During the Beijing Olympics, the fourth most watched sport around the world was a game that in England is better known as a second sport to help maintain fitness. Volleyball England has been tasked with increasing awareness of the sport here and encouraging more of us into the game at all levels - from recreational play to the premier performance levels required for London 2012.

The brief
Thinkfarm was asked to examine Volleyball England’s business strategy and develop brand positioning, an identity system and a campaign to communicate the attractions and benefits of the game across all of its forms. Also to create a theme that would engage audiences from students to top notch league players. Also part of the brief was to provide a more consistency across the names and identities that were being used in the publicising of events, leagues and other entities.

Our response
To understand the structure of volleyball in this country, what it has to offer and the experiences of people already playing, we conducted interviews with a range of people in and around the game. We found that Volleyball offers many desirable benefits. It uniquely allows able bodied, disabled, male and female players to join in one game. It can be very competitive but is there is no body contact, it is simple to set up equipment, can be played in a variety of spaces from indoor sports halls to parks and beaches, and it has a big glamour shot called the ‘spike’. We summarized the brand position into a single phrase: FOR SKILLS, FITNESS, TACTICS AND GREAT SOCIAL BUZZ, GO SPIKE!

The identity
With the team at Volleyball England we reviewed several possible routes before choosing to develop a vibrant, simple and straightforward look that uses red and white to reflect the national colours. In it, the O of volleyball becomes a moving ball and the unique stitch pattern of competition volleyball to mimic the St George cross. The graphical structure of the logo also allows us to cater for sub-brands and regular events, meeting the need for a consistent presentation across the organisation.

The campaign
The big moment in a game that causes a reaction from an audience and excitement from a player is called spike – a hammering shot played high at the net and driven down into the opponents’’ side. The word spike is used by only one sport and so we used volleyball’s ownership at the heart of the campaign idea, as a call to action with attitude – Go Spike! We supported the campaign headline by creating a library of studio photographs, of national league players taking the spike shot at the net.

The reaction
Lisa Wainwright , Volleyball England Chief Executive said: "In order to achieve the highest standards of volleyball in this country, we felt that the organisation needed a new look that truly represented the modern, innovative, and professional qualities of both the sport and the Volleyball England organisation. The new brand positioning has been designed to convey the sports of volleyball as adaptable, social, fresh and invigorating. In addition, the “Go Spike!” campaign aims to attract half a million people to experience Volleyball for the first time by 2013. This is an exciting time to be part of volleyball in England.”