Planet Propaganda Brands City of Madison's First Pro Soccer Team

When the city of Madison, Wisconsin found out it was getting its own professional soccer team, they had two big jobs to do – name the team, and come up with a logo design and visual identity.  For the first task, the team owners took to online crowdsourcing where Madison soccer fans came together and decided on the name, 'Forward Madison', a quick favourite.

Next up – the branding.

Forward Madison FC’s team owners tapped Madison, WI-based agency, Planet Propaganda to come up with the logo design and visual identity. Planet Propaganda went against the grain of typical soccer team branding (fierce animals, crests and shields, etc.) to push an aesthetic that bridged sport and artistry in a modern way while also speaking directly to Madisonians - giving local fans a logo and design landscape they can feel a true attachment to.

Central to the design is Madison’s official city bird, the pink flamingo, made famous 40 years ago at the University of Wisconsin when 2 student government leaders took American artist Don Featherstone’s famed 1957 plastic pink flamingo on the first day of classes in 1979. Then, as a prank, they went ahead and placed more than 1000 pink flamingos on Bascom Hill. The pink plastic lawn flamingo has been a Madison icon ever since.

The logo also incorporates more subtle elements for the true Madisonian -- the sash representing Madison’s downtown Isthmus and bearing area code, 608, in Roman numerals; and the colour blue – representing both the colour of Madison’s flag and the surrounding lakes that influence everyday Madison living. It also features 11 rays at the top representing the 11 players on the field.

“The inspiration for this mark was Madison itself — the only place on earth quirky enough to designate the plastic pink flamingo as their city bird,” explains Kevin Longino, creative director at Planet Propaganda. “Our goal was to develop a visual identity with a story the Madison community could connect with and rally around, complete with a few subtle elements that only a proud Madisonian might recognise, like the 608 area code in Roman numerals and the diagonal sash representing the city’s downtown isthmus."

The reaction since the identity and logo reveal has been phenomenal. The team’s store has seen nonstop foot traffic and the first run of apparel and accessories featuring the identity sold out within the first week of the unveiling.