Brand Challenge

Academy Sports + Outdoors came to us looking to merge two of their backyard Private Label brands, in an effort to create the presence of one stronger brand that would feel modern, fun and new. They also wanted a new brand name that would feel like Academy but that wouldn’t have direct references to Academy. Their Backyard Games had a lot of mandatory on-pack information, so we needed to find a creative way to educate consumers and still feel fun.

Our Approach

As their backyard games took up nearly an entire aisle, we saw an opportunity to create a cohesive, appealing and easily navigable brand experience, for games including Volleyball, Badminton, Bean Bag Toss — and varying skill levels. We arrived at a wholesome and fun photography style that would creatively show the different parts of the game in a welcoming outdoor environment, and a hierarchy that made it easy to find a particular game, skill level and related information. The name “AGame” was inspired by the A from Academy while also speaking to the fun and energy people bring to sports. We spun the name off into a fun tagline that sums up the consumer experience: “AGame. Bring It.”