authority of an organisation regarded as the best domestic football league in the world.

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Strengthening and simplifying the Premier League's brand has increased its visual equity, making it instantly recognisable to audiences across the globe and much more attractive to media partners and sponsors.