The situation was not good back in 2014 for the Milwaukee Bucks. The franchise had the worst record of the regular season with a mere 15 wins, the lowest average audience in games, it was considered the least valuable franchise by Forbes and one thing was certain, a change needed to take place.
At the end of the season, the team was sold for $ 550 million to entrepreneurs Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry who said:
"We are lifelong basketball fans and are committed to the success of The Bucks and the team's identity with the city of Milwaukee. It is our vision that this franchise will be looked up to locally and nationally as a result of its success on the court, for the quality of its organization and the loyalty of its fan base. Having each of us build competitive teams in the business world, we will apply the same intensity and determination as owners of the Milwaukee Bucks. We are as passionate and energized as the Bucks fans in bringing a NBA championship to Milwaukee."
The following season, after undergoing a player’s overhaul and hiring former player Jason Kidd as headcoach, the team qualified for the playoffs in 6th place with a record of 41-41, sales went up 25% over last season, the number of sponsors grew and an agreement was signed in which the city would pay half of the funding for the team's new arena.
It was the beginning of a new era and the moment could not be more opportune to change its brand, The Buch officially triggered the process of rebranding. But that doesn't mean just changing their visual identity, a well-done process is thought out over the long term and goes through all the elements that resignify the world's franchise perception.
The project needed to remind fans of a champion team, which left a legacy of great history and identification with the city where players like Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar went through in the 70s, presenting the ambition to build a brand that connects with new generations and really wishes to “own the future”, which can be inferred by the campaign slogan.
The franchise's new visual identity was led and designed by designers Justin Kay, Christopher Isenberg and Kimou Meyer. At first, the color palette was updated by removing the red color and adding the cream color that represents the bricks of the 19th century buildings of the city and blue in honor of the great lakes and rivers that are in "Cream City", Milwaukee.
The primary logo has not undergone a radical change, but it has become much more modern and aggressive. While the mascots of other teams are predators, the deer, in turn, is considered a prey, so it needed to be represented with more grandeur. According to the Bucks, the new brand "is just looking to the future, it is an imposing figure determined and focused on the path ahead".
The creative process went through 2 weeks of total immersion to arrive at the first draft with larger horns forming the contours of a basketball and an "M" below the head representing the city of Milwaukee.
A secondary logo has also been created, which serves as a badge of honor and tertiary, formed by the design of the state of Wisconsin, a new fountain, the floor of the court and all the uniforms have also been redisegned along with the communication of the franchise.
In addition to an identity that conveyed the vision and values that the Milwaukee team wanted to pass on to the next era, a new multipurpose arena with modern architecture, capacity for 17,500 people and cutting edge technology increased the fans' sense of hope and motivated even more the players and the entire league now began looking at the Wisconsin franchise in a different way.
Inaugurated back in 2018, the new Bucks' house is located in a 120,000-square meter complex in the city center, offering fans, tourists and locals a range of possibilities such as restaurants, team stores, breweries and an event space which functions seasonally and during games. It was a new milestone in Milwaukee's history and, above all, for a brand that has been redesigning the fan experience, ensuring an entertainment hub and the franchise's permanence for many generations to come. Including the Bucks games, the arena hosts more than 200 events a year such as major music shows, family shows, NCAA games, hockey, boxing, to name just a few.
The change in visual identity, the direction of the team and the construction of a new arena have been very important points in the rebranding process that proved to the city the seriousness and ambition that this project has set for itself. But the most important factor was still on the court, can you imagine if, after all the brand reconstruction work, the team had the same quality of play as the 2014 season? It would be truly a disaster.
The team began rebuilding after the sale of the franchise in 2014 betting on players like Khris Middleton, the newly drafted Jabari Parker, Giannis Antetokounmpo and some other draft picks.
During the first year the team takes a leap in production and qualifies for the playoffs, but loses to the Chicago Bulls in the first round, in 2016 they do not qualify for the postseason, but sign a 5-year contract with the Greek Giannis.
The Bucks accumulated more eliminations in the first round of playoffs in the following 2 seasons. They reformulate the squad with some changes of players, and then the coach Mike Budenholzer is hired and in 2019 they reach the mark of 60 victories, reach the end of the conference with a much more qualified players, the MVP and the best coach of that year.
In the current season, the team has for the second year in a row the best record in regular season and is considered by many to be the main candidate for the title, as it had been promised back in 2014 by the then buyers at the early stages of the rebranding process.
The reconstruction process conceived off the court and shown by the players within it has built one of the strongest brands in NBA and Milwaukee history in recent years. From 2014 to here:
- The fans occupancy rate in games increased by approximately 25%;
- The winning record went from 30th to 1st place;
- Development of one of the greatest international players of all time;
- The franchise managed to reconnect with the city, generating a 29% increase in fan interest from 2015 to 2016, according to Nielsen;
- It tripled its market value, according to Forbes, from $ 405 million to $ 1.58 billion in 2020;
- It increased its annual revenues, according to Forbes, from $ 109 million to $ 283 million today.
The project was a success and nothing better than the Larry O'Brien Trophy this season to reaffirm that statement.
Certainly the future shall be prosperous in Milwaukee!
