Bold New Look Introduced As League Enters New Era
Prague—July 10th, 2005—Euroleague Basketball today unveiled a new family of brands in a ceremony that took place during weekend long celebrations in Prague, Czech Republic for the Euroleague Draw for the upcoming 2005-06 season. The branding initiative features a new emblem and typeface for Euroleague Basketball, accompanied by a family of sub-logos for the Euroleague Final Four, the Euroleague Top16, the Euroleague Playoffs and the Euroleague Draw. Sockeye Creative of Portland, Oregon (USA) designed the new brands.
“The change in the logo is symbolic of Euroleague’s evolution, that we are moving forward,” said Euroleague Basketball CEO Jordi Bertomeu. “Our competition is five years in the making and now we are clearly recognized as the elite basketball competition in Europe and the second most important in the world. The new logo is a manifestation our commitment to increase awareness of our competition in a wide range of social spheres and allows us to be more focused on the commercial aspects of the business.”
The launch of the new Euroleague Basketball brand coincides with the introduction of new commercial strategies for the future as laid out in the Strategic Plan approved by the Assembly and assisted by the creation of Euroleague Properties. “This is the first time in our history that we have a true trademark,” said Euroleague Basketball consultant Marshall Glickman, “providing us with the commercial potential to help us build a licensing business and to strengthen the value of our assets for future corporate partners.
The new logo, which features the “E” symbol and the words Euroleague Basketball in a custom type face, remains true to the traditional orange and blue colours of the league. The logo, as well as the accompanying sub-logos, will be used for all applications relating to Euroleague Basketball, including by media organizations and television broadcasters. The mark itself is meant to unite the basketball with the fluid movement of the game as well as integrating the initial “E,” for Euroleague. It had to be bold and speak to a growing younger audience, which was informed by Euroleague Basketball’s recent research study.
In the effort to convey Euroleague’s status as the premiere basketball competition in Europe, the goal was to create a mark that stood apart from the 14 logos of the national leagues that have clubs that play Euroleague Basketball, as well as the many team logos throughout Europe. According to Sockeye Creative’s president, Andy Fraser, “We wanted to create a mark that was not only original, but that spoke to the growing youth target audience, as directed by the research study that Euroleague Basketball conducted last year.”
About Euroleague Basketball
Europe’s premier basketball competition, Euroleague Basketball, was founded in 2000 under a private organizational model that is considered a breakthrough for European professional team sports. The competition features 24 clubs from 12 or more countries per season and crowns its champion each spring at the Euroleague Final Four, one of the signature events of European sports. The 2006 Euroleague Final Four will take place in Prague, Czech Republic, April 28-30. Basketball in Europe has experienced spectacular growth in recent years, side by side with the development of Euroleague Basketball. In just five years, Euroleague Basketball has consolidated a competition of the highest sporting level, has introduced the concept of a commercial league to Europe and has expanded its television reach beyond Europe, where 98.7 percent of all Euroleague Basketball games were televised in 2004-05, to Africa, the Middle East, North America and South America. Euroleague Basketball attendance has increased 79% from the inaugural 2000/01 season.
For more information, please contact:
Ferran Marquez
Communication Director
Euroleague Basketball
ferran.marquez@euroleague.net
+34 933 278 427
Marshall Glickman
Euroleague Basketball Consultant
marshall@g2strategic.net
+1 781 772 1932