Overview

University athletics and sporting programs are competitive environments which unite a disparate body of students, residents, and others from all walks of life under one common banner. The University of Saskatchewan needed a rallying cry for its Huskies Athletics teams for the 24/25 season, combining excitement, inspiration, and most of all an authentic sense of Saskatchewan.

Challenge

Multisport and gender marketing requires a certain nuance, with many characteristics unique to both sectors. Understanding and then speaking compellingly to these needs – while aligning with the wider Huskies brand and meeting the strict timelines necessitated by the sporting calendar – meant we had to work quickly, creatively, and with keen focus.

Insight

We conducted extensive research and constructed psychographic persona archetypes to better understand the audiences we needed to reach. We combined this factual foundation with an innate understanding of ‘Saskatchewan-ness’ – embodied by our creative team in Saskatoon, many of whom who are born and raised in the province – to compose simple but powerful messaging and imagery that resonates equally powerfully on a 6” mobile device screen as it does deployed across a huge arena.

Results

Heather Persson, Chief Communications Officer for the University of Saskatchewan, had this to say about the campaign's immediate impact: “[The Huskies campaign] understands and respects Saskatchewan in a way that I have rarely seen… Out of the park in terms of service and energy.” The campaign is working to reposition the Huskies Team as a central asset of USask's identity, opening the door to increased sponsorship and advertising opportunities, while fostering long-term emotional engagement, support, and community involvement.