Local school systems heavily dominated the southwestern Michigan rocket football organizations. Youth attendance was at an all-time low for the area’s leagues, primarily due to parents not allowing their kids to participate with fear that they may endure a head injury. So, when a friend asked if I would be interested in developing a new brand for a flag football team with them, it sounded interesting.
After listening to his initial ideas and goals for the program, I felt a deeper connection to the project that stemmed from my passion for action sports, specifically BMX and snowboarding. Both are dangerous in their own right, but I was allowed to participate in them. To this day, I love these sports and can't imagine if my parents would not have allowed those activities in my life. I was all in.
Modern Day Knight’s brand purpose centered on value-based strategies with a core belief system of five pillars: Teamwork, Hard work, Attitude, Discipline, and Fundamentals. To build a legion of loyal brand advocates and set the stage for a successful launch, we leveraged these values as a higher level of prestige to the brand, developing tactics over action.
As an independent underdog, Modern Day Knight’s brand needed to stand out from its competitors (mainly the local schools), so our brand tone and visual brand language needed to pair well with our powerful brand purpose.
Modern Day Knights brand uses two logos as an identity. The more illustrative Knight logo acts as the primary logo, while the wordmark serves as a secondary visual representation.
Knight logo
The MDK Knight must always be surrounded by a clear zone, void of any additional graphics. No other symbols, text, or graphic elements are to be placed within the clear zone boundaries.
Wordmark
The MDK Knight must always be surrounded by a clear zone, void of any additional graphics. No other symbols, text, or graphic elements are to be placed within the clear zone boundaries.
Our first task was to stake out our territory. We established a brand Facebook page to build awareness, create a following, and keep an open communication line with parents on events. Next, we pushed out digital flyers as posts, which quickly spread. Lastly, we went old school and handed out brochures to local businesses.
What started as a logo design quickly led to a full brand language. The more I designed, the more I wanted to create for the kids. T-shirts led to hats, and hats led to water bottles. I worked towards two common goals: first, to make Modern Day Knights the hottest team on the field, and second, to create excitement for the kids that was bigger than the game.
The presence on the battlefield is apparent when the Knights arrive.
84,026 Miles Traveled
79,400 Grand Mere Dune Meters Climbed
33,428 Quarters Fundraised
4,440 Hours Practiced
92 Knights Served
85 MDK Games Played
70 Cars Washed
49 Practices
34 Earned Awards
31 National Flag Tournament Wins
27 Elite Knights
10 MDK League Champion Knights
9 Schools Represented
8 MDK Coaches
7 National Flag Tournament Top 4 Finishes
6 Football Programs Offered
5 MDK Summer Camp Featured Speakers
4 National Flag Tournament Championship Games
3 Best Knights Awarded
2 Elite Teams Competing in FFWCT Championship
1 Elite Team Competing NFL National Championship
1 MDK League Championship Team
1 Grateful Program for an Amazing 2020 Season
