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Woolf Associates has quietly expanded its branding and identity business in the past several months by partnering with Neohatch, a company owned by Tom Duane, in a former life the founder of SME Design, the shop that handled nearly 100 makeovers for pro and college teams in the 1990s.
Woolf Branding is the result of the joint venture, and its current work includes:
· An identity and merchandise line for WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz, to be introduced at his bout with Roy Jones Jr. in Las Vegas on March 1.
· A branding and product-design makeover for Flipp Sports (flippsports.com), which offers an interesting line of flip books - that enduring pre-motion-pictures technology - that is producing more than 60 MLB- and MLBPA-licensed flip books featuring major leaguers "in action." Licensing deals with NASCAR (though not individual drivers yet) and the NHL are done; licensing deals for NBA and NFL players are in the works. Merchandise stores at several MLB stadiums will be stocking Flipp Sports products this season, Duane said. Woolf Associates is considering marketing a golf-instruction flip book with one of the PGA Tour players it represents, Duane said.
· An identity for the "Fenway Magic" fan-appreciation program for the Boston Red Sox.
· A joint Coca-Cola/Boston Red Sox sponsorship identity for Coca-Cola New England; it has done similar work for Coke and the New England Aquarium.
· All the identity work for the Lynn, Mass.-based North Shore Spirit, which is resuming play in the independent Northeast League after a three-year hiatus. The work included every visual element the team controls, from uniforms and logos to stadium signs, the team bus and the team mascot, Duane said. The team is owned by Nicholas Lopardo, former CEO of State Street Global Advisors.
Woolf Branding's short history sheds interesting historical light. Duane sold his stake in SME Design to a partner in 1998. It later became SME Power Branding when it was bought in 1999 by SFX in its mega-acquisition phase, then was shuttered. The Woolf joint venture is more down-to-earth - but Duane expects to do $1.5 million in billings in its first full calendar year, only $1 million less than SME Design was doing when it was acquired by SFX.
Even the flip book work has historical ironies: After SME Design, Duane founded Web-design firm Neokom, which did an nhl.com redesign, among other things. In contrast to streaming video and all its glitches, Flipp Sports' attractive products are charmingly low-tech.
Duane continues his joint venture relationship with Park Ridge, Ill.-based AmericanEagle.com, a Web-development company. Duane recently creative directed the redesign of stuartweitzman.com for the high-end shoe retailer.
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