England Lacrosse
When you spend most of your childhood with your nose in a book, you don’t tend to be particularly good at P.E.
But when Keith at Lark Design asked me to work on the verbal branding for a new England Lacrosse league, I shoved memories of muddy, miserable sports fields to the back of my mind and created the name, voice, core messaging, and team identities. Not bad for a (reforming) couch potato.
‘The Fly. Can you keep up?’
Name and campaign line
I started with the name. The new league would play a drastically condensed version of the sport, which would be brilliant for spectators; think the ‘Twenty20’ or ‘The Hundred’ of lacrosse. It also needed to appeal to an 18–30 audience without alienating existing fans.
I delved into a handful of categories that reflected lacrosse and the new format: speed, motion, and air. Within those categories I concentrated on monosyllabic verbs, which have a fresh and punchy urgency befitting the fast-paced format — it’s the difference between ‘race’ and ‘scamper’. I also experimented with adding the definite article (that’s ‘the’, to its friends) to add the sort of gravitas an elite sports league deserves.
It might sound restrictive, but I was left with stacks of ideas. ‘Dash’, ‘Chase’, ‘Hustle’ captured the speed. ‘Sky League’ climbed up into the clouds. And ‘The Cut’ bundled together the elite competitive edge; ‘cutting’ as a lacrosse move; and a sense of rapid, cut-down play.
But one name that had it all: The Fly.
‘Two teams, 6-a-side, and four rapid-scoring, 8-minute quarters. Scored? Don’t stop to draw. Move and chase and fling ‘til time’s up. Then stop for breath. Then start again.’
Social post example: Explainer
‘Leave the ground behind and climb to the top in The Fly: the new lightning fast lacrosse league. We need incredible players and coaches everyone can look up to. If that’s you? Step up.’
Social post examples: CTAs
With the name ready for lift-off, I moved onto the language. The staccato sentences use as many single syllable words and imperative verbs as possible and imbue every paragraph with a feeling of breathless rapidity. Come and play, it says — or get out of the way.
Next, I applied The Fly’s language to the league’s four teams, working with Lark to give each a distinctive identity. There’s the perfectly synchronised, fluid-as-water Swift; the unstoppable force of Hustle; unwaveringly ambitious Rise and the playful renegades of Forge. Each team takes the high-energy tone of The Fly and makes it their own, just as each has their own personality and style of play.
‘Swift don’t have to stop and think. They’re in perfect sync. Soaring, scoring, flying, flowing across the field, they surge together as one. Quick as lightning. Fluid as water. Light as air. They’re a fast and focused force of nature. And nothing and no one throws them off course.’
Team bio: Swift
‘Fierce and fearless, Hustle do whatever it takes to win. Back down? Never. Give up? Impossible. Take the risk, seize the chance, fight the corner, grab the shot. Don’t stop. No matter the odds — Hustle give it everything they’ve got.’
Team bio: Hustle
