SCOTTSDALE, AZ (May 2, 2024) – The Fiesta Bowl Board of Directors unanimously approved an organizational brand refresh after conducting a thoughtful and thorough six-month brand evaluation under the direction of Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Erik Moses.
The brand evaluation included the foundation's brand awareness, brand loyalty, brand associations, brand audiences, brand architecture, and brand equity in addition to the foundation's known mission, vision, audiences, visual identity, imagery, naming conventions and messaging in relation to market positioning, target audience perception and the competitive landscape. The holistic approach will provide a pathway to strengthen the foundation's identity and audiences' connection to the brand.
"For more than five years, we have been saying that we are, 'More Than Just a Game' to cement the wide scope of what we do, why we do it and who we do it for," stated Board Chair Judy Bernas. "While we are extremely proud that the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl is our flagship event, it is also vital to our growth that our foundation accurately and powerfully tell the incredible stories of all of our events, experiences and the remarkable work that our thousands of volunteers and staff do to support communities across Arizona."
"As we continue to innovate, we want to ensure that when you see our brand – be it associated with college football on New Year's Day, fall golf tournaments, celebrity-hosted events, youth sports initiatives or charitable endeavors – you know that you will experience top-notch events and unmatched hospitality while helping to provide valuable resources to Arizona communities," stated Executive Director and CEO Erik Moses. "We gained important insights from our brand evaluation that will assist our team to bolster our brand strategy, improve stakeholder and constituent engagement and experiences, and drive long-term growth."
The Fiesta Bowl enlisted the award-winning integrated brand marketing and communications firm, ANACHEL to conduct the brand evaluation. The review encompassed five strategic phases of quantitative and qualitative research: Anonymous Surveys, Data Curation and Market Research, Moderated Interviews, Messaging Review, and Event Brand Evaluation. The brand evaluation process highlighted robust and diverse participation from internal and external stakeholders and constituents who contributed unique perspectives and insights to enrich the analysis. They include but are not limited to select individuals from the Fiesta Bowl Board of Directors, senior leadership and staff, Yellow Jacket Committee members, NCAA conference leadership, athletics directors, coaches, media and Arizona residents.
The brand refresh will strategically align with the foundation's tradition, values and evolving goals in addition to ensuring consistency across all touchpoints. The refresh process will encompass logos, brand colors and typography, refined messaging and positioning and enhanced brand imagery.
The Foundation's goal is to have a soft launch of the brand refresh completed by the end of Q4 2024. An example of usage:
The Fiesta Sports Foundation is home to the premier College Football Playoff postseason thriller, the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, the unique Guaranteed Rate Bowl and multiple year-round live sports and entertainment events that fuel the foundation's mission to deliver positive economic impact and charitable resources to communities across the state of Arizona.
ABOUT THE FIESTA BOWL
Since 1971, the Fiesta Bowl is a world-class community organization that executes innovative experiences, drives economic growth and champions charitable causes, inspiring pride in all Arizonans during and outside of college football bowl season. As a nonprofit organization, it is driven by its vision for the importance of community outreach and service. Through the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Guaranteed Rate Bowl and its year-round events, such as the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade presented by Lerner & Rowe, corporate partnerships and numerous community events throughout the year, the organization provides charitable giving to enhance Arizona nonprofit organizations that serve communities through youth, sports and education.
