SomeOne unveils new brand world for the UK’s most exciting new global music and entertainment venue Co-op Live.
Co-op Live is a new £350million arena in Manchester, born in partnership with Oak View Group (OVG) and Co-op.
Located in the Eastlands area of Manchester the venue opens in 2023 and will be one of the most sustainable and socially responsible arenas in Europe. SomeOne was tasked to create a brand fitting to the scale of the project whilst maintaining the pride of its new home in the North West.
“Inspiration was taken from Manchester’s past and present music scene, combined with a logotype designed to simply visualise the actual venue – delivering a bold graphic identity and flexible brand world. From boxing to Stormzy live, the identity needs to flex so that it tonally responds and reflects the events as well as the many different communities within and around the city”.
The construction project, the single-largest in the city, will give the regional economy a much-needed boost following the devastating impacts of the Covid pandemic and will boost the local economy by over £1.5bn over the next 20 years.
Around £1m a year will go to good causes across the UK – distributed by the Co-op Foundation – and the arena will be one of the most sustainable and socially responsible buildings of its type in Europe.
Co-op Live will be a trailblazing, world-class destination and it needed a visually arresting identity to reflect this. SomeOne delivered on that brief.
It perfectly captures what we are creating with this project, representing our home in Manchester on a global scale, and giving us a unique and raw personality that everyone can relate to. We’re delighted!
Manchester was chosen as the location for the arena because of its iconic music, culture and history as a live entertainment destination, which is why the arena was designed specifically with music at the forefront, unlike almost all other large arenas.
It’s a privilege to deliver the brand for a venue that will be an iconic destination in future years to come. The most amazing music and entertainment destination both nationally and globally.
Following final confirmation from national planning authorities, the project will start creating over 3,000 jobs during a three-year construction period, all paying at least the Manchester Living Wage. Alongside the direct jobs, analysis shows the project will support a further 6,000 jobs in construction right across Greater Manchester.
Once open, Co-op Live will create a further 1,000 jobs across a wide range of roles and skill levels to put on world leading events with a world-beating visitor experience.
The first iteration of this new identity, the hoarding, has been built around the site on Joe Mercer Way, Alan Turning Way and Sport City Way. The hoarding was designed to showcase the new identity and bring to life the key proof points that make up Co-op Live.
This project allows us to demonstrate how two industry-leading companies in their own markets are defining how the future of brand partnerships can look.
We’ve worked closely with both parties to develop a joint identity that is unique to this project whilst maintaining the core values and ambitions of both Co-op and OVG together. A really great project that will continue to evolve until and beyond opening
In Co-op Live we’re planning to bring one of the world’s best arenas and a new iconic landmark to Manchester. We needed to develop a brand that brings its identity to life and is truly reflective of the local context as well as its global appeal, and we feel SomeOne has delivered just that.