Q: Who or what are you?
Opta is a leading supplier of B2B sports information, including scores, results, league tables, statistics and detailed performance analysis. This data is used by newspapers, Internet publishers, betting companies, broadcasters and professional sports clubs.
Q: What’s the problem?


The old Opta branding was tired and old fashioned. This did not help to position Opta as a company of high technical capability within the world of sports media.
Opta has grown substantially over the last decade, both organically and through acquisitions in Europe. This had led to a confused brand hierarchy and a mix of different logotypes, straplines and mission statements. The brand needed to be simplified to reflect the core values of the company and then rolled out as one consistent identity across Europe. This would not only help to strengthen our position within the marketplace but also enable the Opta staff across Europe to feel part of a bigger whole.
Q: What’s the ‘big idea’?
Key objectives were to strengthen the Opta brand internally and externally, reinforce the core values of the business and help to position the company appropriately for the future. It needed to work across European territories and make sense in all the sectors in which the company operates.
‘Opta. We live sport’ was chosen as the new company strapline. It was felt that this message reinforced the passion within the company to be at the heart of the sports industry, driving the development of coverage and performance analysis through constant innovation.
Q: When and how?
The project was commissioned in July 2009, with the new identity launched in December 2009, this was backed up by a new website, www.optasports.com in February 2010.
Internal and external stakeholders across Europe were questioned about the perceptions of the old Opta branding. An external brand consultant was also brought in to review the brand position across Europe and how it fitted within the competitive landscape. Findings from this research were used in the early part of the rebranding process.
Q: Did it work?
Results will be measured on an ongoing basis but initial feedback has indicated that the new branding has been well received.
Opta’s rebrand hoped to reinforce the company’s position as an authority on sports statistics and data. One of the key indicators of success in the rebrand is an increase in incidences of customers displaying the Opta logo alongside the statistical content they publish. Since the rebrand there has been a good uptake in usage of the Opta logo by some of the biggest names in sports media, including Sky Sports, The Times and William Hill.
The new branding work has enabled Opta to implement an ongoing process of communication with both internal and external stakeholders. This includes channels such as enewsletters, direct mail, industry events, social media and a renewed focus on PR.