Rejuvenating Basketball for BNXT

REJUVENATING BASKETBALL
FOR BNXT

BNXT (pronounced as BeNext) is a result of the merger between the pro basketball leagues of Belgium and the Netherlands.

→ VISUAL IDENTITY → Story telling → community building
→ content creation → channel strategy

CONTEXT

Before the merger, both pro leagues weren't of that size to work out a self-contained format. Resulting in a decreasing fan base, especially among the younger generation. This living decrease was at odds with the trends happening in other continents and the opposite of what desk research and focus groups brought to light, showing that it was actually Gen-Z who prefered basketball over soccer and cycling.

CHALLENGE & PROCESS

The birth of BNXT was the opportunity to turn perceptions around. So we got into the culture of basketball. We watched online games and were fortunate enough to experience live games mid-pandemic. We talked to fans, players, and coaches and even had a few chats with youngsters playing on the court outside the office.

Our experiences and research enabled us to see the whole culture around the court, not just the game itself. It showed us that the game's speed, power on and off the court, music, flashing lights, street art and colourful culture turn basketball into a genuine lifestyle.

Social Announce

Part of the BNXT manifesto

Attending games in an empty stade due to covid

ANGLE

Before we started the creative process, we defined what the new BNXT league brand had to be. We formed a brand universe and wrote a manifesto that was not just written from the inside out. But a narrative that was written for the fans and players. A manifesto that had converted BNXT from a company that organised the professional competition to a community that united all Belgian and Dutch fans & players.

EXECUTION

We made the DNA and basketball culture tangible via a vibrant visual identity that combined all colours of the league.

This colourful expression was a vital component turn every brand movement into an inclusive carrier to its audience. We translated the power of show lights and crafted them into modern and vibrant design elements together with the pure 3D elements that are unmistakably the essence of basketball.

The versatile identity made it possible to set a visual tone that could be both powerful and energetic while communicating about games and culture, and pure prestige when messaging for awards.

THE STRECH OF A (MEDIA) BRAND

Being an organiser and media provider also meant we had to develop a visual identity that not only could carry our narrative in a recognisable way throughout various social media channels. But it also had to be uber-flexible to work on traditional print, television and other new media formats.

TikTok's

TV Graphics

IMPACT

As a true brand ally, we helped the BNXT communication team how to carry out the new identity and created a framework with new narratives and an ever-growing library of communication blocks.

Enabling their team to create on-the-spot visuals during games and record/create new communication formats for their vertical media.