there are dream clients and then there are pinch-us clients. the wnba’s connecticut sun is most definitely among the latter for this women’s sports loving agency.

here comes the sun.

the opportunity to refresh the wnba’s connecticut sun brand for their 20th year anniversary has turned out to be everything we hoped it would—and much, much more. the team is comprised of wildly talented, socially-active, down-to-earth elite athletes. an inspiration on and off the court. and we created a look and feel that reflects their fire. after adapting their logo to celebrate their 20th year, we developed a modern, dynamic, in-your-face design that brings the brand’s fire to the digital landscape. new messaging turned up the team’s volume and kicked off with a new tagline that speaks to their integrity and trajectory: RISE.

when all is said and done, the connecticut sun are a shining example of why we love what we do.

this is one time the watsons went to the barre and came out better for it. yes, it was a cool day at school when we were named agency of record for this amazing brand that celebrated bad-ass women — long before it was a thing.

when a luxury fitness brand needed a re-do, the watsons went to the barre.

the watsons were asked to rebrand physique 57, a boutique barre-based fitness company, with studios in new york city, the hamptons, beverly hills, bangkok, and dubai. their best-in-class instructors teach a unique blend of barre-based exercises with intervals of cardio, strength training, stretching, and recovery. while the service offering was being widely and enthusiastically embraced, the brand look and voice needed to better reflect its strengths.

we began with a full re-design, complete with a brand identity toolkit. for the logo, we updated the fonts and color palette to a more contemporary look. and while we maintained the blue logo font, we softened it to make it more upscale, changing the existing black to grey to meet the same objective.  to give the logo a more ‘of-the-moment’ editorial feel, we introduced a modern san serif front, sweet sans, and juxtaposed it with a serif called didot.

fitness meets fashion in a beautiful brand campaign.

the watsons then developed an integrated ad campaign that showcased the fierceness that embodied the instructors — and clients — of this unique urban brand.

partnering with photographer ty mecham, we shot portraits of physique 57’s long-term, passionate (a.k.a. ‘addicted’) clients, among them, fashion designer norma kamali. to show the full spectrum of the brand experience, we partnered with photographer leslie barbaro and shot classes in action. 

the new look was clean, elegant, and urban, reflecting the energy and attitude of the city itself. with a voice as empowering as the brand experience, we created an aspirational, representation of the powerful women at the helm — and heart — of physique 57. 

upping the ante — downtown.

when the watsons were later asked to brand physique 57’s new studio in new york’s financial district (fidi), we took the opportunity to create a next-generation campaign refresh that put a spotlight on the brand’s greatest differentiator, its extraordinary instructors, while bringing physique 57’s mantra into the studio, on its walls, and on its merchandise.

we partnered with photographer, josé marquez, directing two shoots. the first, a highly-stylized, fashion-inspired approach, revealed how these women live the brand’s promise on every level. the second, which featured the instructors at work, was shot reportage style in the visually stunning baryshnikov arts center. the campaign consisted of print, out of home, digital, social, internal signage, and a new web site.

ads will be made. logos will be designed. names will be dropped. fun will be had. that’s what it is to partner with madison square garden entertainment (msge), the people who own the city’s coolest stages — where everyone goes to see the city’s hottest shows. 

logos a go go.

to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the legendary radio city christmas spectacular, we created a new logo design and accompanying collateral. the following year, we were faced with a christmas conundrum. how do we leverage the enormous success of last season’s 75th logo while setting the tone for the next 75 years? the answer: showcase the best of both. by drawing from the iconic elements of the venue; the towering vertical marquees, the glowing neon, the soaring wooden soldier, and the proscenium that frames the great stage, we infused the magical feeling of a child’s first visit, while retaining the perspective of the 75th celebration. it’s a logo befitting the most spectacular holiday brand of them all.

the watsons were also honored to design venue logos and create brand standards for chicago theatre, beacon theatre, wamu theater, wang theatre, westminster dog show, and their charitable foundation, garden of dreams.

every show’s an event.

we’ve created advertising for concerts, television specials, theatrical shows, and speakers, including, but not limited to the tony awards at radio city music hall, elton john’s 60th birthday concert at madison square garden, and the concert featuring paul simon with surprise guest, art garfunkel, at the newly restored beacon theatre. concerts for madonna, u2, and p!nk. shows like the wizard of oz and cirque de soleil. and speakers like bill maher vs. ann coulter — and president barack obama (we miss you...) to name a very few.

all the while, the watsons developed image advertising and holiday cards for the venues; and building and backstage tour collateral. and when billboard magazine named madison square garden and radio city music hall the #1 venue of the decade (in their respective size categories), we made sure it was known — and celebrated — the world over.

some dream clients come your way magically. like when one of our founding partners wrote a love letter to her favorite sports team — adding a few thoughts about their recruiting and marketing. days later, we were invited to present against a field of sports marketing firms. and just like that, the watsons were agency of record for the wnba’s new york liberty.

give us liberty.

out of the gate, we created a campaign that reflected not just the liberty team, but the experience. yes, fundamentally, they’re about hoops. but they’re also a high-energy entertainment experience — wrapped in music, dancing, community — and some very special world-class athletes who play, not for the paycheck, but for the love of the game. that’s what we call, raising the game.

from tickets to transit to tv — and lots of digital in between — our branding spoke to the overall kickass-ness of the women who put the liberty — and the wnba — on the map. we also celebrated the amazingly diverse fans who unfailingly come to see them. unrivaled nyc entertainment, a sense of belonging, basketball in its purest form – all at the greatest sports arena in the world. yep, that’s liberty for all.

ten years old and growing like a weed.

when the wnba and liberty launched in 1997, a lot of people said they wouldn’t last. so when they reached their tenth anniversary, we decided to remind those people just how wrong they were. using subway car posters and billboards, we took to the streets and tunnels of new york to celebrate this happy milestone.

basketball shorts.

if you’ve been to new york, you know that hailing a cab can be a frustrating, and often times cutthroat, experience. luckily, we had a good samaritan like the new york liberty’s kia vaughn on our side. this and other mini videos were all part of our social media series: bball shorts. 

sass, swag, and signage.

we went wall-to-wall with a wild postering campaign that appeared all over the city. and, to celebrate the liberty’s much beloved fans, we harnessed the power of facebook and twitter for favorite pics, which we used in a mural inside madison square garden’s mall. we also designed t-shirts, including one that declared, “so not a cheerleader”. how well did it resonate with fans? let‘s just say, they‘re all sold out. 

new york city football club is one of the latest additions to the MLS circuit. as a part of the city football group, they bring footbol to the peerless fans of new york city. our job was to introduce the team to a city with divided loyalties. so, to ensure we resonated with all points of view, we created a digital, mobile, and social strategy that leveraged the emotional and experiential touch points in our messaging. we created two campaigns that promoted both season and single game tickets running over 3 months. we saw more than 143% return on investment—incredible numbers for high consideration purchases.