Chatham-Kent’s new Intercounty Baseball League team is getting some high profile help as it works to rebrand.
In January, the expansion team announced it would be called the Blackbirds, but dropped the name just days later, saying the term was considered racially insensitive.
Now, marketing firm The Hive, which was instrumental in bringing the 1934 Chatham Coloured All Stars to the video game MLB The Show 22, has offered to help the local team find a new identity.
“When I heard Chatham-Kent was getting a new team, my first call was to our friends at The Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society” said Dustin Rideout, The Hive Chief Strategy Officer in a news release. “Their partnership was an important part of our work with MLB, so having them on board again was an important consideration in taking on this project.”
The agency will be responsible for coming up with a name, visual identity and uniform designs for the new team, one it hopes to draw inspiration and homage from Chatham’s 1934 heroes and Chatham-Kent’s local baseball heritage.
The Hive and its creators have worked with other major league teams across North America, including the Toronto Raptors’ historic We The North rebrand and CCM’s most recent global efforts under the Hive’s co-ECD Sacha Ouimet’s watch.
“Although the scale of this team rebrand is smaller, the importance of following the same process we would with a global professional team remains the same,” said Ouimet. “A team is a representation of a community’s values, passions and perspectives. Getting it right with the proper consultation is key to creating something that last.”
“We were thrilled when The Hive reached out to offer their services for this project” said Chatham-Kent IBL team president Dom Dinelle. “We were all huge fans of the work they did with the All-Stars and to have a firm of their expertise want to help create our team brand is exciting. We see this as a great opportunity to both cement our baseball foundation here in Chatham-Kent, while honouring those who paved the way for us.”
