REVEALED: Hardwired - The Wire is back as Wolves publish new crest and brand

The dramatic change has been kept as a closely guarded secret - the select few to have been shown the new image have had to surrender phones at the doors before a series of big reveals this week.

But the logo and Hardwired brand that accompanies it is the result of five weeks of hard work since a club survey was released online.

And according to chief executive Roger Draper, who admitted to 'squeaky bum time' as it went on show to staff and fans involved in forums to discuss the future, it is shaped by the supporters.

"We kicked a lot of ideas around but when we looked at the result of the survey, it kept coming back to three things the club, the town and the name.

"We looked at just changing the Wolf at first but that was like moving the chairs on the Titanic.

"We had to be different," he said.

And that sparked the change from the previous logo which was shaped by Paul Cullen when he was commercial manager 20 years ago at the dawn of Super League.

It features the now familiar image of a Wolf which was based on a picture from the German Military Police.

The new logo includes three strands, the wolf at the bottom, wires to the left and seven shields on the right to symbolise the seven clubs that united to form Warrington in 1876.

Wire is also featured in a new motto which will come to be used across the club: Hardwired.

Mr Draper said: "I was speaking to Tony Smith and he said rugby league is a hard game and we had to wired in.

"So Hardwired seems to fit.

"But we are hardwired not just on the pitch and with performance, but everywhere in our club.

"One of the things that came across in the survey was how fed up people are of seeing Johnny Lomax (St Helens full back) on the back or buses across town, so imagine Hardwired on advertising boards across town."

As part of the launch of the logo, the phrase will be on T-shirts worn by staff at tonight, Thursday's, clash with Wigan Warriors at The Halliwell Jones.

But the old crest will remain in some guises.

The badge on the shirt will only change in time for the start of the 2016 season and the others will be changed in an ongoing process.

HAVING an office full of Warrington Wolves fans probably helped the team of designers who have spent the past month working on the club’s new brand.

But it also meant they had to be tight-lipped to keep the new look secret before it was released to the board, staff, players, fans and now the rest of the town this week.

Kerry Howl is marketing director at Newton-le-Willows-based agency Fogg Associates and has had to keep the designs ‘closely guarded’.

She added: “I even had to put a passcode on my computer to stop people in my family seeing it!

“It does help that we are a local company who support the club. The whole agency has been involved, from the designers through to the strategists.”

And the research formed from more than 2,000 fans who filled out an online survey was vital in shaping the final look.

Chris Fogg, founder of the agency, added: “Three things kept coming up. The club, the town, the name. 

“The Wire – these things were so consistent.

“And when we were developing the idea we wanted a different Wolf, more contemporary. 

“For the final designs we want ed the Wire and the seven clubs that came to form Warrington but the wolf still had to be the prominent character.

“We could never have got rid of the wolf. He has to be at the centre because he is the spirit and the character of the club.”

And while this project is one of many rebrands the agency, based off the High Street, has been involved in, it was one that has come with a little extra pressure.

“It has been nerve wracking this week, because it is so emotional for people I think. We have felt a huge degree of responsibility to get it right.

“You can’t make everyone happy with these kind of things. Not everyone will like it. Not everyone likes the colour pink or red cards say. But it is about developing a strong brand that people can get behind and that is the next stage,” Kerry added.

A storybook will now be created outlining the story behind the brand and the logo.