Perth Wildcats
Rebranding a new era
An inside-out brand, culture and commercial reset
What began as a rebrand brief quickly revealed something bigger.
The Perth Wildcats were entering a new era. New ownership. New leadership. New ambition. But like many legacy brands, the external identity no longer matched the direction of the business or the expectations of a modern, digital-first sporting audience.
Hum was brought in to help evolve the brand. What followed was a full inside-out transformation, spanning culture, strategy, identity, campaign, and ongoing marketing leadership.
But first, let's lift the energy with the rebrand launch video to see part of the transformation.
The challenge
On the surface, the challenge looked visual.
The Wildcats’ logo was over 20 years old. It struggled in modern digital environments, lacked flexibility across media, and limited the club’s ability to evolve creatively and commercially.
But underneath that sat a deeper issue.
The club was stepping into a new chapter and needed to unite fans, players, staff, partners, and the broader WA community behind a clear ambition. A new logo alone would not do that.
The real challenge was to align the inside of the business with the story the brand needed to tell externally.
The strategy
Bigger than basketball
A critical part of this phase was listening.
Hum led a comprehensive fan engagement survey to understand what the Wildcats meant to their community, what fans wanted protected, and where they were open to change. That insight grounded the work in reality and ensured the rebrand was built with fans, not imposed on them.
Then, before any visual work began, Hum worked closely with club leadership to reset the foundations of the brand.
The core brand strategy and ambition was (to be) 'Bigger than basketball'.
This wasn't a tagline or campaign line. It was a strategic ambition that reframed the role of the Perth Wildcats within Western Australia.
The strategy positioned the club as:
A cultural symbol of WA, not just a basketball team
A brand with relevance beyond game day
A business built on community, pride, and long-term growth
This strategic lens guided every decision that followed, from values and behaviours through to creative execution.
Brand identity and design system
The new identity was designed as a system, not just a logo.
Key elements included:
A distinctive Wildcats fur texture, number system, and typography.
A modernised logo built for digital, broadcast, merchandise, and future expansion. If you're interested in learning more see the dedicated microsite created by the Perth Wildcats talented in-house team to explain the rebrand rationale and visual elements in detail: 👉 RedArmy.au
Playing strip and training apparel
The new playing strip and training apparel brought the brand to life where it matters most, on the players. You'll see in the reversible training tops we had some fun stretching the brand and colours.
These assets became highly visible symbols of the new era and reinforced the cultural shift internally and externally.
Merchandise and commercial extensions
The identity was designed to work hard commercially.
Merchandise concepts and applications were developed to:
Reignite supporter pride
Create fresh reasons to support & represent
Extend the brand beyond the court
The brand platform
Welcome to Wildnation
From the strategy came the brand platform and campaign: Welcome to Wildnation (WTW).
WTW was born directly from the Wildcats’ audience and home state. It acts as a metaphor for Western Australia itself, wild climate, wild landscapes, wild people, and the fierce pride that defines the Red Army.
Welcome to Wildnation became:
The brand platform
The campaign idea
The creative lens for all expressions of the brand
It gave the club a unifying idea that could flex across culture, communications, merchandise, media, and match-day experiences.
Welcome to Wildnation campaign
The Welcome to Wildnation platform was launched through a bold, high-impact campaign, including out-of-home placements across Perth, state wide radio broadcast and content partnerships with Southern Cross Austereo, key digital media with Seven West Media, Influencer partnerships and a highly targeted fan performance campaign led by Tradeable Bits.
The campaign was designed to feel unmistakably Western Australian and immediately signal that something had changed.
Fractional CMO support
Strategy through execution
Beyond brand and campaign delivery, Hum operated as an experienced marketing partner to the club.
This included fractional CMO support across:
Campaign and media briefing
Collaboration with local media partners
Reviewing media responses and performance
Developing a media strategy to maximise impact within budget
Ensuring creative, media, and commercial objectives stayed aligned
This hands-on involvement helped the Wildcats extract more value from every dollar spent.
The results
A rebrand that delivered commercially
The work was designed to drive outcomes, not just attention.
In the first quarter following launch:
Merchandise revenue increased 30% year on year
Ticketing revenue increased 19% year on year across the first three home games
Membership revenue increased 3% year on year
More importantly, the club entered the season with renewed energy, clarity, and confidence under new leadership, supported by a brand that matched its ambition.
Why it worked
This project succeeded because it was never just a rebrand.
It was an inside-out transformation. Strategy before visuals. Fans in the room. Clear leadership. Decisive execution. And a relentless focus on results.
That is how Hum helps organisations move from change to momentum.
Ready to build momentum?
If your brand no longer reflects where your business is heading, Hum can help you reset from the inside out. Reach out for an initial conversation - Email Damo
Credits and acknowledgements
Special thanks and recognition to the key partners and collaborators involved in the Perth Wildcats rebrand and campaign.
Client credits
Club Owner and Chief Executive Officer: Mark Arena
Chief Brand Officer: Emma Satinover
Chief Revenue Officer: Sam Fotu
General Manager of Basketball Operations: Danny Mills
Head of Digital Content & Fan Engagement: Tasha Hutchinson
Retail & Licensing Manager: Ashlyn Stuart
Videographer / Editor: Joseph Lacebal
Social Media Coordinator: Amber Thomas
Agency credits
Founder: Damiano Di Pietro
Lead Designer & Illustrator: Michael Irwin
Director / Editor: Josh Dawson
