The Worldwide Swimming Federation (Fédération Internationale De Natation, or FINA), the physique for water sports activities whose mission is to assist everybody on the planet be taught to swim, has modified its identify to World Aquatics.
Husain Al-Musallam joined as president in the summertime of 2021 with the agenda to drive change throughout all elements of FINA together with its sporting calendar, governance construction and business operations. Final December, he additionally introduced the intention to rebrand the group to be extra consultant of its sport.
“As we glance to the longer term to make sure that we’re each partaking our current followers but in addition tapping into an enormous viewers of latent followers, sports activities followers, Olympic followers and aquatics members, we wanted to provide you with a brand new visible identification, identify and model structure that resonated with a a lot wider international viewers,” defined James Moy, the group’s advertising director. “It’s attempting to shake up the model structure a little bit bit.”
The group’s new look
The identify selection of World Aquatics echoes different sporting our bodies resembling World Athletics and World Rugby by reflecting its international standing. U.S. advertising agency The Martin Group led the rebrand.
It’s the antithesis of what FINA was. It’s actually a way more placing and visually spectacular emblem—very trendy and really dynamic.
James Moy, advertising director of World Aquatics
“It’s necessary that the buyer is aware of who you’re as a company,” stated Moy, who says the earlier identify failed to speak what the group does. He hopes this rebrand will final for no less than “the following couple of a long time.”
The round form of the brand has been designed to convey the worldwide nature of the group with the predominant coloration of blue used to mirror water. It additionally options 5 rows to characterize every continent with the lengthy bars resembling swimming lanes and every white dot representing its six disciplines: swimming, diving, excessive diving, inventive swimming, water polo and open water swimming.
“It’s the antithesis of what FINA was. It’s actually a way more placing and visually spectacular emblem—very trendy and really dynamic,” stated Moy.
There are 209 variants of the brand new icon to mirror the nationwide federations, adopting the colours of every of their flags. All federations will likely be given permission to include their nation’s model of the icon into their very own branding and communications as they select.
Brief animated movies have additionally been developed to convey the which means of the brand and the imaginative and prescient of the group at forthcoming occasions world wide.
Moy reveals that the group’s business companions resembling Nikon, Omega, Yakult and Hismatitsu have been concerned within the rebrand course of and in a position to supply their very own views alongside the best way.
“We actually didn’t wish to simply inform them that we have been doing this after the actual fact,” he stated, including, “We needed them to be a part of this course of and be capable of no less than say what they want to see thought of.”
A brand new tagline
One other change will see a departure from the group’s motto “Water is our world” which Moy admits induced “a lot debate” internally however that there was a necessity to finish the method with one other change there to “United by Water.” This goals to speak the brand new imaginative and prescient which is “a world united by water for well being, life and sport.”
“We wish to be placing on elite aquatics occasions on an annual foundation and we wish to be educating the world to swim and in addition we wish to be the architects for serving to creating nations in their very own pathways and their very own improvement packages. This can be a little bit extra all-encompassing in its method,” Moy stated.
The rebrand will roll out over the approaching months and can ladder as much as a extra complete model marketing campaign in Q1 of 2023 forward of the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan in July.
The federation’s portfolio of digital property has additionally been refreshed, together with the adoption of @worldaquatics on social platforms and the launch of a brand new web site along with the World Aquatics Championships subsequent summer season as nicely.
The brand new model and advertising property will likely be made seen on the affiliation’s occasions beginning in February alongside amplification of the “We Are World Aquatics” messaging.
Different parts embrace merchandizing alternatives, the design of latest pictograms to characterize every of the six sporting disciplines and a two-minute hero video that may run throughout a launch occasion happening at Melbourne digital gallery The Lume, the place athletes and companions will collect forward of the sixteenth FINA World Swimming Championships this month.
“We would like this rebranding as a federation to be one thing that the athletes really feel a part of. They every focus an unimaginable a part of their careers and their time and their lives on collaborating in our occasions. Definitely, we wish this to be understood, and that they really feel as if it resonates with them that we’re inclusive to their wants, their improvement and their objectives,” Moy added.
Al-Musallam has supplied his personal seal of approval.
“Our new imaginative and prescient and mission additionally mirror how World Aquatics and our members have already begun increasing our work past competitors and swimming as a life talent, to incorporate sustainability, environmental advocacy and wellbeing,” he stated. “Our new model and visible identification can even allow us to attach with new audiences and encourage new generations of athletes throughout our disciplines to be united by water, safely, pretty and sustainably.”
