This year's International Rugby Board World Rugby Conference and Exhibition (that's a mouthful) concluded with the first official unveiling of the new logo and look of the board's freshly named “World Rubgy” group.
The rebranding process was undertaken in partnership with Futurebrand
The redesign and the new name have both been engineered to represent the growth of the sport worldwide, with the rebranding process undertaken in partnership with Futurebrand. The new visual identity is being rolled out across all of World Rugby's digital platforms, and will make it's début on official match jerseys this weekend. It should be noted that the rebrand won't effect the 2015 Rugby World Cup in any meaningful way.
New Logo (left) and the Old Log (right)
As you can see above, the new identity manages to embody the worldwide reach of the game in 2014, whilst retaining the traditional blue and green colour scheme. The brand hopes to use the new identify as a platform from which to build a stronger connection with fans around the world, as well as players and commercial partners. It also hopes to draw new fans into the game. As well as the rebranding and fresh designs, the brand has also launched a new promotional video dubbed “Building Character Since 1823,” which can be viewed in full below.
World Rugby – Building Character Since 1823
Bernard Lapasset, chairman of World Rugby, said “Global rugby participation has boomed by more than two million to 6.6 million players over the past four years, driven by the commercial success of the Rugby World Cup.” He says that World Rugby intends to build on this growth, which he believes has been inspired (at least in part) by “World Rugby's development strategies and record investment, strong and vibrant unions and rugby's re-inclusion in the Olympic Games.”
“Global rugby participation has boomed by more than two million to 6.6 million players over the past four years” Bernard Lapasset
Lapasset adds that the launch of the new look and the new name embodies the mission statement of World Rugby; “To grow the global rugby family beyond its traditional family and fan base,” and that is reflects the federation's evolution “From rugby regulator to rugby inspirer.”
Bernard Lapasset
World Rugby CEO, Brett Gosper, said that because they are launching the new brand in “An incredibly competitive global entertainment and sporting marketplace, rugby must continue to appeal to those who know and love the sport and its heritage.” He also believes, however, that it needs to be able to appeal to the core audience, whilst also “Attracting, engaging and inspiring those who have no connection with the sport across multiple cultures and languages around the world.” Not an easy challenge, especially considering Football's global dominance. However, he feels that “ Supported by a new name, a distinctive, optimistic and progressive new brand, and clear character-building values, World Rugby collectively has the ingredients and tools” to succeed in its goals.
The brand has also launched a new promotional video dubbed “Building Character Since 1823.”
He believes the new brand stands out enough, that it will be easy to promote “In a way that will be more appealing and impactful to the sport's growing global fan base.”
Brett Gosper
The announcement brought to a close a successful World Rugby Conference and Exhibition in London, which brought together more than 700 delegates from 60 nations over two days of thought-provoking workshops and panel sessions covering some of the biggest topics in Rugby from player welfare and integrity to the future of Rugby World Cup and delivering an outstanding Rugby Sevens event at Rio 2016.
