Team Rock founder Kyle Palmer knew that his team of high-flying, professional-caliber athletes was far more than a community martial arts troupe.
As they performed at county fairs and churches, they consistently dazzled audiences with jaw-dropping feats of extreme air and power breaking combined with a dramatic message about confronting life’s challenges. The problem was letting the rest of the world know what they had to offer.
At the time, says Palmer — the world record-holder for breaking concrete blocks — the team had nothing more than a logo created by a small t-shirt company. “It was not a professionally designed logo and it had no meaning and no physical symbol to represent us,” he explains. “Our advertising was strictly word-of-mouth, and we did all of our sales in-person. It really limited our market and exposure and weakened our image because it made us look homegrown.”
When he asked the FUEL team for help in creating a brochure, Palmer says, he didn’t realize that he was embarking on a transformative journey that would catapult Team Rock onto the national stage. “They don’t just make something,” he says. “They invest in it, live it with you, and look at the big picture to make everything you do work together to create a cohesive image.”
The first priority was creating a logo that expressed the fact that Team Rock is the best in the nation at what they do, Palmer says. He was awed by “the incredible amount of intricate detail FUEL put into their work” to arrive at an effective solution, including a complex, powerful mark and a custom-designed Team Rock font.
— Kyle Palmer
The impact was immediate, Palmer says. “The number of people who have commented about our logo is unbelievable. If I had a dollar for every one, I wouldn’t have to work anymore. And the guidance FUEL provides for everywhere the logo is used — whether it’s on a banner or anything else — has saved me time and money all down the line.”
FUEL worked with Palmer to develop the Team Rock brand through collateral materials, a website and Facebook page, posters, vehicle graphics, t-shirts and decals that can be affixed to Team Rock merchandise.
“They branded the merchandise we sell, taking it to an entirely new level like something from a major retail outlet,” Palmer says. “Their production expertise is the best in the world, and they’re very conscious of working within our parameters and budget. It’s so effortless working with them. The service is the best I’ve ever gotten.”
At conventions and other marketing venues, the group began to get noticed as never before. “Our brand told people that this isn’t a local karate school, it’s a high-impact, high-energy best-of-the-best martial arts extreme breaking team that does things no one else will ever do,” says Palmer. “We’ve had several agents comment about our high-quality materials.”
In just over a year, Palmer says, “we’ve gone from performing in a two-county area at little festivals and church events to having literally worldwide bookings at the biggest fairs, amusement parks and even daytime TV shows. Instead of us begging agents to look at our show, agents are contacting us and begging us to come to their events.
“Without FUEL, there’s no way we’d be where we are today,” he adds. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat. They have put us in a position to get where we wanted to be.”
Learn more about Team Rock at www.teamrockministry.com.
Bill Bollman is FUEL’s Creative Director. Before co-founding FUEL in 2001, he worked for Horizon Communications, JW Morton and Basler Design Group. Bill studied Illustration at Hawkeye Tech in Waterloo, Iowa. An expert in the “old ways” of hands-on print production, these skills influence his work in the digital world to this day. His work throughout his career has been featured in international publications including Graphis, How International Design, Communication Arts, and The One Book as well as numerous design annuals and reference books.
