With 20 years under its belt, NIP’s CEO was ready to cast a new vision for the next 20 years and beyond. NIP is one of the longest-standing brands in esports with remarkable achievements, but its brand had grown dated. A necessary step in the organization’s evolution was to have a refreshed brand strategy and brand identity to take the company into the future.

Laying the foundation of a global rebrand requires a systematic process. The Motto Method® has been honed and proven over 17 years to ensure the dots strategically connect. Our approach is refined for rebrands, designed to uncover the DNA of a culture and brand, and set the foundation for success.

“Ninja” is the central, aspirational theme that makes NIP unique. The organization entirely owns it. Most importantly, it inspires the fans. While Motto® didn’t name NIP, we discovered that the Ninja was an underutilized force within the brand. Ninjas practice Ninjutsu, a collection of survival techniques that allows one to face uncertainties and respond to dangerous situations through physical and psychological discipline, using conventional weapons in unexpected ways.

The legacy of NIP had been built by winning. Winning made NIP one of the most famous esports brands in the world. However, the industry is professionalizing, and there are more eyeballs. The NIP brand had stagnated in terms of usability and keeping up with time and culture. To solve this, Motto® gathered over 25 stakeholders across different time zones and countries to swarm around the brand’s ambitions and make brand decisions for the future.

Informed by outputs from the research, Motto has created a platform that gives reason for an audience to choose NIP and become part of their tribe. Our strategic plays were designed to inspire fans and drive partnerships to grow and build the NIP brand with global acquisitions and expansion plans in mind.

We amplified the Ninja in everything we did for NIP, borrowing from symbology, language, and storytelling to create surprising connections, communications, and experiences. We refer to our brand voice as “Hattori,” named after the legendary 16th-century ninja Hattori Hanzo. He chooses his words carefully, and they’re always powerful and impactful.

Motto® modernized the Shuriken (a ninja weapon). We infused the old Japanese word Nin, which means to apply ego and heart to the edge of the sword. By replacing the original team colors (black/white/gold) with neon yellow, black, and grey (inspired by the Tokyo drifters to Noren’s), the identity reinforces NIP as a futuristic, powerful, and mysterious brand. Intricate details like this were instrumental in the fans’ embracing of the new look.

The result of the Ninjas in Pyjamas rebrand is a radical brand transformation that has touched every facet of the organization. From leadership to culture to operations to community, Motto has helped NIP lean into a future as a leader. The brand has been written up in Forbes, ESports Insider, ESPN, and hundreds of other outlets. The sheer velocity of NIP’s success is something we’re thrilled to have helped shape.

From Samsung deals and partnerships with Razr and FILA to China expansion and selling $600,000 worth of stickers in less than 24 hours, Motto’s work propelled NIP into an entirely new stratosphere.