Kolkata Knight Riders don new avatar

Indian Premier League team, Kolkata Knight Riders has launched a new marketing initiative called ‘New Dawn. New Knights’ for the fifth season of the IPL. Through the campaign the team has unveiled a new logo, that has been designed by Lambie-Nairn a global branding agency.

Commenting on the new logo, Sophie Lutman, creative director, Lambie-Nairn said, “The KKR identity had a lot of equity but it was not designed for use across the wide range of platforms that are used today. We wanted to retain the existing heraldic imagery and purple and gold colours, as these features differentiate the team from competitors and ensure they are instantly recognisable. However, we needed to refine the logo and ensure that it would work across every touch point from the screen to merchandising.”

                      

We also spoke to Venky Mysore, chief executive officer and managing director, Kolkata Knight Riders on their rebranding for KKR.

CI: What was the reason behind the change in logo?

Venky Mysore (VM): The reason for change is two-fold. We have not changed the fundamental principle behind it. We have undertaken a change in look and not the spirit and thought.  The problem with the older logo was that when we applied in different places we were finding it difficult in-terms of application. There was not enough prominence given to Kolkata too, so we have addressed that with our new logo. The other part is more strategic. I see KKR, more as a sports entertainment business than just a cricket business. I do believe that as opportunities present themselves we want to enter them. There are other sports categories, other than cricket, which are very exciting. The younger generation is not necessarily cricket oriented. So I believe that we should be able to create a portfolio of franchises as we go forward. So for us to be able to use a mother brand like this (same colours and look and feel) we should then be in a position to work through that.

CI: Did KKR give the newly formed Soccer Premier League a thought?

VM: As it turned out,  every single proposal for the Soccer Premier League came to our desk first. For one reason or the other it didn’t happen, but we don’t rule out entering football or other sports in the  future.

CI: The reason behind picking Lambie-Nairn as the agency to revamp the logo?

VM: The change in logo was a very specific initiative. We did look at other agencies too, but picked Lambie-Nairn as we liked their credentials. We thought that the work that they had done would be very appropriate for us.