Toronto Football Club
In addition to the Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC is the second major league sports brand I’ve helped launch. For decades many teams had attempted to establish a place in the heart of Toronto’s football-savvy fans with little success. The city’s football supporters are one of the most ethnically diverse groups anywhere in the world, each bringing with them cultural predispositions and long-standing allegiances to other teams. It was obvious to them that the quality of the on-field product in the early days would not match the level of their preferred leagues. The TFC brand needed to feel authentic and be inclusive in approach, so we aimed to appeal to the fans’ universal love of the game as a genuine way to connect with them. While at design agency Amoebacorp, I developed the team’s positioning—“All for One”—a rallying cry to unite in a collective love of football culture itself. I also directed the rollout of various brand collateral and designed inaugural season materials including print, transit and out-of-home advertising, season’s ticket package and sales materials, event and promotional collateral, apparel and branded merchandise. First season ticket sales exceeded projections by 25% with demand for Toronto FC merchandise three times greater than anticipated. Toronto FC is a past winner of Strategy Magazine’s “Brand of the Year” and the “All for One” ethos still guides the brand to this day.
In addition to the Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC is the second major league sports brand I’ve helped launch. For decades many teams had attempted to establish a place in the heart of Toronto’s football-savvy fans with little success. The city’s football supporters are one of the most ethnically diverse groups anywhere in the world, each bringing with them cultural predispositions and long-standing allegiances to other teams. It was obvious to them that the quality of the on-field product in the early days would not match the level of their preferred leagues. The TFC brand needed to feel authentic and be inclusive in approach, so we aimed to appeal to the fans’ universal love of the game as a genuine way to connect with them. While at design agency Amoebacorp, I developed the team’s positioning—“All for One”—a rallying cry to unite in a collective love of football culture itself. I also directed the rollout of various brand collateral and designed inaugural season materials including print, transit and out-of-home advertising, season’s ticket package and sales materials, event and promotional collateral, apparel and branded merchandise. First season ticket sales exceeded projections by 25% with demand for Toronto FC merchandise three times greater than anticipated. Toronto FC is a past winner of Strategy Magazine’s “Brand of the Year” and the “All for One” ethos still guides the brand to this day.
