For decades, some of America’s most beloved sports teams played with imagery trading on outdated, offensive racial stereotypes. It wasn’t until very recently — with the public calling foul and sponsors pulling their support —  that some sports brands relented and rebranded. In this episode of A Change of Brand, we dive into the murky waters of controversial sports branding with designer and creative director Jon Contino.

To see the change of brand for yourself, visit achangeofbrand.com or follow us on Instagram @achangeofbrand.

Produced by Matchstic (matchstic.com / @matchstichouse), hosted by Blake Howard, (@blakehoward), co-hosted by Tracy Clark, edited by Gabe Kitzman, fact-checked by Jill Jeffries, co-written by Pamela Henman, and artwork by Rachel Jackson.

Everyone loves a comeback story, especially in sports. The US Open is the “big show” for tennis players and spectators alike, its brand is seemingly untouchable. In fact, its identity remained essentially unchanged since 1997. That is until the renowned Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv served up a new look in 2018. We sat down with partner and designer Sagi Haviv to get the play-by-play on a challenging but triumphant change of brand.

To see the change of brand for yourself, visit achangeofbrand.com or follow us on Instagram @achangeofbrand.

Produced by Matchstic (matchstic.com / @matchstichouse), hosted by Blake Howard, (@blakehoward), co-hosted by Tracy Clark, edited by Gabe Kitzman, fact-checked by Jill Jeffries, co-written by Pamela Henman, and artwork by Rachel Jackson.

With business booming and its national footprint expanding like wildfire, CVS seemingly had it all. But the pharmacy giant wanted to make a more meaningful impact on the future of health, from removing all tobacco products from its shelves to solidifying its name (switching from CVS Caremark to CVS Health). In this episode, Siegel+Gale CEO Howard Belk explains how his agency helped CVS unify four service brands under one foundational identity, without losing its heart for health and people.

To see the change of brand for yourself, visit achangeofbrand.com or follow us on Instagram @achangeofbrand.

Produced by Matchstic (matchstic.com / @matchstichouse), hosted by Blake Howard, (@blakehoward), co-hosted by Tracy Clark, edited by Gabe Kitzman, fact-checked by Jill Jeffries, co-written by Pamela Henman, and artwork by Rachel Jackson.

The Olympic Games have come to represent the best of the best — incomparable athletics, state-of-the-art facilities, host cities that pull out all the stops, and of course, outstanding branding. In 2012 London hosted the Summer Games and wanted to capture the world’s attention with an identity that would turn the notion of the modern games on its head. Sairah Ashman, global CEO at creative consultancy Wolff Olins shares the firm’s design thinking for the brand that would go on to be one of the most talked-about, unforgettably modern Olympic Games emblems.

To see the change of brand for yourself, visit achangeofbrand.com or follow us on Instagram @achangeofbrand.

Produced by Matchstic (matchstic.com / @matchstichouse), hosted by Blake Howard, (@blakehoward), co-hosted by Tracy Clark, edited by Gabe Kitzman, fact-checked by Jill Jeffries, co-written by Pamela Henman, and artwork by Rachel Jackson.

Although its identity wasn’t on the rocks, iconic bourbon brand Maker’s Mark needed to better connect with the Millennial crowd. We spoke with Creative Director Jared Britton at branding firm Turner Duckworth, who worked directly with the distillery founder’s grandson to refresh a brand that’s been untouched since 1958.

To see the change of brand for yourself, visit achangeofbrand.com or follow us on Instagram @achangeofbrand.

Produced by Matchstic (matchstic.com / @matchstichouse), hosted by Blake Howard, (@blakehoward), co-hosted by Tracy Clark, edited by Gabe Kitzman, fact-checked by Jill Jeffries, co-written by Pamela Henman, and artwork by Rachel Jackson.

From a logo emulating its sleek black cars to an abstract representation of “bits and atoms,” Uber’s brand identity has taken a few detours over the years. We catch up with Amanda Munilla, strategy lead at Wolff Olins, to get the inside track on how the global branding agency created the latest and most enduring rebrand for the rideshare company.

To see the change of brand for yourself, visit achangeofbrand.com or follow us on Instagram @achangeofbrand.

Produced by Matchstic (matchstic.com / @matchstichouse), hosted by Blake Howard, (@blakehoward), co-hosted by Tracy Clark, edited by Gabe Kitzman, fact-checked by Jill Jeffries, co-written by Pamela Henman, and artwork by Rachel Jackson. 

The launch tactics of a rebrand can make or break the success of the change. In this bonus episode, host Blake Howard and Brand New’s Armin Vit have a casual nerding-out as they each share their best and worst rebrand launch examples. 

Brands covered in this episode: 

• London 2012 Olympics by Wolf Ollins  
• Block 2022 done in-house  
• MailChimp 2017 by Collins
• Kia 2021 by Blackspace  
• Iceland Football Team 2020 by Brandenberg
• AirBNB 2014 by DesignStudio 
• Staples 2019  
• Comcast 2012  
• City of Florence 2022 by Tatum Design
• Toyoko 2020 Olympics  
• Gap 2010 by Laird and Partners 
• Best Buy 2018 done inhouse  

For more on Armin Vit visit: https://www.underconsideration.com/ or https://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/

To see the changes of brand for yourself, visit achangeofbrand.com or follow us on Instagram @achangeofbrand.

Produced by Matchstic (matchstic.com / @matchstichouse), hosted by Blake Howard, (@blakehoward), edited by Gabe Kitzman , and artwork by Rachel Jackson. 

In the final episode of Season 2, we learn how Sweetgreen, a brand raising the bar on fast to-go and good to eat food, found a way to keep it real with a reimagined brand identity. COLLINS Creative Director - now turned Sweetgreen Executive Creative Director, Tom Wilder - and COLLINS Senior Designer, Sanuk Kim, give us the recipe for what led to one of the best new identities to debut in 2021.

To see the change of brand for yourself, visit achangeofbrand.com or follow us on Instagram @achangeofbrand.

Produced by Matchstic (matchstic.com / @matchstichouse), hosted by Blake Howard, (@blakehoward), co-hosted by Tracy Clark, edited by Matt Owen , fact-checked by Jill Jeffries, co-written by Pamela Henman, and artwork by Rachel Jackson. 

Carnegie Hall, the renowned 130-year-old music venue and pride of New York City, conducted a brand refresh in early 2020. All was going seemingly well until the pandemic stole the spotlight and shuttered the Hall’s doors for nearly 12 months. Jennifer Kinon, co-founder of Champions Design, gives us a look behind the curtain on their resilient and thoughtful process.

To see the change of brand for yourself, visit achangeofbrand.com or follow us on Instagram @achangeofbrand.

Produced by Matchstic (matchstic.com / @matchstichouse), hosted by Blake Howard, (@blakehoward), co-hosted by Tracy Clark, edited by Matt Owen , fact-checked by Jill Jefferies, co-written by Pamela Henman, and artwork by Rachel Jackson. 

Just like traveling, the creative process can be an adventure where not every journey is the same. Tripadvisor's 2020 refresh is no exception, and Matt van Leeuwen of Mother Design serves as our tour guide for this Change of Brand that veered off the beaten path. Matt led the work, which had plenty of twists and turns but ultimately resulted in a delightful update to TripAdvisor's dated, 20-year-old brand.

To see the change of brand for yourself, visit achangeofbrand.com or follow us on Instagram @achangeofbrand.

Credits: Produced by Matchstic (matchstic.com / @matchstichouse), hosted by Blake Howard, (@blakehoward), co-hosted by Tracy Clark, edited by Matt Owen , fact-checked by Jill Jefferies, co-written by Pamela Henman, and artwork by Maliq Faulks and Rachel Jackson.