1. CASE STUDY
Proprietary and Confidential.
Not for use or disclosure outside of Sketchworks except under written agreement.
2. SPORTSALITY
SKETCHWORKS CASE STUDY
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THE STORY
THE STORY.
ABOUT SPORTSALITY
Sportsality.com is website that gives sports fans a glimpse into the lives of their favorite
professional athletes, featuring exclusive photography, videos, and interviews.
THE PROJECT
While Sportsality may be a growing success now, when we were initially contacted to build the
brand, it was nothing more than a concept. The owner wanted to create a unique online Sports
magazine that would bring in high traffic and good profits.
With no prior data, statistics, or plan to guide us, we were presented with one of the greatest
challenges we’ve ever faced: to build a brand from the ground up. And that’s exactly what we did.
As a result of our efforts, one of the most successful websites in the Sports industry was born.
Here’s how we did it...
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SKETCHWORKS CASE STUDY
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BRANDING
CONCEPTUALIZING.
Before Sportsality existed, stakeholders needed to be sure that their business concept would be solid enough to survive the
marketplace. Using three core steps, we were able to identify how best to position the business for success.
ESTABLISH A COMPETITIVE EDGE
To definitively set Sportsality a part from all competitors, we
came up with multiple business models to position the new
company for success. We identified the pros and cons of our
ideas in addition to any risks and opportunities.
EVALUATE INDUSTRY & COMPETITION
First, we identified possible primary and secondary
competitors to get a good grasp of Sportsality’s potential in the
marketplace. Results showed that there were many small and
big name competitors, but all had similar business models and
mainly covered the same news and events. We had to make
Sportsality “different”.
DETERMINE LONG-TERM VIABILITY
Finally, we identified long-term goals that Sportsality
needed to achieve in order to stay above competition
and remain profitable.
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SKETCHWORKS CASE STUDY
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BRANDING
CHOOSING THE PERFECT NAME.
The company’s brand name wasn’t always “Sportsality”. In fact, in the beginning, they had no brand name at all. So we came
up with over 50 possible brand names for them to use. We also created the criteria below to ensure selection of a brand name
with the most potential.
MEMORABLE
UNIQUE
AVAILABLE
SIMPLE
RELEVANT
The name should be directly relevant
to the business. So when searched,
it can be easily found. Most people
should be able to easily identify what
the company is about based on the
name alone.
The more unique the name is, the less
likely to be confused with other similar-
sounding brand names.
Something significant enough for
first-timers to remember.
Easy to spell, read and pronounce.
Available as a domain name, as
a username on popular social
media and web sites, as a legal
trademark, etc.
Out of the many names we recommended, the company ultimately decided to go with “Sportsality”. Not only is it relevant to what the brand stood for, but it satisfied
all areas of our branding criteria above. Not to mention, it’s a pretty cool way to say “Sports” and “Reality” at the same time. :)
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SKETCHWORKS CASE STUDY
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BRANDING
LOGO DESIGN.
Keeping the company’s branding goals in mind, we came up with four logo variations that the
Sportsality team could choose from to represent their brand.
Being one of the more “obvious” choices, this logo
resembles the logo of a varsity or professional sports
team. The letters are strong and bold, accurately
depicting what a sports brand should be.
A “boxed” and “pixelated” logo that gives off a more
“computer-ized” look, making it futuristic and flexible
for the long-term.
In efforts to keep the brand more edgy and upbeat,
we came up with this rather curvy, but slightly boxy
style. The italicized and serif-hybrid characters make
it unique and appealing to the company’s target
audience.
We thought this look would fit a more modern-day
sports audience, which is exactly the type of crowd
Sportsality wanted to attract. Needless to say, this
logo was selected as the official Sportsality logo.
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SKETCHWORKS CASE STUDY
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BRANDING
BUSINESS CARDS.
It was time to cook up some marketing materials and business cards where on the menu. The design we created set the
foundation for all future marketing collateral.
STRONG AND DURABLE
The cards were printed on a thin, but
durable stock to for heavy handling.
SILKY SMOOTH
A spot gloss coat was used to
smooth it out and a matte-style
texture for the finish.
BOXED CORNERS
The cut-off corners bring a creative edge
to the business cards.
SLIMMER DESIGN
We also designed the card to be 3.5 by 2
inches for a slimmer, more modern look.
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SKETCHWORKS CASE STUDY
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WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
FLEXIBLE LAYOUT
We were able to code the website on
the latest technology with an “elastic”
layout. This enabled the website
to change according to the user’s
browser size.
SMART COLOR
We designed the website on a dark
metal background and used neutral
colors for all site elements, leaving the
colorization to the images and text on
the pages.
HOME PAGE BILLBOARDS
We designed the home page to include large, billboard-like image sizes
to look more like a magazine cover. This allowed featured images to be
shown prominently, making a much more compelling home page.
VIBRANT DESIGN.
It was important that we created a design that would be intuitive, appeal most to
Sportsality’s audience, and separate the brand from its competition.
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SKETCHWORKS CASE STUDY
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WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
ARCHITECTURE DESIGN.
SITE MAP & NAVIGATION
To better organize the scope of the website, we recommended the most
comprehensive and intuitive navigation design based on Sportsality’s goals.
WIREFRAMES
To give Sportsality a better visual of how the website would be
constructed, we created high-fidelity wireframes for each page to
show our recommendations of their layout and content placement.
0.0
Homepage
1.0
Sports
2.0
Philanthropy
3.0
Lifestyle
4.0
Photos
5.0
Videos
6.0
About Us
9.0
Careers
12.1
Privacy Policy
12.2
Terms Of Use
8.0
Contact Us
1.1
View A Sports
Article
2.1
View A
Philanthropy
Article
3.1
View A
Lifestyle Article
4.1
View A Photo
Gallery
5.1
View A Video
4.1.1
View A Photo
11.0
Search
7.0
From The
Editor
6.1
View An
Employee
7.1
View A From
The Editor
Article
10.0
Subscribe
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SKETCHWORKS CASE STUDY
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WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
ENHANCING USABILITY.
The website features powerful functionality that
makes it a lot easier for users to quickly find
what they’re looking for.
AUTO-ROTATING NEWS TICKER
An animated rotating news ticker that
transitions automatically through the
websites latest content.
SITE-WIDE SEARCH
The website features a robust search tool
so that users can find articles, images,
and video content quickly and easily.
PROMINENT NAVIGATION
The navigation items are one of the first things users
see and changes depending on the user’s interaction.
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SKETCHWORKS CASE STUDY
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WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
VIDEO PLAYER.
Unlike many of the video components today, we were able to
develop a custom video player for the Sportsality website that uses
the most advanced HTML and Flash technology. This makes it
compatible on all screens and browsers. Users could also control
playback of the videos including fast-forwarding, rewinding and
going full-screen. As an additional feature, the player can detect
your internet connection speed and display video according to your
internet connection speed so you won’t experience stopping or
skipping in the video.
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SKETCHWORKS CASE STUDY
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WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
GOIN’ MOBILE.
Sure, the website works great on a desktop computer but there are many readers who prefer to read Sportsality’s
content while “on the go”. Using the latest technology, we developed a mobile version of the website for all portable
devices (which generally have smaller screens and slightly slower internet connection speeds). This meant removing
unnecessary elements and code, creating a less cumbersome layout, and faster-loading pages so readers can
perform tasks more quickly.
Once the mobile site was launched, Sportsality’s readership boosted by nearly 74%.
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SKETCHWORKS CASE STUDY
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REVENUE GENERATION
REACHING A NEW LEVEL OF PROFITABILITY.
To ensure long-term profits, we identified four areas in which the Sportsality website would make
revenue for its shareholders and investors.
Chart above displays projected data derived from preliminary Market Research.
29%
41%
7%
22%
VIDEO / COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING
Advertising sales for commercial spots in
videos published on the website
SPONSORSHIPS
Offering prominent brand positioning for
businesses and corporations
SERVICE REVENUE
Services that accomodate athletes as a
“premium” feature on the website
BANNER ADVERTISING
Sales from prominent ad spots across
the website.
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SKETCHWORKS CASE STUDY
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REVENUE GENERATION
ADVERTISING.
We incorporated prominent, but unobtrusive advertising
spots throughout the website for Sportsality to sell to
capitalize on its revenue.
SIDEBAR ADS
Two large ad spaces available
for advertisers who more
visibility.
TEXT ADS
Lower cost spots for
advertisers who prefer to offer
text-only ads.
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SKETCHWORKS CASE STUDY
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REVENUE GENERATION
ADVERTISING MEDIA KIT.
To give advertisers a better insight on their value added when advertising on Sportsality.com, we developed
an Advertising Media Kit in both hard-copy and interactive PDF formats. The kit includes market data, visit
counts, and a ton of useful information on Sportsality’s demographic, allowing advertisers to make a more
informed decision about purchasing.
