
McDavid
CLIENTSporting Goods
INDUSTRYBranding, Advertising, Packaging, Print Collateral, Photo Art Direction, Merchandising
TACTICSAfter 30+ years of sporting goods innovation and technological instigation, McDavid was primed to grow. They had all the product know-how and smarts, but their look had grown stale and was failing to attract their core audience of teenage athletes. Fortunately, McDavid's new marketing VP approached us for a refreshed identity and a quest for brand re-inspiration. This updated identity would then spread across every aspect of McDavid’s operation, from product to in-store merchandising, new package designs for 100s of products to advertising, social media, trade show displays to literally anything else brand-able. We blew-up, dismantled and deconstructed everything about McDavid, except the core principles and passions that will always serve them and their customers. We made McDavid 30 Years New.
OBJECTIVEGREAT SPORTING GOODS
McDavid is built on a super-strong foundation of product development. Their Hex apparel and sleeves were the first on the scene with pads built from modular cells, for the ultimate flexibility and protection. Their SportMed® braces have created a whole industry of supportive products to aid in mending and preventing damage to joints. Great lengths have been taken to show off these features through meaningful product photography. We have worked closely with the client, our photographers and retoucher to streamline the process and get the best looking images in the biz.

What we appreciate most about working with SDCo is their collaborative style. Extremely responsive to tough problems and evolving direction, we can always count on them to step up and help us get to the finish line. After working with Sussner on a fairly vast rebranding effort, McDavid has become a sports brand rapidly on the rise. We've seen growth by double digits, while raising industry standards for merchandising and marketing.
Mary Horwath, Vice President Global Marketing
“ ”WORLD-CLASS MESSAGING
A huge part of McDavid’s success is due to its consumer-focused voice. All materials are infused with brand “mojo” and relatable people-speak. The tagline “First On. Last Off.” shows off how McDavid has been written with layers of meaning—in this case, combining inspirational ‘tenacity’ and a tie to the product’s usage (as the first thing an athlete puts on and the last thing they take off).

PACKAGING SYSTEM
For such a vast array of products, we knew the packaging solution would need to be a flexible system. We worked closely with the client to organize, develop and improve the entire McDavid packaging family for all 200+ products. Unique typographic marks and illustrated icons were created for all technologies. A rating system was established to help customers differentiate between all the various SportMed® braces. Special illustrated embellishments were added to some of the product photos to help explain the technologies. Eye-catching and tactile printing techniques were employed to elevate the most valuable items. All while remaining cohesive and impressive.
