Branding the official Team Romania House for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games
Bucharest and Singapore, October 2024
The complex brand creation project for Team Romania included several targeted touch points that went beyond the commercial emblem, key visuals and sports diplomacy: it encompassed all aspects of the brand's manifestations, turning the brand into a crucial component of national branding and positioning Romania on the global stage.
One key touchpoint was the branding of the Romanian National Olympic Committee House — Team Romania House — hosted by the nation's embassy in the Olympic city of 2024.
Luckily for us — have you seen our embassy?
Since 1939, the Palais de Béhague in Paris has been home to the Romanian Embassy in France, with both the palace and its gardens officially designated as historical monuments in 2003 by the French Ministry of Culture.
The premises of our branding project were the following:
The stakeholders involved in the project are diverse and noteworthy including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Her Excellency the Romanian Ambassador to France, Ioana Bivolaru, representatives from the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (COSR) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), as well as the athletes, the Romanian and French citizens, the Romanian and international media, sponsors, and, of course, the Olympics fans.
As a result, the primary challenge for the brand was to remain relevant in front of all key stakeholders, while maintaining consistency across all its verbal and visual identity manifestations — key to creating an ongoing narrative meant to resonate with all the attendees.
The guidelines set by the International Olympic Committee for Team Romania House, along with the restrictions outlined by the resident French architect during our embassy visit, made the brief clear: ensure the visual and verbal identity of the Team Romania brand is prominently displayed both inside and outside the house (signage), throughout a series of official events (event branding), and before all involved stakeholders (relationship and community building), while preserving the existing architecture and layout of the palace and its gardens (space branding).
The Olympic Games serve not only as a sports event, but also as a diplomatic platform. With this in mind, all aspects of the project were developed based on a clearly defined set of objectives, established in close collaboration with the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee:
- Presenting Romania as a modern European nation to both internal and external audiences;
- Building and strengthening internal and external engagement with the Team Romania brand;
- Boosting the morale of the Romanian athletes (and their supporting staff) participating in the games.
The project swiftly evolved into a significant nation branding initiative, elevating Romania's profile in the process. By hosting the President of Romania and the Presidential Administration, through celebrating our athletes' Olympic achievements and garnering pride from our Parisian diaspora representatives, this series of events marked the beginning of a new era that inspired us during the process:
- The new and innovative wave of Romanian diplomacy, embodied by Her Excellency the Romanian Ambassador to France, Ioana Bivolaru, who championed the project and meticulously managed its flawless execution down to the finest details.
- The refreshing approach of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, committed to fully supporting our athletes, enhancing their performance and ensuring their recognition and appreciation worldwide.
- The enhanced support from sponsors, which has significantly increased investment, exposure and promotion for the Team Romania brand.
By leveraging the Olympic Games as a platform for nation branding, we showcased Romania's modern, European identity and strengthened our international presence. The collaboration with key stakeholders ensured that every detail was properly addressed. This initiative not only celebrated our athletes' achievements and engaged our diaspora, but also marked a significant milestone in Romanian diplomacy and national image. The project's success demonstrates the power of cohesive strategy and collective effort, setting a new standard for future endeavours.
Case study by Diana Carla Benea, Senior Consultant, Prime Advisor in the Team Romania Paris Olympic Games 2024 Project
Designs by Adrian Stănculeț, Design Director in the Team Romania Paris Olympic Games 2024 Project
About Brandient
Brandient is an independent brand strategy and design consultancy founded in Bucharest in 2002 by Aneta Bogdan, Cristian Kit Paul and Mihai Bogdan — never part of a global network, working directly for the owners, CEOs and boards of its clients, with an all-senior team and category exclusivity. In over two decades the firm has created or rebuilt more than 300 brands, 279 of them published as case studies at brandient.com/work — from Romania’s national leaders to brands carried worldwide. The firm has been active in Southeast Asia for more than a decade. The work has earned 84 international awards and distinctions — most recently a Red Dot (2025) and two Graphis Golds (2026) — 64 documented mentions in international design books and publications, and, in 2015, a place among the inaugural inductees of the REBRAND Hall of Fame, alongside Interbrand and MetaDesign.
About the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee
The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (COSR) is the national Olympic committee — founded in 1914, carrying its present name since 2004 — the autonomous body responsible for Romania’s participation in the Olympic Games and for Team Romania, the brand under which its athletes compete. Brandient rebranded the committee in 2015 with a dual identity, institutional and marketing, and created the Team Romania commercial emblem in 2023–2024: the COSR case, the Team Romania case.