Future branding

[NoMaD]

Hi Guys,

I have been thinking about this a lot recently, and me bringing this up is not intended to create division or disrespect our glorious past.

Taking into consideration of where we are wanting to go, should we not be thinking of a re-branding... something that is eye catching to new people in the social sphere and gets across what we are all about. I was looking at BvDs brand and it is simple and effective. not to mention it is easy to stitch on clothing.

From what i have gathered is that we are wanting to spread towards a greater online community of people that are like minded. letting people know that gaming is a lifestyle choice and it should start moving mainstream.

Just an idea for a brand theme/motto "Digital living". i think it gets across what we are all about.

I would like to get a discussion going to see what everyone thinks and comes up with. As a design brief I would like to focus on things that incorporate our past and our founding values, with a new, simple and easily recognizable brand.

Let me know what you homos think.

[RussianElite.]

Noms is onto something here, although I like the grrr logo and it came with the ages. We need a simplified look to attract attention from the main stream. We currentley just on of the many clans in most people's eyes from the community.

[Hubris]

My honest feeling is that it wouldn't be a bad idea, BUT, we don't have many of those skills just lying around. Lee has done a lot of work for grrr, a TON. The current branding is great for where we are right now and we're lucky to have it. I do however agree that if we're talking about a transformation the only way to make that felt is to change the look of the clan (e.g. our site/logo) and the way we communicate (e.g. a way to text each other for free).

That's no small task and it would require everyones input up front to make happen. I think this whole branding issue is a good way for us to start talking more about what we want and where exactly we're going. So why not do it now? We need to match our branding to our "market" and understand exactly where we touch that market. Competitive games, public games, some streaming, social media, what else? We need content commitments.

As to what to change it to I have no idea. bvd do have a really fresh style in the scene, but they obviously had the Roccat or similar designer work with them to get it. We could probably do the same thing if we draw on our networks and get a few basic (and cheap) briefs on the table to help plan our specs. From my noob perspective, it has to start with a logo then colours then other media based on a common theme (duh).

grrr is a cool brand as it is and we just need to expand that concept to market us to a wider audience. The themes of family, (in)decency, freedom and p00nage have to continue. Whatever happens in this space Lee needs to really be oversight, he understands all our presences and will represent the core values of the clan fully. I don't however think it's fair to lump it all on him when we could get the slog done by someone else quite cheaply.

Anyway it's not going to be for free, so a lot of other things need to be in place before we can actually act. Like content commitments, the issue of hosting, the bf server, other servers possibly, what our members are interested in and last but not least how to finance it. If we could get grrr running like a club, whereby we collect sponsorships and members fees against a budget for the year the sky is the limit.

Again the issue of membership statuses, we need make proposals for that soon too...

[TygerBS]

Look we could Hire flanders to do a professional Job on this.

He is an excellent designer, and this is exactly what he excels at.
Don't think he would charge to much for a Logo and brand design.

[Hubris]

Cool I also know a guy who might be able to sketch out a few ideas.

[Paul]

Well it is "easy" to just throw together some cool shit but BRANDING is about an identity, it shows what something means/stands for.

So first we need to come up with the identity that we want to portray. I think we already have a good foundation for an identity but we need to tweak/evolve it. From this we then can give a brief to a designer/s who can come up with branding.

So the motto of "Digital Life" is all good and well but what does that mean? Give that to a designer and we get Robots and solar panel plants. We as a clan need to say what "Digital Life" means and where we want it to go

[NoMaD]

well my understanding of where we want to go is that we want to create a clan that embaces all, a place were people can be them selves and enjoy gaming. a kind of gaming rotary club or something. My idea was to create a thread to spit ball things. So if everyone can give one theme or ideal that rings true to them about their experience in the clan. I am sure some will overlap and we can start on those?

[J_Th4ng]

Good call Nom, it's always a good idea to review our clan identity from time to time.

A few years ago, when we pitched for the Digital Life sponsorship, there were a few things that were identified as selling points of the clan. I'm not sure if they are all relevant currently, but it should serve as a starting point:

1. Mature individuals i.e. slightly older than the average age
2. Cross gender - having female members is still fairly unusual in an SA clan
3. Real life friends - a focus on getting groups together several times a year for braais and socials, including at least one big multi-day gathering every year (typically rAge)
4. Technologically active - not just gamers, but people with 'Digital lifestyles' - makers of videos, blogs, users of technology
5. Competitive, but not with a 'win at all costs' mentality
6. Gamers, not Battlefielders - We play many games, some competitively, but all of them for fun first
7. A posisitve reputation within the gaming community. We respect others, but are at the same time irreverent, fun, and with good humour.

I think that about covers it.

[Megageth]

Of course you guys should wait until Duck has spent weeks on the 3D version of the logo before suggesting rebranding. Timing is everything.

[SlipperyDuck]

Word