Juco is our sports brand on a mission to get every body to participate in school and grassroots sports. As the newbie brand in the Parently portfolio, we wanted to give Juco its own identity that would help our team share its vision with new and existing retail customers.
Our Brand team worked on a concept that would help to shine a new light on the Juco collection through a series of natural un-staged moments that showcase kids feeling empowered in our products. To achieve this, we identified that we would need to work with a large group of children, and this is where our collaboration with UK Sports helped us to elevate our approach.
To capture the spirit of kids at play, we enlisted the services of school sports experts UK Sports Ltd who invited us to shoot at their summer sports camp. Their team of coaches devised a series of PE themed sessions for us to help bring to life our Juco brand principles of team spirit, friendship, empowerment, and energy. Bryony Pestell-Barron is Head of Brand at The Parently Group. We caught up with her to hear more about the significance of the creative process with this project.
“Assembling a creative team that could bring this concept to life was a big focus for us. We felt strongly that the images should feel real and full of energy. We tasked our agency Creative Spark to find a photographer that could capture candid, intimate sporting moments rather than the glossy posed images you typically see from sports brands. We knew right away that Tom Cox was our man. His portfolio conveyed the sense of fun we were looking for and most importantly, he wasn’t phased by the prospect of working with a large group of non-models!”
Over the course of two days, Tom and videographer, Luke Thompson, documented a variety of sports activities including football, dance and a PE inspired session in the sports hall. We also wanted to showcase the breadth of our in-house garment decoration services on team kits, so football became our focus for day one with four teams representing the scope of our print capability. Our girls team relished the opportunity to go head-to-head in a penalty shootout with the boys capturing the upbeat, competitive nature of this team sports favourite.
Our Head of Engagement Tess Grindle was on set for two-days overseeing the smooth running of the shoot and ensuring we were capturing the essence of our brand values.
“It’s fair to say this was our most ambitious shoot to date! Working with a large group of children who had never modelled before was a daunting task. But what you see in the final images is a pure representation of how it feels to participate in sport. It was great to see the kids having fun, supporting each other, and putting Juco through its paces.
They responded so well to the garments; they felt comfortable, relaxed and under the guidance of UK Sports, they thrived in their sporting endeavors showing that there are no barriers to participation when you are wearing the right kit.”
Watch the Juco brand video here and check out our media kit here. If you would like to speak with our team about introducing Juco to your school or have a print requirement, please contact us at sales@davidluke.com.
