09/ — Brand Strategy Direction — OneFootball
Giving football's fastest-growing platform one brand before it outgrew itself.
At a glance
Tension
Growth was outrunning coherence: a platform scaling across markets and products with a brand being improvised at every new touchpoint.
Insight
Matchday is ninety minutes; fandom is the feed in between. A brand living inside that scroll has to be recognisable at feed speed, in every fragment.
Strategy
A unified positioning and expression system built for the in-between one voice across every product, market and scrolled-past fragment.
Growth outrunning coherence.
A platform scaling across markets and products, with a brand being improvised at every new touchpoint.
OneFootball was becoming football's fastest-growing digital platform faster than any set of ad-hoc brand decisions could hold together.
Recognisable at feed speed.
For young fans, football doesn't pause between matches they arrive at every game already up to speed. Matchday is ninety minutes; fandom is the feed in between.
A brand living inside that scroll can't rely on big moments to hold it together it has to be recognisable at feed speed, in every fragment. So we built a unified positioning and expression system for the in-between: one brand voice, coherent across every product, market and scrolled-past fragment.
This case is the working proof of my published thesis.
Positioning rationale
Defined the strategic territory where OneFootball plays, and why it wins with young football fans.
Manifesto
Articulated the brand's purpose and ambition in language teams could rally behind.
Tone of voice
Set the voice: bold, youthful, fan-first — governing how the brand speaks everywhere.
Brand & motion playbook
Packaged manifesto, guidelines, motion principles and application examples into one operational toolkit.
"Matchday is ninety minutes. Fandom is the feed in between."
One brand, however briefly you meet it.
The system rolled out across OneFootball's global platform from mobile app to match broadcasts.
[Placeholder — adoption metric, consolidation outcome, rollout scope]
ONEFOOTBALL BRAND POSITIONING & PLAYBOOK
Consolidating OneFootball Brand guidelines
Operationalizing brand strategy through a scalable identity toolkit
CHALLENGE
From news aggregator to fan-first ecosystem
OneFootball -a leading football media platform- was evolving from a news aggregator into a more immersive, fan-first ecosystem. With this shift, the brand unveiled a bold new identity crafted by Design.Studio.
Tommy was tasked to develop a brand & motion playbook/toolkit.
My challenge was to refine & articulate brand strategy & positioning with the new rules of expressions developed with the design & creative teams.
APPROACH
Reshaping the brand storytelling
Working closely with the design and leadership teams, I helped shape the refreshed strategic foundation for the rebrand - starting with the brand positioning rationale, manifesto, tone of voice, and core brand principles.
- Brand positioning rationale defining the strategic territory
- Manifesto articulating the brand's purpose and ambition
- Tone of voice guidelines: bold, youthful, and fan-first
- Core brand principles governing all expressions
From there, the identity was brought to life through a modular design systemanchored in expressive motion, flexible layout structures, and a vibrant color palette ensuring cohesion across every touchpoint, from product to broadcast to partnerships.
A Kinetic brand world
The playbook included manifesto, brand guidelines, motion principles, and application examples across all platforms.
OneFootball Sizzle
OUTCOME
A modern, scalable foundation
The result was a modern, kinetic brand world that speaks directly to young football fans. The new identity successfully rolled out across OneFootball’s global platform, from mobile app to match broadcasts boosting brand recognition, engagement, and partnership appeal.
It now serves as a scalable foundation for the company’s continued expansion.
COMPANY
Tommy
YEAR
2021
ROLE
Brand Strategy Direction