DirecTV

BACKGROUND
DirecTV, and partners Star and BSkyB sought to launch The Championship Gaming Series as a content and subscriber acquisition and retention vehicle reaching 400M households worldwide. This new video gaming league would be no different than any other pro sports league. Cyber athletes were drafted by team managers with salaries and all vying for a World Championship grand prize of $1,000,000 USD. The gaming events would be broadcast on live tv as well as streamed online in a series of regional league and then intercontinental play leading up to the championship broadcast worldwide from Los Angeles.

CHALLENGE
Creating 18 teams worldwide, including several game platforms and game types, presented not only cultural considerations, but gamer and play-type issues. The challenge remained to craft an overall cohesive feel, with each team having it’s own identity and cultural relevancy, as well as being able to be utilized across myriad media types: print, on-air, online, product and multiple social interactive methods. The adoption and use of the logos by the teams, players and fans was critical to ensure the social, viral and technological nature of the audience would be fully leveraged to spread the brand.
 
SOLUTION
We conducted research worldwide to determine local, cultural, game, fashion, and youth trends. While the components varied greatly, the variances also provided unique inspirational creative jumping-off points for naming, graphics, colors and uniforms. By conducting the players draft at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, the league instantly galvanized and captured the imagination of gamers worldwide. Each draftee held a jersey up high, emblazoned with team naming and brand. Environmental, 3-D on-air and animated logo versions were also created, ensuring a dynamic appearance at each viewpoint by players, fans and audiences alike. The identities rapidly spread throughout the gamer universe, often customized with the gamers “handle”, and appearing on each teams unique website as well as The CGS league site. Chat rooms, blogs and gamer sites worldwide were abuzz with the logos and news about the league.