How to maximise brand visibility through event design: Insights from the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships Trondheim 2025

Event design plays a pivotal role in the success of international sports events, shaping perceptions, enhancing sponsor visibility, and elevating the spectator experience. A well-executed design strategy can boost brand recognition whilst building lasting trust among stakeholders. A prime example of this is the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, where thoughtful, integrated design set the stage for global success.

Setting the vision: The inspiration behind the design

The foundations of successful event branding often lie in genuine, meaningful connections. For the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships Trondheim 2025, the local organising committee (LOC) of Trondheim invited local schoolchildren to share their vision for the event's identity. The resulting "Folkerosa" symbol emerged from these contributions, embodying unity and sustainability through vibrant, dynamic colours.

“We wanted a unique identity for Trondheim 2025 that embodied everything we stand for, especially with our vision of becoming the most sustainable Nordic World Ski Championships ever. The playfulness and vibrant colours truly emphasise our commitment to sustainability and diversity,” says Haakon Jensen, CMO at Trondheim 2025.

The use of vibrant colours was aesthetic and also directly connected to the event’s commitment to six Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring every visual touchpoint conveyed deeper meaning.

Turning concepts into reality: The creative process

Ensuring consistency across every touchpoint

Achieving consistency across diverse elements such as athlete bibs, backdrops, signage and venue installations required meticulous planning. Each piece needed to reflect the event’s central identity clearly while harmonising with sponsors' brands to enhance overall recognition and trust.

“Visual consistency across different channels is a key element of successful brand communication and crucial for creating a strong brand identity,” says Magdalena Schweighofer, Associate Director at Infront and one of the people responsible for delivering the design implementation at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. “It strengthens recognition, conveys professionalism, reliability and builds trust. A unified appearance clearly communicates what the event stands for, reinforcing its positioning in the market.”

Integrating sponsor brands without compromise

A significant challenge was balancing sponsor visibility with cohesive event branding.

“A consistent appearance provides sponsors with the assurance and trust that their partnership is well-managed and that their brand is presented in a positive and professional environment,” Magdalena adds.

Ensuring sponsor logos were prominent without overshadowing the event’s identity (particularly critical for television visuals) required careful negotiation and creative solutions. For example, managing the dominant blue colour of title sponsor COOP alongside event branding necessitated precise coordination and multiple revisions.

“Since successful event design is also very important for the sponsors, we always look for ways to harmoniously integrate sponsor branding with the event design,” Magdalena says.

Common design mistakes like poor signage placement, cluttered visuals, or neglecting camera angles can diminish brand impact significantly. The event team proactively identified and addressed these issues by rigorously planning camera angles, avoiding generic branding, and ensuring visual elements complemented rather than competed with each other.

“The main challenge is to find the ideal balance that everyone can identify with; one which leverages the design in a manner which ensures sponsors stay at the forefront of exposure whilst keeping the core structure of the design intact.”

Aligning design with production for seamless execution

Coordinated branding and production planning

The success of visual branding relies heavily on collaboration between the design team, sponsors and production staff. At the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, early coordination ensured seamless integration of LED board displays and banners into broadcast visuals and event logistics.

“A close collaboration between the LOC and Infront was vital to make sure the event was presented to the spectators in the venue and through the television – the event design had to be world class,” added Haakon. “The event was sold out with 230,000 people in the stadium, and 170,000 along the tracks. The brand and event design framed the biggest festival in Norway for a decade in a really good way.”

Technology significantly amplified sponsor visibility during the championships. Dynamic LED animations triggered by athlete performance and drone footage integrated into the broadcast elevated both the event’s visual appeal and sponsor exposure.

For Stefan Krause, who heads up the whole FIS Nordic World Ski Championships project for Infront, finding a method to bring all elements of branding together – from digital to physical – in one coherent manner is just one way to ensure all stakeholders benefit.

“The most effective branding is about creating a seamless thread between everything. This involves a lot of legwork behind the scenes, ultimately leading to a prominent and professional result. When screens, signage, athlete kit and broadcast overlays all speak the same visual language, that’s when a brand message can truly land.”

Professional, coherent branding serves as a cornerstone for any successful sports event. The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships Trondheim 2025 showcased the immense value thoughtful event design can deliver; strengthening brand recognition, enhancing trust and creating a memorable spectator experience.

Event organisers looking to replicate this success should prioritise meaningful brand integration, meticulous consistency, and strategic technological enhancements.

Interested in achieving similar outcomes? Contact Infront to explore how your event can benefit from expert design and branding solutions.