PREM Rugby - New Look, New Legacy: Brand Potential Powers Gallagher PREM’s Evolution
A New Era in Rugby
The journey to Gallagher PREM began with a radical rethink of what rugby could be. Through in-depth strategy and research, the opportunity was clear: amplify the visceral truth of rugby—its physicality, its drama, and its spirit of community.
The ambition was bold: to double the league’s weekly reach from 1.9 million to 3.8million viewers by reigniting the passion of loyal rugby fans and captivating new, casual sports fans seeking high-octane entertainment.
This transformation need is far more than a new name or visual identity. It is an ecosystem of experience design—shaping how matches look, sound, and feel in stadiums, across broadcast, social media, and through the stories of the players themselves.
A ferocious game. A spectacle of rugby
Gallagher PREM is rugby reimagined: the most intense, relentless, and electrifying rugby competition. Every match is unpredictable, where every second counts and momentum can shift in an instant. This is rugby as theatre: fast-paced, full-contact, and utterly dramatic. Players push boundaries, heroes rise and rivalries ignite. The league’s sustained drama is built on moments that change everything—last-second tries, impossible comebacks, and clashes that become legend. Gallagher PREM is rugby designed to keep fans perched on the edge of their seats.
A Name That Speaks Like the Fans
The new name, Gallagher PREM, emerged from deep consultation with players and stakeholders—including England’s George Furbank and Bath’s Beno Obano. The brief was clear: the name had to sound like something fans would actually say, and it needed to “unashamedly celebrate intensity, physicality, grit, and extreme athleticism.” The result is a name that’s punchy, modern, and instantly ownable—setting the tone for everything that follows.
A Word Mark That Lives on the Edge
At the heart of the new identity is a word mark that’s more than just a logo—it’s a visual metaphor for the game itself. Built from the bold, sporting typeface Druk Wide, the word mark’s manipulated italics literally lean ‘on the edge,’ slanting forward to evoke momentum and the relentless drive of the sport. The collision of the P and R in the mark is a deliberate nod to the high-impact, unpredictable nature of rugby.
Crucially, the logo unites PREM and Gallagher for the first time. The Gallagher globe, cleverly reimagined as a rugby ball in the counter of the R, creates a subtle but powerful link between the league and its sponsor—moving away from the old model of separate identities and into a new era of partnership.
Designing for Ferocity, Flexibility, and Fandom
The creative system is built around the pure energy and adrenaline of rugby. We drew inspiration from on-field action heat maps, using their dynamic forms to visualize intensity and movement. This approach allowed us to blend Gallagher Blue with PREM’s Ferocious Orange, dialing up or down the presence of each depending on the context and title sponsorinvolvement—ensuring both brand and partner always have room to shine.
Team-coloured patterns are a key feature, giving every club a unique visual signature and bringing their stories to the forefront. These patterns aren’t just decorative—they’re woven into every asset, from digital to physical, helping to champion player and team narratives and drive deeper fandom.
A 16:9 grid underpins the entire system, providing structure and consistency across all touch points. Whether it’s imagery, pattern placement, typography, or even pitch markings, this grid ensures every piece of communication feels part of a unified whole.
Capturing the Game’s Unpredictable Energy
Motion design is rooted in the digital heat map concept. Pixelated, distorted transitions echo the game’s unpredictability and speed, shifting between different states—ambient to alarm—to mirror the emotional journey of both player and fan. This approach brings the brand to life in broadcast, social, and in-stadium experiences, always keeping the energy high and the audience engaged.
Raw, Aspirational, and In-the-Action
We knew that traditional rugby photography wasn’t cutting it—it felt too safe, too distant from the raw reality of the sport. So we commissioned Will Palmer to get up close and personal, capturing the sweat, the hits, and the emotion in a way that feels both aspirational and authentic. The result: imagery that puts fans right in the thick of the action, making every moment feel bigger, bolder, and more real than ever before.
Gallagher PREM is more than a rebrand—it’s rugby reimagined for a new era. With a bold new identity, a focus on drama and unpredictability, and a commitment to welcoming all sports lovers, Gallagher PREM sets a new standard for what rugby can be: the most entertaining, relentless, and electrifying competition in the sport.
