Spurs have ‘remastered’ their ‘brand identity’ – but what does that actually mean?
By Jay Harris
International breaks are usually quiet periods for Premier Leagueclubs, but Monday turned out to be a busy day at Tottenham Hotspur.
In the morning, the Football Association confirmed Rodrigo Bentancur had been banned for seven matches and fined £100,000in relation to comments he made about club captain Son Heung-minwhile the former was in his native Uruguay over the summer.
A couple of hours later, Tottenham announced they had “remastered” their brand identity. For anyone left confused by that phrase, don’t worry, you were not alone.
The Athletichas broken down what this ‘remastering’ means, how fans have reacted to it, and the potential impact it will have.
Introducing the Club’s remastered brand identity, embracing our rich history and unmistakable heritage.
The cockerel reimagined. An icon reborn. Our font remastered.
To Dare Is To Do. 🤍
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) November 18, 2024
What does “remastering brand identity” actually mean?
The phrase “remastered brand identity” sounds like it belongs in a press release from a 1990s boy band reuniting after 25 years. What it actually means is Tottenham have slightly tweaked their badge.
The last time they did this was in 2006 when they removed their Latin motto ‘Audere est Facere’ — ‘To dare is to do’ — and the THFC monogram, a stylised version of their initials (Tottenham Hotspur Football Club). The motif of a cockerel standing on a football became more prominent, while streaks of yellow and red were taken away to ensure the only colours in the badge were white and navy blue.
A copper statue of the cockerel was first placed on top of the West Stand at the old White Hart Lane ahead of the 1909-10 First Division season, while the bird has featured on Spurs’ shirts since the 1921 FA Cup final when they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers1-0.
Now, the club have also removed the words “Tottenham Hotspur” from the bottom of the badge, which gives it a more simplistic look (this is how it has generally appeared on the shirt itself since 2006 anyway) and they have also created a silhouette version. One of the main reasons teams across different sports have done this over the past few years — Aston Villaand Juventusare two recent examples in football — is to make it easier to produce their logo digitally on replica shirts and other various pieces of merchandise.
After ditching the THFC monogram nearly two decades ago, Spurs have now decided to bring it back with a refreshed look. It has not been added to the new badge but will be reused — you can probably imagine waking up on your birthday or a future Christmas and being gifted a coffee mug with those initials across it.
Spurs have produced new colourways, patterns and hallmarks, too, which can be linked to key features of the club’s heritage in their section of north London, including the Seven Sisters trees and Bruce Castle. Just in case you were interested, Paxton Purple, Hot Terracotta and Elm Green are the names of some of the new colourways that will be introduced. The final change has been to turn the club’s font into a “dynamic, variable family of fonts”. The text has been expanded slightly and there is now a lowercase version.
So, perhaps unsurprisingly, it turns out that a “brand remaster” is a fancy way of saying they have made some minor cosmetic changes.
Ange Postecoglou’s side face Manchester Cityat the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, so the first real opportunity for fans to see these sparkly new updates around the stadium will be when Spurs host Roma in the Europa Leaguenext Thursday.
How have they done this?
Tottenham’s new badge is the result of a nine-month partnership with Studio Nomad, which describes itself as a “strategy and brand experience company”. According to its website, Studio Nomad’s other clients include Sky Sports, the Premier League, the Women’s Super League, Nike, Rolls-Royce and Disney+.
Tottenham say they spoke to over 300 current and former players, coaches, key members of staff and fan groups during the process. It seems like their plan was to determine what the most iconic images of the club’s history are and then give them a facelift.
Why have they done this?
As previously mentioned, lots of clubs have modernised their badges so they are easier to replicate on shirts and merchandise. On their website, the club mention a “particular focus on clarity in digital environments”.
The last time Spurs updated their badge, almost two decades ago, Facebook had been around for only a couple of years and Twitter (now called X) had just been created, while other popular social media platforms including Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram hadn’t been launched at all. Part of Tottenham’s strategy is clearly about having a badge that can be reinterpreted to suit different online platforms.
“This is a club that drives, that forges, that innovates, that is relentless both on and off the pitch,” says executive director Donna-Maria Cullen. “This phenomenal exercise has been about bringing it all together, defining it, taking it to the next level.
“The reimagined brand embraces all the excitement, all the innovation and shows that we’re going to be brave, we’re going to be exciting and we’re going to have some fun – this is where we should be with our brand right now. We have taken aspects from our history, our emblems, our imagery and we’ve taken them forward — we’ve now got something that we have built from listening to everyone at the club, on and off the pitch, and the consistent message coming through. This is something that everyone can unite behind.”
What has been the reaction from the fanbase?
The primary responses on social media appeared to be a mix of indifference and confusion.
But Martin Buhagiar, chair of the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust (THST), tells The Athletic: “We have two board members from the THST who sit on the club’s fan advisory board (FAB) and they were spoken to about this a few months ago, but with no indication of when it was going to be released.”
“I liked the shield badge from the 1980s and 1990s, so when I heard they were changing it, I hoped they would go back to that design. I was fairly underwhelmed (by what the club came up with). I watched the video and was expecting something grand, but they just removed the words Tottenham Hotspur. I’m not that concerned by it because I know what the badge means and I know all about our identity. My issue is why now and what’s the purpose of it? We are all surprised by the timing. This seems like something you do in the summer, before the season starts along with a new kit.
“I remember the (former) Hull Cityowner (the late Assem Allam) a few years ago wanted to call them Hull Tigers. The board at Spurs know about the traditions of this club and they would never seek to change the name, the colours or the badge drastically, so we are grateful for that."
Spurs have ‘remastered’ their ‘brand identity’ – but what does that actually mean?
By Jay Harris
International breaks are usually quiet periods for Premier Leagueclubs, but Monday turned out to be a busy day at Tottenham Hotspur.
In the morning, the Football Association confirmed Rodrigo Bentancur had been banned for seven matches and fined £100,000in relation to comments he made about club captain Son Heung-minwhile the former was in his native Uruguay over the summer.
A couple of hours later, Tottenham announced they had “remastered” their brand identity. For anyone left confused by that phrase, don’t worry, you were not alone.
The Athletichas broken down what this ‘remastering’ means, how fans have reacted to it, and the potential impact it will have.
Introducing the Club’s remastered brand identity, embracing our rich history and unmistakable heritage.
The cockerel reimagined. An icon reborn. Our font remastered.
To Dare Is To Do. 🤍
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) November 18, 2024
What does “remastering brand identity” actually mean?
The phrase “remastered brand identity” sounds like it belongs in a press release from a 1990s boy band reuniting after 25 years. What it actually means is Tottenham have slightly tweaked their badge.
The last time they did this was in 2006 when they removed their Latin motto ‘Audere est Facere’ — ‘To dare is to do’ — and the THFC monogram, a stylised version of their initials (Tottenham Hotspur Football Club). The motif of a cockerel standing on a football became more prominent, while streaks of yellow and red were taken away to ensure the only colours in the badge were white and navy blue.
A copper statue of the cockerel was first placed on top of the West Stand at the old White Hart Lane ahead of the 1909-10 First Division season, while the bird has featured on Spurs’ shirts since the 1921 FA Cup final when they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers1-0.
Now, the club have also removed the words “Tottenham Hotspur” from the bottom of the badge, which gives it a more simplistic look (this is how it has generally appeared on the shirt itself since 2006 anyway) and they have also created a silhouette version. One of the main reasons teams across different sports have done this over the past few years — Aston Villaand Juventusare two recent examples in football — is to make it easier to produce their logo digitally on replica shirts and other various pieces of merchandise.
After ditching the THFC monogram nearly two decades ago, Spurs have now decided to bring it back with a refreshed look. It has not been added to the new badge but will be reused — you can probably imagine waking up on your birthday or a future Christmas and being gifted a coffee mug with those initials across it.
Spurs have produced new colourways, patterns and hallmarks, too, which can be linked to key features of the club’s heritage in their section of north London, including the Seven Sisters trees and Bruce Castle. Just in case you were interested, Paxton Purple, Hot Terracotta and Elm Green are the names of some of the new colourways that will be introduced. The final change has been to turn the club’s font into a “dynamic, variable family of fonts”. The text has been expanded slightly and there is now a lowercase version.
So, perhaps unsurprisingly, it turns out that a “brand remaster” is a fancy way of saying they have made some minor cosmetic changes.
Ange Postecoglou’s side face Manchester Cityat the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, so the first real opportunity for fans to see these sparkly new updates around the stadium will be when Spurs host Roma in the Europa Leaguenext Thursday.
How have they done this?
Tottenham’s new badge is the result of a nine-month partnership with Studio Nomad, which describes itself as a “strategy and brand experience company”. According to its website, Studio Nomad’s other clients include Sky Sports, the Premier League, the Women’s Super League, Nike, Rolls-Royce and Disney+.
Tottenham say they spoke to over 300 current and former players, coaches, key members of staff and fan groups during the process. It seems like their plan was to determine what the most iconic images of the club’s history are and then give them a facelift.
Why have they done this?
As previously mentioned, lots of clubs have modernised their badges so they are easier to replicate on shirts and merchandise. On their website, the club mention a “particular focus on clarity in digital environments”.
The last time Spurs updated their badge, almost two decades ago, Facebook had been around for only a couple of years and Twitter (now called X) had just been created, while other popular social media platforms including Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram hadn’t been launched at all. Part of Tottenham’s strategy is clearly about having a badge that can be reinterpreted to suit different online platforms.
“This is a club that drives, that forges, that innovates, that is relentless both on and off the pitch,” says executive director Donna-Maria Cullen. “This phenomenal exercise has been about bringing it all together, defining it, taking it to the next level.
“The reimagined brand embraces all the excitement, all the innovation and shows that we’re going to be brave, we’re going to be exciting and we’re going to have some fun – this is where we should be with our brand right now. We have taken aspects from our history, our emblems, our imagery and we’ve taken them forward — we’ve now got something that we have built from listening to everyone at the club, on and off the pitch, and the consistent message coming through. This is something that everyone can unite behind.”
What has been the reaction from the fanbase?
The primary responses on social media appeared to be a mix of indifference and confusion.
But Martin Buhagiar, chair of the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust (THST), tells The Athletic: “We have two board members from the THST who sit on the club’s fan advisory board (FAB) and they were spoken to about this a few months ago, but with no indication of when it was going to be released.”
“I liked the shield badge from the 1980s and 1990s, so when I heard they were changing it, I hoped they would go back to that design. I was fairly underwhelmed (by what the club came up with). I watched the video and was expecting something grand, but they just removed the words Tottenham Hotspur. I’m not that concerned by it because I know what the badge means and I know all about our identity. My issue is why now and what’s the purpose of it? We are all surprised by the timing. This seems like something you do in the summer, before the season starts along with a new kit.
“I remember the (former) Hull Cityowner (the late Assem Allam) a few years ago wanted to call them Hull Tigers. The board at Spurs know about the traditions of this club and they would never seek to change the name, the colours or the badge drastically, so we are grateful for that."
