Creating a global sports brand with purpose

Invictus Games

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#### In Brief

Invictus Games is an international sports event organised in partnership with the Ministry of Defence and HRH The Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry. It uses the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women. Our brief was to create a brand to reflect the Games’ core values, attract competitors and engage audiences around the world.

We worked in close collaboration and consultation with the Royal Foundation board and its Chairman, Sir Keith Mills, a former Deputy Chairman of London 2012, and the Chairman of the charitable sport for development Sported Foundation. Later on, throughout the programme, our role was to support the launch of the inaugural Invictus Games, working with its operations team and its CEO, Dominic Reid, OBE, who was responsible for the operational delivery of the Games.

#### WHAT WE DID

Through an on-going consultation with the Invictus Games’ Patron, HRH The Duke of Sussex, who was enormously personally invested in the creation of the brand, we co-created the Invictus Games’ brand that became an empowering rallying cry for people everywhere. 
We drew on the timeless poem that inspired the name of the Games, ‘Invictus’ by William Ernest Henley. Henley himself was an amputee whose long battle with illness inspired the powerful message of the poem. The last two lines of the poem fully convey his battle cry in the face of the adversity he had experienced:

*I am the master of my fate,*  
*I am the captain of my soul.*

Inspired by the Latin meaning of Invictus – ‘unconquered’ - we positioned the brand around this unerring belief in the human spirit, turning the Games into a platform for our wounded warriors to compete, not just against one another, but against themselves – to prove ‘I AM’.
The “I AM” identity captured the spirit of the games. This powerful message was translated across the entire brand experience, from the venue, event collateral and website, to PR initiatives, sponsorships and the winner’s medals. It reinforced a belief in the power of human spirit to overcome extreme situations and difficulties.

At the first ever Invictus Games in 2014, more than 400 competitors from 13 nations competed at four iconic London venues. In 2016, it was agreed that the Games would become an annual event, with cities around the world vying for the chance to host. And in 2017, more than 550 competitors from 17 nations gathered in Toronto to compete. Sydney followed in 2018, and the fifth Games hosted in 2022, post pandemic, in The Hague, Netherlands, bringing together 500 competitors from 20 nations to compete in a series of adaptive sports.

The Invictus Games has truly established itself as a global sports platform, attracting more venues, host countries and new sports each year, and inspiring participants, volunteers and audiences alike. It embodies the fighting spirit of wounded, injured and sick service personnel and personifies what these tenacious men and women can achieve.

The Invictus Games is about much more than just sport – it continues to capture hearts, challenges minds and changes lives.

> "We launched with a fully worked-up brand identity which resulted in an outstanding level of PR and a very positive public response to the brand. There is no doubt that the team’s ability to reflect the core character of the games – that sense of the WIS community overcoming adversity, of being accepted for who they are, of being proud, unconquerable beings – had a huge resonance with all stakeholders and with the general public."
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> *– Ed Janvrin, Project Director, Invictus Games*

#### Awards

BT Sport Industry Awards  
*Winner*

Red Dot Awards   
*2 Winner*

Brand Impact Awards   
*2 Winner*

WPPED Cream Awards   
*2 Highly Commended*

Design Week Awards   
*2 Winner*

Drum Design Awards   
*Commended*


CREATING A SPORTS BRAND THAT INSPIRES A GLOBAL COMMUNITY

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Creating a brand for Invictus Games, a global sports brand that supports wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, both serving and veterans.


Superunion | Invictus Games

Superunion is now Design Bridge and Partners. Redefining what design is and what design can do for brands, businesses, people and the planet. We are a revolutionary design partnership.

Design Bridge is now Design Bridge and Partners. Redefining what design is and what design can do for brands, businesses, people and the planet. We are a revolutionary design partnership.

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Invictus Games

Creating a global sports brand with purpose