A Global PowerHouse Suffers An Identity Crisis

We all knew The Bad Boy Club from the 80’s Action Sports Industry. Times have changed and so did this brand. The license for BAD BOY in the U.S. had been dormant for some time, while BAD BOY International licensing had been quite alive and well and prospering with growth. Disparate visual systems and messages amid the different product markets from Licensee to Licensee and Nation to Nation had created a fragmented Brand Identity. Focus Groups confirmed 13THFLOOR’s observations that the old mark was, as one MMA competitor put it, “out of touch” and skewing too young for this market.

MMA Research: Already being familiar with the MMA industry, 13THFLOOR assembled a complete hit list of competitors, their marks and their positioning within the marketplace. Meeting with BAD BOY, they reviewed the competitor’s strengths and weaknesses and discussed MMA trends which brought the goals for the BAD BOY brand mark into the cross-hairs.

A New Identity Defined:
BAD BOY in the U.S. today is all about MMA (Mixed Martial Arts.) In 13THFLOOR’S discussions, they found that it was important to understand that BAD BOY was not jumping on an MMA trend, but was rather one of the genuinely credible MMA Brands with solidly established MMA roots back to Brazil and Japan. Working closely with BAD BOY, a positioning goal was clearly defined as wanting to stand out as a “Technical Brand” for athletes.

BAD BOY also asked 13THFLOOR to visually define two additional divisions of the brand with two distinctive Marks- BAD BOY PRO SERIES, and BAD BOY MMA. Each mark needed to stand alone, but clearly communicate BAD BOY, shown further down this page.

BAD BOY Brand Mark 
BAD BOY Global has a multitude of products in different markets that come in all shapes, sizes and forms. 13THFLOOR designed the brand mark with lockups that work in different applications and production techniques. This required the brand mark lockups to be designed with both functional and creative options.

BAD BOY PRO SERIES Brand Mark
The BAD BOY PRO SERIES is a high quality line of equipment and apparel for training and competing in MMA. Designing a mark appropriate to this specialized and technical gear was needed in addition to the main BAD BOY brand mark.  After discussions between 13THFLOOR and BAD BOY the design goal for PRO SERIES was to be easily identified as BAD BOY, but set apart enough to be recognized as a high-end and exclusively distributed line of MMA gear and apparel for the serious athlete.

BAD BOY MMA Brand Mark

• The BAD BOY MMA SERIES is a high quality line of products for training and non-competive uses. This highly technical gear  was to be sold at mass retail and sporting goods chains. The “MMA” callout in the logo clearly differentiates it from the PRO SERIES, ties in with the global MMA trend as well and lets the less knowledgable consumer understand its intended use.

BAD BOY Flag Icons

A Boost To Brand Equity
The credibility, roots and international involvement of BAD BOY in MMA were important aspects to identify and design into this mark. The flags of the U.S., Brazil and Japan in the mark remind the consumer that BAD BOY is a credible global MMA brand with roots in these nations of fighting origins. By stylizing the flags into more abstract interpretations, these icons of flags became an ownable part of the BAD BOY Brand and what would have been just a typical ubiquitous flag is now recognizable only to BAD BOY. These icons were designed to be used in an assortment of configurations and have become integral elements used throughout all branding of equipment, apparel and accessories design along with collateral, packaging and all levels of promotion.

Brand Mark Guidelines
The need for consistency and clarity across different geographies and Licensees for the use of the new mark was to be managed with a well crafted set of guidelines. Both internal and external users at BAD BOY Global now had the tools to successfully apply the mark with global unity.

• PROJECT CREDITS:

Design Direction / Art Direction / Production – 13THFLOOR:                                            Dave Parmley + Eric Ruffing – See more of their work 13THFLOOR and Altpick.com.

Creative Direction – BAD BOY: Robin Offner, Alexandra Ponce De Leon, JT

Brand Consultant- THE BRAND FACTOR: Brad Horn
Ad Photography / Ad Design- Tyler Clinton