Skate Canada has unveiled a new brand identity

[dramagrrl]

They don't need expensive new rebranding. They need actual new programs and strategies to rebuild.

 

[Frau Muller]

More like a money-spending scheme. How're they going to make money from it?

Selling “stuff” with the new logo. Just like hockey teams alter logos…sell new jerseys, t-shirts, etc.

 

[Bouffantrex]

Design-wise, this is a fail. It's going to age poorly and in another ten years they will do yet another rebrand.

But more important and damning is the sunken cost and wasted resources this new brand identity entailed. Skate Canada leadership has been inept for some time now and sadly that continues. New leadership, vision, and infrastructure is needed, not a soulless corporate rebrand.

 

[Willin]

Yes, because a rebranding was totally what they needed...

The rebranding isn't even that good. The posing for the merch store skaters looks straight out of a 20-year-old abercrombie catalog.

 

[MacMadame]

I am going to give SC's new logo a grace period. I remember when a company I worked for did a big rebranding and most of us thought the new logo was meh. (Though 100x better than the old one which was a horror show.) But over the years, I have really come to like it.

That said, if SC wants a brand new "identity," then they need to clean house because right now they are still the organization that sweeps abuse under the rug and a new logo isn't going to change that perception.

 

[Sylvia]

Tweeted today: https://twitter.com/SkateCanada/status/1554846310460694528

https://twitter.com/x/status/1554846310460694528

 

[overedge]

Yes, because a rebranding was totally what they needed...

The rebranding isn't even that good. The posing for the merch store skaters looks straight out of a 20-year-old abercrombie catalog.

Not to mention that for a rebrand that's supposed to support a strategy of inclusion, all of the models are young and athletic looking.

 

[chewy]

It still reads as a figure skate IMO.

And re making money off it, SC is now going to have to replace the logo on all its printed materials (whatever they still produce) and online materials, plus develop a guide that gives the specifications for how to reproduce and use the new logo. That costs money too.

IIRC the supplier that SC uses for its merchandise produces goods as they are ordered, so there may not be much merchandise with the old logo to dispose of.

There's an entire marketing toolkit for clubs and skating schools. Volunteers at the club level are very negative about it on facebook.

edited: I removed my powerskate snarkyness because this is a figure skating discussion board.

 

[Theoreticalgirl]

My day job is for an agency and uh, my professional opinion is that this logo is pretty dullsville, but now fits in with the rest of the Canadian Olympic Committee's identity system that was launched almost a decade ago.

A step up from what they were previously using and yet, still pretty behind the times. Looking at the agency partner's work, this is pretty much in line with what they do and a specific minimalist aesthetic that still remains on trend in some design/art circles.

It will be interesting to see how the mark is integrated into larger strategic initatives. From that POV it is far easier to use this logo than the fugly previous one.

 

[Theoreticalgirl]

They don't need expensive new rebranding. They need actual new programs and strategies to rebuild.

Unless you've seen the contract, you cannot assume the cost. I've seen pretty incredible work done for little money and some real honkers for way too much. What matters is the final outcome.

To be fair, this kind of work pays my bills and puts a roof over my head, but I disagree with the concept that organizations don't need identity overhauls. A lot of this work comes in tandem with other strategic initiatives and when done right, shift people's—both internal and external—perceptions about an organization.

There are numerous reasons why we remain drawn to visual symbols and images of all kinds. People find meaning and purpose in them.

 

[overedge]

I agree that organizations need rebranding, but when SC is facing other significant issues like dissatisfaction with the learn-to-skate program - the centre of its strategy - rebranding is maybe something that should be lower down on the priority list. Deckchairs on the Titanic, etc etc

 

[Bouffantrex]

There are numerous reasons why we remain drawn to visual symbols and images of all kinds. People find meaning and purpose in them.

True. And I can appreciate the value in a good rebrand, but this seems particularly ill-timed. I'm afraid the only people finding purpose and meaning in this new logo and website are the bureaucrats in charge.

 

[DE93]

I wonder if the timing has more to do with the beginning of a new quadrennial than anything else? For the past two quads they've launched a new hashtag for the start of a new olympic cycle (#feelthemoment for 2015-2018 and #creatinghistory for 2019-2022), so maybe they're leaning into that idea with #SkateWithUs. For the logo, I kinda like the call back to the old Canskate badges (and possibly the current ones?) and it definitely is more in line with the new Speed Skating Canada logo as well (as seen in their instagram profile photo: https://www.instagram.com/ssc_pvc/).

 

[Sylvia]

The new brand identity topic was discussed by Skate Canada CEO Debra Armstrong in the first SC Live Show (of 3 this season) earlier tonight so am posting this link here (rather than starting a new thread) to watch the 40-minute show, hosted by Ted Barton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRDiB-D6F-M

Dr. Shae Zukiwsky, Senior Director of Performance Excellence, then gives an overview of Skate Canada's new Long-Term Development (LTD version 3.0) resource that's published in the Members Only section of the website.

Barton then shows video highlights from this past summer's NextGen Team competition & camp and mentions that content, such as an interview with Gilles/Poirier, filmed at the High Performance Camp will be shared in the future.

The "Skate Canada's Got Talent" segment (part of a new national initiative that asks clubs and skating schools to submit videos) has a feature on a 13-year-old skater who sang her own cover of "True Colors" for her short program performance in August.

ETA - copying over @shutterbug's related post the "2022/23 CBC Streaming & TV Schedule" thread in TV Alerts:
"Interesting side note, under the heading of "Enhance Live Streaming and Production Initiatives" in their 2022 - 2026 Strategic Plan (page 17) , Skate Canada discusses their plans for streaming Canadian events:

ELS’s ultimate goal is to create a series of productions for National and Sectional events that include national commercials and spots for local advertisers thus providing revenue to both Skate Canada and each section. The equipment acquired will also be used in the television quality productions Skate Canada will create for marquee events. In addition to generating revenue, this provides an opportunity for important Skate Canada messages on strategic priorities to be delivered to a broad audience. The main production studio is located in Vancouver, British Columbia. A national backdrop will be established in the studio with the intention that a “show” will be created for viewing at regular intervals. A secondary studio will also be established in Montreal to ensure there are high-quality live streamed events in French.
Going forward, the intention is that all Skate Canada events will be live streamed and that sectional events, including the Sectional Championships, will be produced to engage fans across the country and internationally. Several well-known retired elite athletes will act as hosts providing technical analysis to the viewing audience. We will use ELS to tell the story of figure skating in Canada, raise the profile of our rising stars, and attract new audiences.

While we saw some of this implemented last season, I'm going to be very curious to see the ongoing development. Ted Barton mentioned on one of the JGP broadcasts that he had done an in-depth interview with Piper Gilles at HPC to be used down the road."

 

[chewy]

The LTD 3.0 resource is based on the 3.0 report published by the Sport For Life project, www.Sportforlife.ca. here: https://sportforlife.ca/wp-content/...opment-in-Sport-and-Physical-Activity-3.0.pdf

There's a lot in the Sport for Life report to like, as they cover the Competitive for Life and Fit for Life categories quite well, see the unique pathways on page 36. It's not likely that an elite athlete from another sport is going to take up figure skating and Train to Win but it does happen in other sports, Clara Hughes for example. There is less emphasis on benchmarks achieved at certain ages and the report is written for athletes as a whole and doesn't get into the early onset specialization sports.