The Chicago Fire Rebrand: Take Two
It has been just over a year since our beloved Chicago Fire underwent their first official rebrand in club history, including the infamous “Fire Crown” logo, a new color scheme, and the addition of “Football Club” to the team name.
As a result, the “Men in Red” essentially became the men in the navy, and the club has lost the identity that it had maintained for over 20 years.
Additionally, the beginning of a new era for the club with a move back to the city under new ownership became overshadowed by an abysmal attempt at a rebrand. In a way, it was former owner Andrew Hauptman’s final nail in the coffin before selling his remaining 51% stake in the team to current owner Joe Mansueto.
Although it was his predecessor who led the rebrand efforts and put things in motion, Mansueto gave Fire fans hope after the logo was released by promising to fix things if the criticism continued throughout the course of the 2020 season.
Fast forward to last week.: Joe Mansueto kept his promise as the club announced it would undergo a second rebrand effort that will be fueled by fan input with the help of local consulting groups such as rEvolution and Studio/Lab.
Although this is how the first rebrand should have been approached, it’s important to commend the club on recognizing the current badge isn’t working and that the last rebrand project was poorly executed.
The club announced that the project would proceed throughout 2021, with the final logo selected and used in the 2022 season and beyond. It will begin with fans submitting their thoughts and opinions on what Chicago means to them and what they would like to see implemented into the new badge.
With over 500 submissions in the first five hours, the club ensures that every idea is captured and reflected upon. Future stages could include more in-depth, group-focused conversations with fans.
Let’s talk about the other external stakeholders aside from the fans.
First, you got Matthew Wolff, a brand designer with an impressive reputation, particularly in the soccer world. He has designed the crests of LAFC, Louisville City, Racing Louisville, Charleston Battery, Oakland Roots, and even some smaller clubs in the lower tiers of the US Soccer pyramid.
He was also included as part of the design team for World Cup kit collections for the French and Nigerian national teams while working for Nike, both of which were huge successes.
Two other important players involved in the rebranding process are Studio/Lab and rEvolution. Studio/Lab will likely contribute most of their efforts towards the actual design of the logo alongside Wolff. In contrast, rEvolution will likely consult on the branding aspect of the process (values, vision, symbolism, etc.). The latter is a sports marketing firm headquartered in the West Loop with an impressive track record with promotional campaigns in the soccer world.
In fact, they played a role in the Fire drive-in watch parties at Soldier Field during the pandemic season and have also organized World Cup and Gold Cup events for the national team. In addition to events, they are experts in brand strategy, sponsorship strategy, and media services.
Lastly, we have the Stand for Chicago Council. This group will be closely aligned with the voice of the fans and is made up of individuals who have a strong connection to either the club or the Chicagoland area in general. The council currently consists of Drew Conner, Sarah Gorden, Kevin Coval, and Sentrock, a local street artist. With additional members to be announced in the coming weeks, it will be interesting to see who the club chooses and the variety of backgrounds that will be represented.
How many long-standing season ticket holders will the club reach out to? Will we see local celebrities selected? Perhaps a Jim Belushi or Kanye West type of figure?
We have seen the kind of impact these types of people can have at growing a brand with the hip hop music scene in Atlanta to Will Ferrell’s ownership at LAFC to Matthew McConaughey’s cultural influence down in Austin with their new expansion team.
As for the crest design itself, we as the fans, have a lot of the power this time around, and it is important that we leave no stone left unturned. It is important that we give thorough and complete input on all facets of this project to increase the likelihood that the finished product will be satisfactory and long-lasting for the club we love.
With that being said, make your voice heard. Chicago is one of the biggest sports markets in this country, and the Fire do not have a big enough footprint to reflect the number of passionate soccer fans that live here.
Get Involved here!
A proper badge and an invigorated brand, however, can help elevate this club to new heights now that they have moved back to the city.
Let’s help create something uniquely Chicago.
Featured Image: Chicago Tribune
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