Brand strategy
Workshop facilitation
Visual identity
Design toolkit and guidelines
Marketing
Website design and build.
Copywriting
Transforming a historic club
The challenge
Cheam Tennis Club is a historic club founded over 100 years ago and located in the heart of Surrey, within one of the most high density areas for tennis clubs in the UK. Membership was wanning, marketing messages were inconsistent and a disconnected visual identity meant they had no clear positioning in a crowded market. Previous attempts to update their branding had stalled in an organisation with financial pressures and many stakeholders. Understandably, they were concerned about being left behind but also about upsetting loyal, long-standing members who may be reluctant to change.
Our work
With a new group of dedicated volunteers, and a commitment to drive the club forward, the time was right to review all aspects of the club’s brand. Inclusivity, in all its forms, was our guiding mantra, so we began by immersing ourselves in the world of Cheam Tennis. We engaged with members as well as management, audited their existing brand materials and carried out extensive research on the competitive landscape of clubs and tennis facilities in the area. With our research done, we brought all parties together to agree on their new strategy – the offer and personality that we wanted to convey, alongside the all-important target audience. By focusing on what members wanted from a club, we could guide discussions to gain consensus on the club’s new direction, agree on a plan for long-term success, and define the practical and emotional requirements for their new branding.
Our work
Our design work championed inclusivity through our choice of fonts and colour, through welcoming photography and the warm and friendly language we developed for their marketing. We created a library of design assets and templates for their marketing materials that could, together, effectively tell their story. Lastly, we completely redesigned their website to give them a seamless user experience for existing and prospective members.
The outcome
Our expertise in tennis was vital in helping Cheam articulate the brand values that will sit at the very heart of the club for many years to come. By working collaboratively throughout, the new visual identity has been readily adopted and implemented. The club has already seen a 25% increase in social events sign up and members of all ages have expressed their delight with the visual impact and ease of use of their new website. They have set themselves apart from nearby competition with confidence and clarity and are now well set for their next successful chapter.
Lewis and his team were amazing to work with, they led us through the process of creating a unique brand all the way to having a slick and modern website. Lewis's communication skills made the whole process of getting to a finished website very easy to navigate. He gave us different design ideas that were all first class but with different flavours allowing us to pick and choose what we liked, to create something that we and he felt reflected the tennis club. The team was very accomodating and adaptable when we had a new idea that we wanted to try and incorporate, which is a real bonus. Overall a pleasure to work with Lewis and his team and would highly recommend Wood & Ham as a design agency.