Excel Esports CEO Wouter Sleijffers reveals need for new logo and focus Excel EsportsExcel Esports are a leading British esports organization and they\u2019ve just changed their logo for the second time in as many years, returning to an instantly-recognizable \u201cXL\u201d marking. [jwplayer WGyDcVLl] In January 2019 they were accepted as one of 10 long-term teams in the LEC \u2014 the premier European League of Legends competition \u2014 and they unveiled a new logo to signal a new era. November 12\u2019s brand refresh is another indication that Excel Esports are entering their next iteration, though this is to be expected for eagle-eyed fans considering the org have overhauled their leadership team over the past year. From narrowly missing out on making the playoffs in the LEC 2020 Summer Split to signing 16-year-old Fortnite star Jaden \u2018Wolfiez\u2019 Ashman, they have grown from strength to strength since the updated brand was introduced but they\u2019re not slowing down just yet. Now, Excel Esports are looking to become more than the \u201cover-used \u2018lifestyle\u2019 esports brand\u201d by \u201ccarving a new unique path\u201d that prioritizes performance and purpose. Steering by a new slogan of \u2018The Power of Better,\u2019 the organization have a clear vision for the next few years. Dexerto spoke with Wouter Sleijffers, who leads the org having previously served as the CEO of their domestic rival Fnatic, to get direct insight into their new logo and ethos, why the change was necessary, and what fans can expect moving forward. A fresh lick of paint Branding is a huge component of any company, providing a recognizable face for fans, and setting a precedent with potential clients as to what they can expect. Changing a visual identity isn\u2019t a light decision for this reason, especially as a misstep could severely damage the future perception of your brand. With this being Excel\u2019s second logo change in under two years, they must have deemed it necessary for the future of the organization. \u201cI\u2019m not worried to the point where it gives me sleepless nights but I\u2019m very conscious that it\u2019s a second update,\u201d Sleijffers told Dexerto. \u201cEsports and gaming are moving fast, it\u2019s inherent that we need to adapt and evolve. I don\u2019t like the word \u2018esports\u2019 because people make too many references to sports, with Liverpool having a 120-year-old logo and such. That\u2019s not us. \u201cWe care what our fans think about it but we also need to believe in what we\u2019re doing and our future. The worst thing that can happen is people don\u2019t give a sh*t and no doubt people will have varying opinions about this \u2014 I don\u2019t expect everyone to immediately love it, but it\u2019s our job to show what it\u2019s all about.\u201d It\u2019s imperative for the team to show that they\u2019re not changing entirely, instead just upgrading to give fans, potential supporters, and sponsors a better experience moving forward. The former Fnatic CEO is aware of this, but they drilled down to the very essence of what Excel as a brand is, what it stands for, and where he wants it to go. \u201cWe\u2019re still Excel, though we did even get to the point where we discussed whether we should still call ourselves Excel because of the spreadsheet program,\u201d he explained. \u201cWe concluded that we are Excel, this is our world, and we\u2019re confident about who we are. Excel has had an amazing journey in such a short time but we can\u2019t be complacent, we still have a long way to go to reach the top. This is the first step in the next part of our journey.\u201d Why is now the perfect time for Excel to change their logo again? Since changing things up in January 2019, they\u2019ve shown growth in League of Legends, made a landmark signing with Wolfiez, expanded their team, and secured an impressive partner in British telecommunications company BT. The operation behind Excel has changed dramatically in a short space of time and there\u2019s further growth on the horizon. \u201cWe started talking about the next evolution of the Excel brand at the time of [myself and CCO Robin McCammon joining in January 2020],\u201d he said. \u201cWe dug in deep, I didn\u2019t want to be just like Fnatic or FaZe Clan for example, we built it from the ground up and continued to build upon what drove Kieran and Joel [Holmes-Darby] to start Excel in the first place.\u201d The power of better Driven by a clear mantra, Excel now have a clear purpose driving them \u2014 if they didn\u2019t before. Nailing down exactly what drives those that are behind the company, as well are the players that represent them on the big stages, will theoretically help them fulfill their \u201ccommitment to improve\u201d and use their \u201cplatform to have a positive impact on the wider gaming and esports community,\u201d as per a press release. So, what exactly does the CEO believe will change from here on out? \u201cWe want to do really well in the games we compete in, that\u2019s not a change in ambition but there\u2019s a lot of work going into that,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are great ideas but this is about execution, it\u2019s about how well we\u2019re going to do what we want to do for ourselves, our fans, and our talent. We\u2019re letting go of what we see in sports \u2014 maybe at one stage esports took too many people from other industries \u2014 because this is gaming, there\u2019s a lot of things I\u2019ve questioned. \u201cThis is also about coming up with a more interesting commercial proposition for brand partners like BT. Identity isn\u2019t about updating the logo, it\u2019s about building our DNA and that\u2019s what we\u2019re doing here.\u201d British brand with international ambitions Co-founder and current chief gaming officer Kieran Holmes-Darby said around the time of their last rebrand that they have always been considered, and embraced, as the \u201cplucky British underdog.\u201d Is this still the case? With esports being a digital-first industry, that\u2019s an irrefutable opportunity to access every major region on a global scale and keeping ambitions local could also be interpreted as intentionally limiting your potential fan base. \u201cWe\u2019ve gone from a UK esports organization to a British competitive gaming culture brand, there\u2019s a ton of difference here,\u201d explained Sleijffers. \u201cThe United Kingdom is a country with geographical borders, I see Britain from a cultural perspective. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing that Excel is based in Britain because it\u2019s Britain is one of those few countries that has a big export industry from a cultural perspective. We don\u2019t know what that is for gaming because nobody has done it yet. We want to define that culture, I can\u2019t tell you what it\u2019ll look like but it\u2019s going to happen. Hopefully, we can be the voice of the British gaming and esports community across borders.\u201d Considering this refresh is considered the first step in a whole bevy of advancements for Excel, fans can expect plenty more announcements to come from the organization in the coming weeks and months. For now, the jury is out as to whether existing fans will embrace the new identity of their favorite team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Excel Esports CEO Wouter Sleijffers reveals need for new logo and focus Excel EsportsExcel Esports are a leading British esports organization and they\u2019ve just changed their logo for the second time in as many years, returning to an instantly-recognizable \u201cXL\u201d marking. [jwplayer WGyDcVLl] In January 2019 they were accepted as one of 10 long-term teams […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21852\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}