We caught up with alum Alyn Carr (Creative Brand Management, 2019) to chat about exciting developments in the Richmond soccer world—Richmond’s new pre-professional women’s team, Richmond Ivy, starts their inaugural season with a home opener on May 11th.
Alyn has been working with the Richmond Kickers Soccer Club since graduating from Brandcenter in 2019, starting as a Senior Branding and Marketing Manager, then moving into the Director of Branding and Marketing role in 2022. She describes her position as all things marketing, emphasizing, “never a dull moment!” Alyn’s day-to-day duties can find her doing anything from helping with production on commercials to media buying to graphic design to community engagement.
The new women’s team is affiliated with the Kickers and shares City Stadium as their home. Alyn and her team members embarked on a year-long process led by Alex Kocher, Creative Director at Easy Friday Company, to establish the team’s brand and visual identity, which Alyn describes as “local, fun, confident, and forward thinking.”
Brainstorming started with Richmond themes, ideas and icons, “Richmond for Richmonders” as Alyn says, to help establish values for the Club. “Every decision along the way – from the name, to color, font selection and iconography – were guided by these common ideas.” says Kocher. The ivy imagery is not only a nod to Richmond scenery, but also to the characteristics of the plant itself, elegant and beautiful but also creative and tenacious. The crest also features references to iconic James River bridges and the seven hills of Richmond with shades of ivy green and “Virginia brick orange.”
“The process fiercely reminded me of my Brandcenter days and BOB [Business of Branding class] projects” Alyn laughs. Her time studying creative brand management at Brandcenter helped prepare her for this role. “CBMs not only speak the language of the client side, but also the language of creatives. CBMs bring the team all together and make sure they are working well and executing what needs to be done on the client side.”
Now, Alyn gets to add a new role to her roster – as Director of Marketing and Branding for both Richmond Kickers AND Richmond Ivy. We are so excited for her and will be cheering from the stands.
What’s the best way you can support Richmond Ivy? “COME TO GAMES AND EVENTS!” says Alyn. Their home opener is this Saturday May 11th. You can expect local food trucks, beers, and FUN!