The DFB-Pokal gets its first rebrand in a decade
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
The German Football Association has unveiled a new, digital-first brand identity for the DFB-Pokal — its first redesign in ten years, by Strichpunkt with MANERA — introducing violet as a contrast accent and distinct trophy-based logos for the men's, women's and junior competitions.
What changed
The DFB revealed a new brand identity for the DFB-Pokal, developed by agency Strichpunkt with cultural-marketing support from MANERA. It's the competition's first redesign in ten years and rolls out for the 2026/2027 season.
The digital-first look adds violet as a contrast accent alongside the familiar DFB green, and gives the men's, women's and junior competitions their own realistic trophy-based logos. Green is retained for stadium contexts; violet leads in digital.
Why a sports property rebrands
Brand lead Holger Merk put it bluntly: 'The DFB-Pokal was never predictable. Our brand recently was. That doesn't fit.' The redesign is an attempt to match the competition's underdog-friendly drama with an identity that feels alive rather than corporate.
The digital-first framing is the real signal. Sports brands increasingly live on phones — in social clips, second screens and highlight reels — so an identity built for green pitches first and screens second is now the wrong way round.
Segmenting the sub-brands
Giving the men's, women's and junior competitions distinct trophy logos is a smart piece of architecture. It lets each competition build its own equity while staying unmistakably part of the DFB-Pokal family.
That matters most for the women's game, which is growing fast and benefits from a visual identity of its own rather than a hand-me-down from the men's competition. Distinct-but-connected branding is how you grow a portfolio without fragmenting it.
Our read for marketers
The transferable lesson is designing for where your brand actually lives now. If most touchpoints are digital, a colour and system optimised for print or physical environments will always feel a beat behind.
And when you run multiple sub-brands, give each enough distinctiveness to build its own following while keeping a shared spine. That's how a portfolio compounds instead of blurring.
Quick FAQ
Who designed the new DFB-Pokal identity?
Agency Strichpunkt led the design, with cultural-marketing support from MANERA. It's the DFB-Pokal's first rebrand in ten years, rolling out for the 2026/2027 season.
What's new in the DFB-Pokal rebrand?
A digital-first look adding violet as a contrast accent alongside DFB green, plus distinct realistic trophy-based logos for the men's, women's and junior competitions.
Why did the DFB rebrand the Pokal?
Brand lead Holger Merk said the competition was unpredictable but the brand had become predictable. The redesign aims to match the tournament's drama and fit how fans now watch — on screens.
— Oliver Nikolla-Casado, International Markets Reporter at Marketing Minute
Design your identity for where the brand actually lives now — and give each sub-brand enough distinctiveness to build its own following while sharing a common spine.
Is your brand's visual system built for where your audience is today, or where it was a decade ago?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: DFB, Horizont, Sports Business, Sport1.
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Written by Oliver Nikolla-Casado, International Markets Reporter at Marketing Minute
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