Australian Institute of Sport Defends Pricey New Logo
February 3, 2014
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), a largely government-funded sport agency, has defended the price tag on its new logo at Monday’s unveiling, saying it would generate more commercial investment in the long term.
Australian Sports Commission CEO Simon Hollingsworth said the upfront cost had to be weighed against future corporate benefits.
“We believe that in the medium and long term that this investment is going to generate significantly more revenue for the AIS, which will then be invested back into sport,” Mr Hollingsworth told reporters in Canberra.
The new logo consists of five golden lines resembling tracks, sleekly curved into the shape of Australia.
It will replace the logo designed by a student from Bendigo in a nation-wide competition in 1981, which portrayed a red and blue athlete holding their hands above their head in victory.
“The feedback from our commercial analysis was that the current brand, whilst it had a great place in our history, was slightly one dimensional in it’s nature,” Hollingsworth said.
“So we wanted something more dynamic.”
Hollingsworth said the logo had so far cost a total of $500,000 over two stages.
“First of all we’ve spent about $300,000 focusing on the commercial analysis and the creative side of this,” Hollingsworth said.
“Then in terms of the rollout, we’ve spent about $200,000 refitting.”
No athlete or sport had their funding reduced as a result of the new design, he added.
“In the scheme of total investment in Australian sport, this cost is quite a small one.”