The Washington Football Team announced a multi-year partnership with Vistaprint as the “official design partner” of the team while it undergoes its rebrand.
The “Washington Football Team” moniker was always going to be a placeholder as the franchise transitioned from the “Redskins” name to something more permanent. Rather than work behind the scenes and unveil a finished product, Washington says it will document the rebranding journey with Vistaprint at WashingtonJourney.com.
“This is an incredibly exciting milestone for one of the NFL’s most iconic teams,” Emily Whittaker, president of Vistaprint North America, said in a press release. “A brand that creates strong connections with its customers and fans is a foundational element of the identity and success of any organization, whether it be a local coffee shop or a professional sports franchise.”
In October, Vistaprint acquired the design and advertising agency 99designs, which then led to a partnership with the Boston Celtics as the franchise’s jersey sponsor and “exclusive marketing and design partner.”
This deal with the Washington Football Team also extends to small-business partners in the greater D.C. community. The team and Vistaprint will identify five small businesses in the area to feature on Vistaprint’s “99 Days of Design” initiative, and each will receive a rebrand from Vistaprint in addition to marketing materials and a $15,000 grant.
We know the power of a rebrand.
That’s why, along with our new official design partner @Vistaprint, we’ve chosen 5 DMV small businesses to receive a brand refresh and a $15K grant, as part of their #99DaysOfDesign program pic.twitter.com/2gZSJ05DdZ
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) June 25, 2021
Additionally, Vistaprint and Washington will showcase a small business during each home game, dubbing a business the “Vistaprint Small Business of the Game.”
The partnership with teams like Washington and Boston adds credibility to Vistaprint’s design capabilities the same way adding any well-known name or brand to a client roster does. But Vistaprint is leveraging these partnerships with strong geographic ties to then work with small businesses and show off what it can do for businesses, extending its own marketing reach.
This acquisition of 99designs opened the door for Vistaprint to expand its offering beyond just uploading a pre-made logo onto a T-shirt or mug. The company can now position itself as a full-service design agency, with the Washington Football Team’s rebrand serving as a high-profile proof-of-concept piece of sorts.
In October, after the acquisition was finalized, Vistaprint founder and CEO Robert Keane said that Vistaprint’s future was “helping small businesses.” While the Washington Football Team is anything but a small business, it gets a foot in the door with a lot of companies that are.
