Scottish Cycling Rebrand

Gold Award

Category

Design Effectiveness

Company

Brand Oath
Scottish Cycling

Client

Scottish Cycling

Summary

Our primary objectives were to;

  • Identify a unifying concept that every discipline, ability and tribe within cycling, could identify with. 
  • Articulate the role of a modern, dynamic, forward-thinking governing body ready to embrace the modern media landscape.
  • Establish new (relevant) brand narrative on social channels.

From the playground to the podium and everything in between, Scottish Cycling is the national governing body of cycling sport. The organisation supports over 200 affiliated clubs, teams, and associations across the variety of disciplines (Road, Mountain Bike, Cyclo-Cross, Track, BMX, and Cycle Speedway). They provide a huge variety of opportunities to participate at every level of ability, encouraging people to get on a bike for the first time, to providing pathways for cyclists to compete on the international stage. They connect people to their potential to improve.

Rationale –

Identifying strategy shaping insights; 

“I don’t care what shape your handlebars are or how thick your tyres are; if your legs move in circles, you are a cyclist!” 

This impassioned statement from our consultation phase provided the foundation stone for our creative solution.

As part of our creative exploration phase, we uncovered an old diagram that illustrated the ratio of power exerted from the body, through the pedals to drive the bike forward. We had found our unifying concept - the connection of the human body to the bike through the pedal stroke that every cyclist makes, from nervous beginner to Olympic Champion, and the commonality of that action that connects the whole community. (See image ‘Strategy and creative rationale’).

What they said –

Martin Cooke, Chair of Scottish Cycling

Our new look is modern, bold and a breath of fresh air, breaking the mould on what a governing body’s logo should look like, with a rationale that is extremely strong and something everyone in our diverse community can relate to”.

Lucy Grant, Scottish Cycling Performance Programme rider

“The new branding is really cool, it’s great to see a new design on the kit. I think it’s very inclusive of all the different cycling disciplines and the motion graphic looks great on our videos”.

Alex Marr, Digital Communications & Marketing Coordinator

“The rebrand has been hugely well received by our community, with a level of engagement on social media (98,000 engagements across our channels in the week following the brand launch) akin to that of the activity we expect during a Commonwealth or Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

Links

https://www.brandoath.com/case-studies/scottishcycling

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/scotland/article/20220518-scottish-cycling-news-Scottish-Cycling-unveils-new-brand-identity-0

https://youtu.be/DsVzAAMcg_I