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Marketing

Strategy, Design & Social Media

The Brand Story

Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) is the premier club soccer league for young women leading up to college and professional play. Their mission is to change the landscape for elite female soccer players in the United States through innovative, player-centered programming and enhance the club development model. For 10 years, the league has intrinsically represented elite female athletic performance and inspired its players to be ambitious on and off the field. It is the culture maker of women’s soccer, setting the bar for other leagues to follow.

Research & Opportunity

Through immersion and research into youth soccer, we’ve discovered there is a shift and massive opportunity available to grow the league. Soccer has finally ingrained itself into America’s sport culture - USA Women defending their World Cup in 2019, MLS expansion, increased viewership of the international teams has helped grow the game and increase participation.

It was immediately clear that ECNL needed to differentiate itself visually just as it has culturally. Our main audience consisted of young women between 13 and 18 who are more likely to engage in brands who understand them as multi-layered women, balancing their lives between school, friends, family and preparing for college.

Bold Type-Driven Brand Refresh

To help ECNL simplify their current logo and show off their boldness, we used an editorial inspired look that feels fun, fashionable, and timeless. The simple and straightforward design language was used to create a gender neutral mark that could be applied across both boys and girls leagues. This approach paired with great imagery and vivid color accents create a bold logo mark and expansion options that achieve a powerful brand that is modern and full of youthful energy.

Type For The Long Haul

We're going for type that works for the long-haul, but can be iterated year after year to keep things fresh.

For that reason, the typography is led by a sans-serif that offers a wide range of weights and styles, so it never gets old.

Expanding the Identity

We expanded the new modular, identity system for their National Event Series. In addition to regional play, the ECNL hosts 10 national showcase events, including playoffs and a championship. We accented the typography with unique color characteristics and fun phrases for each of the host locations. Repetitive type was used to animate & move in digital formats while playing well on physical assets. This expansion was used both physically and digitally with multiple touch-points including retail apparel, signage and social media filters.