Cranking It Up
Introducing the National Cycling Center
Project Description
Cycling has become a big deal in Winston-Salem. In addition to an active cycling culture that now boasts thousands of active members, the city is now host to the internationally attended Winston-Salem Cycling Classic race, and will host the US National Championships in 2016 and 2017.
The time seemed right to take the next logical step: the establishment of the US National Cycling Center, a nationally-recognized facility created to identify and train up-and-coming talent in the sport, and serve as a local hub for supporting the continued growth of cycling in the community.
As an important new brand, the NCC needed everything: a well-articulated shared vision, the positioning strategy and expression for their brand, and a powerful way to tell their story to potential backers.
Project Details
Client The National Cycling Center
Date December 2015
Skills Branding, Digital Media
Manager Michelle Soyars
Our Role:
- Align key stakeholders and develop the vision/mission for the NCC
- Create the brand positioning strategy and logo for the brand
- Develop fundraising materials to encourage support
- Develop and launch the brand’s website, keeping an eye toward the asset the website would play once the center is operational.
The Challenge:
- Develop a simple and iconic brand identity
- Balance and organize the communication of different related entities – NCC, Winston-Salem Cycling Classic, Gears & Guitars Music Series, USA Cycling, US Olympics
- Develop and align the offering of the NCC to its different audiences (professional cyclists, developmental cyclists, community, local government officials, USA Cycling)
- Develop materials to support fundraising efforts
- Set the credibility of the future organization among prospective users
The Solution:
- We began with a simple immersion meeting with the NCC board to identify stakeholder expectations.
- From there, we developed a mission statement and the positioning for the brand.
- Vela helped the core team distill down and direct the services for the NCC to help create a story for the brand.
- Vela then created an ownable graphic look based on the positioning strategy, and brought that to life through the new brand’s fundraising materials and website.
The Outcome:
- A strong and respected image for the brand has been presented to the industry’s governing body, creating credibility and confidence.
- Prospective fundraisers have responded positively to the materials, and the capital campaign has gotten off to a start that has exceeded expectations.
