Project Overview
The 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship, hosted jointly by the cities of Vancouver and Victoria, Canada, featured the top 10 youth ice hockey nations, making it one of the biggest calendar events on the global ice hockey circuit.
Brand Identity
We were commissioned to create a fresh, new event identity for the championship that would be striking as well as flexible to work across all media. The identity we created, born out of a pre-designed event marque, features a prominent mountain range; a strong symbol of British Columbia representing the climb and challenge teams would have to face in order to win the Championship.
Further, adding more character to the brand of the World Juniors, we built in two custom typefaces, a paired back colour palette, a range of logotypes and event marques and a stylised Championship Trophy symbol to establish a visual representation of all the competitions properties.
As well as the printed event branding, the successful Championship identity was incorporated into all of the client’s digital in-bowl, concourse and social media assets.
Production & Project Management
We delivered the event branding, as well as the wayfinding signage, bringing the creative concept to life in the physical space. Notably, we branded the televised upper and lower bowl locations, on-ice Zambonis/Olympias, all the concourses, entrances, concessions, mixed zones, elevators, back-of-house, and exterior façades across the sporting venues.
Our work didn’t stop at the venues, as the Canadian cities were also immersed in the competition through the impactful city dressing and a number of hotels and practice facilities embracing the Championship Look and Feel.
Overall, the team on the ground successfully managed the overall project, including logistics, production, installation, maintenance and removal for 4 sporting venues and 6 hotel properties across two cities. The crew worked heroically over Christmas and New Year’s, delivering a magnificent looking result with vibrant print and digital graphics for over 30 games of televised coverage and in-game fan experiences.
Outcome
The Championships proved to be a resounding success for a number of reasons. From a media and broadcasting perspective, all games were televised live on TSN and the NHL Network heavily covered the event along with multiple social media outlets such as USA Hockey. From a fan-engagement perspective, the two main competition venues, Rogers Arena in Vancouver and Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria, hosted sold-out crowds providing the tournament with an exciting and electrifying atmosphere! And on the ice, Finland clinched Gold in an epic final against the USA!
If you are interested in learning more or would like to see how we could help you enhance your event please get in touch.
