Scout Hat
The Challenge
Create a brand for a mobile app used to assess player abilities for youth sports teams. But this brand had to reflect a special set of values that are often missing from youth sports- a sense of fairness. Bottom line, the brand needed to embody a sense of fun and fairness longed for by any kids, parents and coaches involved in youth baseball, soccer and hockey. A great challenge for any brand experience agency!
Our Solution
Gate worked with Scout Hat to research and design the brand from the ground up. It started with naming and brand messaging, it included logo design and digital development, and it led to business card design, creation of sales materials, website design and the development of a mobile app.
Gate took these branded-communication tools on the road for early tryouts at three different PA leagues. Gate had coaches and parents use the app, then we aggregated all the data to score each players performance. Gate generated custom reports from the data and shared them with coaches and families alike. Everyone loved the experience. Coaches felt less burdened and parents felt more focused and valued. Most importantly, the kids had a great time knowing they were being assessed more fairly.
Building A Brand and Changing The Game in Youth Sports
Gate used a brand-design approach to the project which started with user insights. Assessment tools in youth sports have traditionally been biased toward better players detracting from a feeling of fairness and fun. So, the logo, and the overall brand, needed to combat that feeling. Gate developed a creative strategy focused on a fun, inclusive experience for kids, coaches and even league managers. Based on this strategy, Gate used a heavy, rounded typeface to denote the appropriate feel. Then Gate designed a cap and created a tagline which empowered kids to participate as equals. The Scout Hat brand made youth sports assessment fun again. And for the Gate team, the only thing more fun that helping a valued client succeed, is doing our part for kids in youth sports.