Game On!

Sports are big business in this country and a great way to make a difference in the social and physical development of children. When the private equity firm, Potomac Investment Partners, had the chance to acquire a growing youth recreational tennis company – FirstPlay Sports – they swung at the opportunity.

FirstPlay Sports is the largest provider of tennis camps in the country and has been developing it’s national reputation since 1997. The company also has expanded into other youth athletics such as basketball, golf, and soccer.

Joe Tedesco, recalls his initial meetings with Jen Sterling and her creative team. “We had just acquired this company with a ten year history and we now needed to revitalize the brand and we needed it done fast.

The creative team was given the freedom to develop a concept. They knew that any logo produced would have to appeal to players and parents. The logo would also need or work on everything from shirts, water bottles, name tags, wristbands, as well as traditional marketing materials, website, and even road signs.

Sterling’s team performed a competitive brand audit of the current material and similar sports organizations. They also researched trends to narrow down ideas and concepts that would appeal to the target audience. The final logo is an attractive and contemporary blue and white logo with a stylized star that works well in a primary color palette.

Once the logo was established, Sterling’s team went to work on the new website. The final site has eye-catching images of actual kids at play. The site has a lot of functionality and is easy to navigate.

“The results have been excellent,” says Tedesco. “We look both professional and reputable and it has helped us increase our accounts. We have expanded our services to 15 new accounts in two states.”

FirstPlay has plans to further its East Coast reach and regularly relies on Sterling to expand the brand and work to create new marketing.