Uniquely, if you are a Chicago sports fan, there are two MLB teams to root for.
Depending on where in the city you live, you often cheer for one but rarely cheer for both. Wintrust recently became the naming sponsor of the annual crosstown series between the Cubs and White Sox.
We faced an extremely tight deadline for this project. Due to ongoing contract discussions, we had a little over one week to design the collateral and get it into market. This included new identity branding for the trophy, as well as advertising pieces to promote the series and the name change.
Goal
To create excitement around the Crosstown Series under very tight timelines
Services
Creative Direction, Art Direction, Photo Editing, Brand Identity
Awards
Platinum MarCom Award Winner: Print Media | Advertising Campaign ; In-House Agency Forum Award: Honorable Mention | Environmental Posters & Signage
Branding
Both teams needed to be represented equally in the identity mark, while also incorporating Wintrust branding. Therefore, three logomarks have been combined into one hybrid logo treatment. The final design had to be consistent with a sports aesthetic and be legible in full color or in black and white.
Out-of-home signage
As we began to plan out materials, we sought to overcome a few underlying issues. The matchup happens in the middle of the season, historically one team is always better than the other, and the trophy had never been heavily promoted. This makes it difficult to get average fans invested in the series or our messaging. However, as I worked through creative strategy, we identified one demographic that does care: “the true fan.”
As a result, we released several pieces highlighting the diehards: Chicago baseball fans who love their team and love to root against their crosstown rivals. We included words, phrases, and dates that genuine fans would recognize and we coined the phrase, “A TRUE FAN GETS IT” as a campaign tagline.
