The Le Mans 24 Hours awarded the 2014 Design prize!
The Automobile Club de l’Ouest and the Leroy Tremblot Agency have received the 2014 Trophy in the design category in the Sport Strategy Grand Prix for their joint collaboration in creating the new logo for the Le Mans 24 Hours.
On 19th November in the Elysées Biarittz venue in Paris, the 2014 Sport Strategy Grand Prix prizes were awarded.
The jury made up of professional from the fields of marketing, sport, design and communications rewarded the Leroy Tremblot Agency and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest by giving them the 2014 Design Grand Prix prize for the new Le Mans 24-Hours logo. It was unveiled in February and used in June for the 82nd running of the blue riband event of French motor sport and the flagship race in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
This trophy rewards a creation that represents a complete break with the previous logo, which dated from 1978. It had to be totally rethought and integrate the international dimension of the event, as well as its on-going modernity, its high level of technology and its legend since the creation of the race in 1923.
What’s more, it was important for the ACO to establish this new visual identity as an international brand platform to extend the impact of the Le Mans 24 Hours way beyond the sporting dimension of the event.
Thus, Leroy Tremblot created a strong exclusive symbol which leads to instant recognition of the benchmark event in endurance racing. It is very pure, simple and timeless and can be easily transformed into different variants.
• The number 24 appears in an alternation of shapes and counter shapes. The play of blue marine and white refers to the essential characteristics of the event, which takes place in daytime, at night and then in daytime again.
• The change of the name: the aim of ‘24h Le Mans’ is to widen the impact of the event and the new brand on the international scene. The figure ‘24’ associated with the letter ‘h’ is a contraction that will be easily recognised by the vast majority of people.
• The logo expresses itself just as easily on a clear background as on a dark one and it can also be used in spin-off products.
• It is a concept around ‘24h’ which systematises the different identity adaptations facilitating the setting up of cross-functional licences and partnerships over several endurance events. Thus, this logo has been adapted for the other 24-hour events organised by the ACO: 24 Heures Moto, 24 Heures Camions and 24 Heures Karting.
This is the fourth project run by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest and the Leroy-Tremblot Agency after the revamp of the ACO logo and the creation of those of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the Le Mans 24-Hours circuit.
Today, this trophy was awarded to Antoine Tremblot and Dominique Jubert, general manager and assistant manager respectively representing the Leroy Tremblot agency, and to Fabrice Bourrigaud and Philippe Joubin the Le Mans Pole Esprit and communications managers.
It reinforces the global image, promotion and communications policy of the ACO, a year after the 2013 Top/Com Grand Prix communications strategy prize was awarded jointly to the Automobile Club de l’Ouest and the La Fourmi agency in October 2013.
Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, said: “Our club is very proud to receive the 2014 Design Prize awarded by the prestigious Strategies magazine. This recognition reflects on all the ACO teams and the great job that they do in the context of the development and organisation of our flagship event. This logo was introduced in the year in which our communications strategy, breaking with the commemoration of the ninetieth anniversary in 2013, has been oriented towards the future and technological innovation linked to the new revolutionary technological regulations.
"These take into account the challenges associated with sustainable development in motor sport, and have already achieved great success among the major manufacturers, partners and spectators at the event, which is also the case here today among the main players in sports marketing and communications.”
Antoine Tremblot, General Manager, Leroy Tremblot, said: “Working on the visual identity of an event like the Le Mans 24 Hours was both a huge challenge and a source of pride for us, because we knew we were dealing with a legendary event in French motor sport. Obviously, this prize rewards our teams’ work and that of the steering committee, which pushed us even further in our creative convictions to improve this identity up till the moment it was revealed. Like a reference to the agency’s thirtieth anniversary this prize is also a recognition of our position and our expertise in the world of sport.”