Big Ten Network Rebranding

 

The New BTN Logo

I thought my days discussing new branding for the Big Ten had come to an end, but alas it just keeps rolling forward.  I really like the idea of branding and marketing in new and creative ways, and I have really enjoyed throwing my two cents into the ring regarding what the Big Ten is doing, since they are in the midst of a big change.  With the recent news about Ohio State and Jim Tressel, it’s exciting to be able to focus on a different story.

Today I turn my attention to the Big Ten Network which released its rebranding yesterday.  The redesign was an inevitability with the Big Ten expanding, the old logo had eleven stars and needed to be updated to reflect the new conference membership.  This rebrand has several phases: a new logo, shortening the name to BTN, school logos, and future initiatives across multiple digital platforms.

I am not in love with the new logo.  It is bigger and bolder, and includes a star which has been a part of the logo from the beginning.  A positive note is how there is no mention of the number of schools in the league like in past logos. 

 

Funky math, hidden numbers, and the name ten with twelve has been point of contention for a long time, and this prevents future logo redesign due to membership changes.  The logo seems very sleek, and Big Tenny with its bold colors and old school design, but I think the Big Ten could have done something more spectacular.  While the logo is made to blend with the new conference logo, it’s not as versatile as the other logo.  I think it is interesting that I am contemplating the logo being flashier, when that is certainly not a Big Ten tradition, so it hits the mark on that front.

I think it is interesting they are reducing their name form Big Ten Network to BTN.  While that is the common vernacular on the ESPN website and across the conference campuses, it seems like an interesting choice.  I liked being able to boldly say the Big Ten Network!  It definitely models ESPN and FSN featuring abbreviations for a short attention span nation.  It does throw another acronym into the mix, and I have fallen head over heels for B1G, so BTN feels like a letdown.

I do like the ability to have separate school logos.  This will give the logo a good amount of versatility, but again it think this lacks because I am not a super fan of the original logo design.  Overall, this is one of my favorite parts of the rebrand, being able to feature the different colors and logos of each school in unique and different ways.  There are so many different applications for this feature, and I am excited to see how they will be utilized!

This rebrand did not splash across the news pages like the last rebrand did, and maybe that was the ultimate goal of the Big Ten.  To me this whole process seems a bit bland, but the real highlights of the network are not the

The BTN school specific logo for Penn State

branding, but the competition on the field, and the highlights of the academic missions of the institutions involved.  I am excited to see what the expansion to other media platforms will entail.  The original press release highlights a big announcement next month maybe that will hold the pizzazz I am looking for.  With this rebrand, the Big Ten solidly made a base hit, nothing to new and creative.  Overall, with this logo, I don’t think the outcome really matters as the fans will continue to tune in to watch their teams if the logo if exciting or not.

B1G Competitors Off the Mark

The New Official Big Ten Logo

In my continued analysis of the Big Ten marketing campaign, I want to mention how the logo creation has gone viral.  I stumbled upon the MycroBurst website the other day, and it is running a contest to redesign the Big Ten logo.  I was interested to see if any of the competitors did a better job than the Big Ten.

Before we get into my analysis, I want to reiterate my opinions on the official logo.  I find it bold and very strong in its double meaning.  Most people do not like the hidden 10 in the logo, but I love it and the new possibilities for branding as the B1G!  The logo is very transitional to social media namely Twitter with its hash tag possibilities and avatar photo opportunities.  My one critique is the logo should be bolder in color by taking on a dark blue hue.

All of the MycroBurst logos took my blue dark blue desire to heart, as all of them feature a stronger color.  Some of them took the route of incorporating the number 12, representing the number of teams in the league, into the logo.  I do not like how it was done in logo 1 with the 12 as an ‘r,’ it is very hard to see what is happening in that logo.  While logo 2 pulls it off in an interesting way, I agree with Big Ten Conference Commissioner Jim Delaney, the number of teams should be taken out of the logo.  My favorite logo is number 4 as it looks like a crest, and I like its incorporation of 12 stars.  But, the logo looks too much like the Pac-10 logo, and overall doesn’t have as unique of a design.  I think logo 5 is pretty solid, but is really similar to the current logo without the intelligent design.

Overall I do not think any of the logos succeed on so many different levels as the official logo.  None of them translate to social media as well as the current logo does.  When the current logo is placed next to these fan made logos, I recognize how intelligent the design of the official mark is.  After evaluating this website, I am more convinced of my previous ideas regarding the logo.  Good job B1G and I am excited to see the implementation of the logo next season!

The Big Ten Mark

Mock up of what the new Big Ten logo will look like on the football field.

I would like to continue working through my expanding thoughts on the new Big Ten branding.  In my past blog posts, I commented on how out of the three big releases: logo, trophies, and division names, my least favorite was the logo.  I always love a bold choice, and sometimes we need those bold choices marinate and grow on us, as we see what the usage becomes!  That is exactly what has happened with me and the Big Ten Logo.  I think I kind of like it now!  Let me explain!

I went back and took a read of New Work: Big Ten Conference, the article by Pentagram which was the company who designed the new logo!  One of the main goals of the new logo was to respect the hidden numbers in the logo.  In the last logo an eleven, which was the number of institutions before Nebraska at Lincoln joined the league, was hidden in the negative space around the “T” in “ten.”  The company did not want to continue hiding the number of institutions in the logo because as the conference changes there will always be a problem with how to update the logo.  The Big Ten and Pentagram wanted to create a more iconic long lasting logo.  This logo would represent the conferences past and future, and how it will always remain the Big Ten no matter the number of institutions.

I am really excited about what the logo of B1G as become for me!  It is my opinion the brand of B1G will be a huge thing for the Big Ten, and something really usable for the people.  As a fan of the conference, I tend to rock out Twitter posts about what the conference is doing.  During those times I have found I really enjoy using the hash tag #B1G.  It is a simple and powerful way to show off what I am talking about, and a mysterious way to get others to click my hash tags to find out what I mean.  I really like the idea of the logo just being the B1G portion of the mark and not the added other half with the Ten.  This was the original logo and the only thing Pentagram wanted to be logo, but other parties were worried that would be not be a strong enough brand so the rest of the portions were added.  The more I look at the logo the more I agree, I love that portion of the mark and think it should be the strongest part as the Big Ten moves forward.

B1G on the court

As the logo will get debuted during the next school year, I am really excited to see the actual usage of the logo.  What will it look like on the football fields and courts?  The strength of the logo will be seen in this arena, on jerseys, and all over the internet.  I hope the fan base latches on and really takes B1G to the next level, as it is a fun thing to use in the social networking sphere!  While I still feel the logo’s light blue is a weak color, and want something more bold and stoic like a navy blue.  This logo if they stick with the B1G will be a solid and exciting mark to take the Big Ten into the next era of its history as a 12 team conference.

Big Ten Logo Rebuttal!

Big Ten Logo

Check out this article by Fast and Company magazine where they discuss the design of the Big Ten logo.  They seem to be directly discussing a lot of the comments I made about my dissatisfaction with the logo.  I think they made some good points, and I must say I do like the pictures they have with just the “B1G” portion of the logo on the football field and basketball court.  I agree that I really like the simplicity, and how it expresses the conference name in a simple, direct way!  Still not convinced, but the logo is growing on me.  I must agree it is a bold choice!  Looks like we both agree the Big Ten has some passionate fans, and that is what fills the seats in those huge stadiums each week!

Why Do College Football Fans Hate the Big Ten’s Smart New Logo by Fast and Company

The Bold Ten

The Big Ten Logo and Divisions courtesy of bigten.org

                Two weeks ago the Big Ten Conference announced the names of their brand new football divisions, coinciding with the announcements of a new logo, and a pile of annual football awards.  This announcement has been met with a heaping pile of public outrage and criticism.  In an interview last Thursday with WGN AM-720 in Chicago, Conference Commissioner Jim Delany seemed to express the notion the conference might reconsider the names, “I don’t think you make a judgment in 48 hours or 72 hours. Eventually we’re going to have to address the issue of whether or not it’s sustainable, but I don’t think that’s an issue for today.”  While this does not lead me to believe there will be any names changes in the immediate future, I hope the Big Ten does not go in that direction.  With all of these major announcements, we recognize not all of them were walk off home runs.  Kind of like a football game at Wrigley Field, where one end zone was just not far enough away from the wall, but seriously in the end how awesome was it to watch Big Ten football in that historic venue!  Success delineates from creative and bold choices, and I want to illuminate the creative and bold choices the Big Ten has made in their expansion process!

                I would like to start with the logo, which I my opinion is the weakest of the recent Big Ten additions.  The old logo was bold and held that negative space eleven everyone talked about.  That logo was instantly recognizable, held the mystique of the Big Ten, and fit nicely into the confines at the top of the lane near the foul shot line.  The new logo is very blasé to me!  The first thing I thought when I saw it was why is it light blue?  If anything the Big Ten is bold and historic, and I see its logo being more of a well defined dark blue.  I think the hidden 10 in the logo (the I being the 1 and the G being a 0) is a cool idea and a bold look back to the original 10 members, but something that definitely misses the mark.  Most people can’t see the 0 or only see a 6, and I don’t know how relevant the old 10 are.  In the plus category, I think the logo would fit nicely into a twitter icon, or a facebook profile, and internetability is highly important these days.  But overall I would give the logo a fail, and in my humble opinion, it’s a bigger bust then those division names everyone keeps talking about.

                The instant slam dunk in this set of announcements was the introduction of 18 trophies to be awarded at the end of every season.  This is such a bold step, unique to the Big Ten, and what other conference could connect this many historic names to trophies?  When you go down this list of names you have historic coaches like Woddy, Bo and JoePa.  NFL coaches, and the names of historic players from years ago to the present.  You even have the name of a former President of the United States.  What could be more prestigious and engaging then that?  I am so excited for the distribution of these awards next year.  I would love to see a gala event night celebrating the Big Ten season, a time to honor the historic legends and leaders of the past, and a big old celebration of who is headed to the Granddaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl.  Put it on the Big Ten network, and we have a rating juggernaut!

                Now on to the topic everyone is talking about, those divisional names.  This is where the Big Ten probably took the biggest leap, and in my opinion the most creative and exciting!  The names Legends and Leaders have been virtually lambasted by the media and fans alike.  But I want to look past all the noise and show how cool these names actually are!  First off, they have a great ring to them, the legends and the leaders, it rolls off the tongue pretty nicely!  We have seen a number of directional names used form conferences around the country, I would like to call this the old stand by (cough Pac-10).  Delany could have played that one up even if it did not totally ring true to geography, and fans would have been alright with it.  Delany could have used some faux-geographic feature related thing like the ACC and went with the lakes and the plains.  How boring would that have been, and no one can ever remember who is in the ACC coastal and atlantic division anyway.  Now take a step back and look at the Legends and the Leaders.  This is an innovative, completely different from anything else in the sport.  It harkens back to the history of the conference, and this quote form Commissioner Delany sums that up, “As we looked at ourselves, we believed at the core of who we are, are our traditions and heritage. And those traditions are largely people, legendary people.”  With these divisional names, those legends and leaders will all symbolically live on forever.

                When you think of the Big Team, you have instant visions of historic, conservative, old school, unwilling to change sweater vests and cuffed khaki pants.  So I for one am proud of the Big Ten, and the bold and audacious moves they made!  They took their history, stayed true to who they were, but then blew the doors off the wall with the creative choices they made!  This conference is filled with people who are the most passionate fans in sports, and they will tell you what you think.  Sometimes that voice might be afraid of the new and different.  This is often the most immediate reaction when we do something bold and creative.  But take a page from the Big Ten, and realize you can make these moves and eventually people will see you made the right choices!  As we can see with the Pac-12 and their recent release of division alignments and names, they had a one day news story on ESPN where gone the next day, but the Big Ten made a splash that will likely be the talk of ESPN for months.  This bold move is something that will keep the conversation alive through next football season.  And when all is said and done, and we sit down for the inaugural Big Ten Championship Football Game on December 3^rd 2011, this bold and flashy initiative will be up on the big marquee setting the way for this to become one of college football’s newest institutions!