Sounders FC today proudly announced that the club has been awarded top honors from both the 2024 Hashtag Sports Awards and 2024 Telly Awards, two prestigious global marketing and video competitions.
“We are thrilled and extremely proud to have been both selected as Best Brand Launch by the Hashtag Sports Awards and to have won Telly Award Gold,” said Sounders FC Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer Taylor Graham. “While our work is driven above all by a desire to steward this proud club for its players, fans and community, it is always humbling and rewarding to have that work commended by industry peers. These awards acknowledge the richness of the Sounders’ history while recognizing the people responsible for creating the campaigns and creative assets that tell our stories. I’d like to sincerely thank and congratulate all of the Sounders staff who have worked so tirelessly on this and other work, as well as Column, a local agency whose assistance has been invaluable.”
Developed to set the benchmark for effective fan and consumer engagement, the Hashtag Sports Awards celebrate top trends and proven fan engagement practices to inspire global sports media, marketing and entertainment industries to raise the bar of the fan experience. Sounders FC secured victory for Best Launch Campaign in the 2024 Hashtag Sports Awards, honored for the club’s landmark brand evolution campaign.
Announced in September 2023, Sounders FC’s brand evolution revealed a new crest and associated marks along a refreshed color palette ahead of the club’s 50th anniversary season, being celebrated this year. The new visual identity came about following dedicated development and comprehensive engagement with fans, supporters, community members and other club stakeholders and was designed to truly embrace the rich history and heritage of the Sounders name, more fully encompassing and celebrating every era of the club while positioning it to move boldly into the future. The evolution featured work by Column, a Seattle-based design consultancy specializing in brand identity. Column worked with Sounders FC to design and build several of the brand launch pieces, along with Name & Number, a U.S.-based soccer agency.
The Rave Green were selected as having produced the most engaging and effective launch of a brand, product or service, beating out a field of eight other finalists that included: the Seattle Seahawks (Throwback Launch), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Creamsicle Launch), Denver Broncos (Alternate Helmet Launch), Jung von Matt SPORTS (adidas Matchball for Euro 2024), the NBA (In-Season Tournament Courts Launch), Jacksonville Jaguars (LAFAVRE + Jaguars Collaboration), Colorado Rapids (New Day Kit Launch), and GilletteLabs, Razer, Ketchum (GilletteLabs x Razer).
Sounders FC Director of Digital & Content Abby English attended the Sixth Annual Hashtag Sports Awards show on Thursday, June 6 to accept the honor on behalf of Sounders FC.
The club’s video department received separate accolades in the 2024 Telly Awards. Founded in 1979, the Telly Awards has expanded through the years to now celebrate the best work being done in the video medium across the globe, recognizing work that has been created on the behalf of a client, for a specific brand and / or company or self-directed as a creative endeavor.
For its The Anniversary Kit launch video, Sounders FC was named Gold Winner: Sports – Branded Content, Silver Winner: Videography & Cinematography – Branded Content and Silver Winner: Social Media – Branded Content. These 2024 Telly Awards are specifically credited to Sounders FC Director of Video Production Bryan Babcock (Executive Producer), Sounders FC Video Producer Connor Pickett (Director / Lead Producer / Editor) and Sounders FC Associate Video Producer Dominic Duarte (Producer / Set Design).
These awards highlight the continuing effort on all levels of Sounders FC to deliver exceptional and innovative work supporting the club and creating an organization of which fans and the Seattle community can be proud. For further information regarding this announcement, please contact a member of Sounders FC Communications.
