EURO 2022: What can the design industry take away from this world-changing moment, and our work with Ida Sports.
What can the design industry take away from the women’s 2022 triumph?
The Lionesses, England’s women’s football team, made history in July with a 2–1 win over Germany at the UEFA Women’s European Championship final. I live in London and, if you listen carefully, the cries of ‘It’s Coming Home’ can still be heard echoing off our skyscrapers. The team’s incredible talent, determination and bond was captivating, and this win is a monumental moment not only for football fans but a generation desperate for equality in sports.
I should probably own up at this point; I can’t claim to be the world’s biggest football fan. Earlier this year I was invited to an FA Cup Semi Final match by a friend, and am embarrassed to admit that I was just as interested in the rolling advertisements around the field as I was in watching the actual game. I am, however, interested in equality in sports and the outdoors, which is a good thing because Noise specialises in branding and digital design for clients in these sectors. As creatives we see the world through the lens of design, and sport is no exception.
So I’ll leave the football commentary to the pundits, and instead focus on what I know. 87,192 people turned up to Wembley to watch and support the game, making this the most attended fixture across both men’s and women’s UEFA European Championship football games ever.
Let’s take a moment to let that sink in.
An additional international audience of over 250 million were estimated to have watched the game live. Perhaps I’m trying to make myself feel better, but I’m sure that a few of them might have even glanced at the advertising screens once or twice.
‘Empowerment’ was unsurprisingly the main theme across the marketing at the UEFA Women’s European Championship final. We saw some of the world’s most influential brands create conscious campaigns that addressed the way we define women in sport, tackled sexism, and challenged gender stereotypes. Sponsors of the event included Booking.com, Euronics, Heineken, Just Eat, Walkers, Visa, Volkswagen, Adidas, Nike, TikTok and LinkedIn to name a few. Here are some of the ad’s that that stood out to us.
Nike: Never Settle, Never Done.
W+K London worked with Nike on a campaign ‘showcasing the confidence, speed and technical ability shown by women on the top of their game as they prepare to be thrust into the limelight this summer.’ The campaign successfully achieved all this while maintaining Nike’s undeniable gritty personality. The campaign managed to touch on the deserved celebrity status of the England team while also showcasing grassroots women’s clubs, underlined with heart-racing camaraderie and supportiveness. They took ‘iconic’ to the next level when the team celebrated post-win, wrapped up in flags and t-shirts sporting the Nike swoosh and the word ‘Home’.
Heineken: The 12th Woman
‘The 12th Woman’ campaign was conceived by creative comms agency, Cow, and ‘sees the stars urging fans to rally behind their national teams with a twist on the term usually associated with collective, passionate fan support: the 12th man’. This campaign captured the importance of recognising and advocating for the female football fans helping to fund the sport and bring their own magical energy to live games.
Volkswagen: #NotWomensFootball
In a similar vein, Volkswagen launched their campaign ‘with the aim of triggering a discussion around the topic of equal opportunities’, starting with the ‘common use of the term “women’s football” used to describe matches played by female teams. Adding “women’s” gives the impression that this is not “real” football — while men’s teams simply play “football”.’ This was the ad that stood out most to me during the game, with a simple but effective graphic of #NOTWOMENSFOOTBALL blasted around the stadium. I was watching the match with a good friend and fellow creative who keenly pointed out that if said in the tone ‘not women’s football and an eye roll, this message could be misconstrued. However we agreed that it did not take the punch out of the campaign.
Our work with Ida Sports
Known for designing football boots for women, Ida Sports is a new league of women’s sportswear. The brand celebrates and supports women by putting our needs at the centre of every decision. By demanding better for female athletes, they are inspiring a wave of change in the sports industry and moving mountains to create a new normal for women in sport.
In 2017, founder Laura was playing a record-breaking football match at the top of Mt Kilimanjaro. During this match she realised the inequalities that still exist for female athletes. Herself and the other incredible women in this match were wearing mens or kids sized football boots because the market didn’t cater to female athletes. One year later Ida Sports debuted its first women’s specific football boot. ‘It feels great knowing that we are saving women from blisters and black toes by providing boots that are actually designed for us. But it feels better to be putting women first in an industry that still considers us an afterthought.’ Ida Sports is on a mission to change the game, and we were thrilled to be a part of this journey.
At a tipping point in their growth, Ida Sports needed to align their message, positioning, strategy and design identity. We refreshed the branding to build a sense of community, and to motivate and inspire customers to build ‘a new league’ for women in sport. We updated the Logo and aligned on its meaning. It is inspired by one of the brand’s premium messages, ‘make waves move mountains’. It also reflects the marks left by the sole of football boots, and it speaks to Ida Sport’s origin story of the highest altitude football match ever. Ultimately it represents energy, determination and togetherness.
We developed a broader and softer colour palette to reflect Ida Sport’s values of inclusivity and community. The diverse and colourful palette also speaks to the culture of women’s sports that has been built over generations. Additional brand elements such as a team of illustrations and animated sketches highlight the brand’s sense of community and a personality that takes sport seriously, but not itself.
What does the future of design look like for (women’s) sport?
A Nielsen Sports study across the UK, US, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Australia and New Zealand found that 84% of sports fans were interested in women’s sports, with the gender balance of this audience being almost completely equal (51% women, 49% men). Capturing the imaginations and support of these fans is largely down to the marketing and advertising they see at matches, on TV screens and in their social media feeds.
It seems like designers and creatives are faced with a crossroads; the urge of bringing women’s sport up to the hype that men’s sport gets, or otherwise endeavouring to showcase women’s as a distinctive sport in its own right.
It is uplifting to see how inclusivity, celebration and positivity are key forces driving some exciting re-brands and creative campaigns in 2022, however we hope that we can also see more of the grit, raw talent, and determination that make these world-class athletes so inspirational. Similarly, it would be refreshing to see men’s sport take some notes from the design industry’s approach to creating women’s sports identities along the themes outlined above.
What we can say is that the sports landscape is shifting, and the design industry needs to respond to this. Noise is itching for the challenge, so get in touch if you’re a sports brand looking for branding, campaign or digital design
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Noise Studio is an international creative agency working at the intersection of digital and branding. We create unexpected design solutions for some of the most exciting names in sports, outdoors and sustainability.
Written by Georgia Watt, Brand Strategist & Designer at Noise
