Building a path towards reconciliation through Indigenous sport in Canada

Sask Sport has shown a long-standing commitment to supporting reconciliation in collaboration with Indigenous communities, working to promote inclusion and participation in sports.

In partnership with Indigenous leaders and the Rock & Bloom team, Sask Sport created an Indigenous Sport Timeline. This timeline aligns with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action, serving as an educational tool that highlights key moments in Indigenous sport while fostering ongoing engagement in reconciliation efforts.

Our Opportunity

Our relationship with Sask Sport, rooted in collaboration and shared goals, has enabled us to participate in weaving the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action into the fabric of sport in Saskatchewan. Sask Sport’s emphasis on Calls to Action 87 to 91 reflects its dedication to Indigenous participation in sport and the ongoing journey of reconciliation.

Collaboration is key

Our approach was to center Indigenous voices and needs, ensuring the Calls to Action were integrated in ways that are accessible and rooted in the resources and histories of Indigenous peoples. Sask Sport’s dedication to ‘walking the talk’ in this process shows their genuine commitment to action over symbolism. Together, we’ve developed a timeline that is more than just a project—it’s a learning journey for all of us, creating space for reflection and action in daily life through sports.

Our work is never done  

Though progress has been made, there is still much to learn and do. Sask Sport’s timeline is just one step on the long road of reconciliation, providing an ongoing invitation to educate and engage communities. It is a reminder that reconciliation is a shared responsibility that requires continuous effort, listening, and action. We are proud to support Sask Sport in amplifying Indigenous voices and ensuring that this work remains authentic, grounded, and meaningful.

We are grateful for the opportunity to learn through this collaboration with Sask Sport. Their leadership has provided us, and many others, with the tools to integrate the Calls to Action into everyday actions. We invite you to explore Sask Sport’s Indigenous Sport Timeline to celebrate and deepen your understanding of Indigenous sport in Saskatchewan.

How We Helped British Columbia’s Literacy Program Transform Their Legacy Fundraiser into a Nostalgic Brand

ONE TO ONE is a unique children’s literacy program that provides free one-to-one tutoring by trained volunteers to elementary school students in BC. Through these connections, the organization helps BC children develop literacy skills and reading confidence.  

This ONE TO ONE Literacy Program hosts a team spelling fundraiser, supporting kids across BC. Business professionals, entrepreneurs and educators come together to network and compete for prizes, while working to improve opportunities for kids to succeed.

We partnered with ONE TO ONE as part of our Brand Aid Initiative, which helps a ‘Champion of Choice’ elevate their brand and tell their story through in-kind donated work. Our challenge was to create a distinct yet complementary brand for the Spelling Bee, one that intrigued potential donors, energized participants, and amplified the core values of ONE TO ONE.

Challenge Accepted

The goals of the project included:

  • Build a new Spelling Bee brand that helps ONE TO ONE to engage potential donors
  • Create intrigue, excitement, and notoriety of Spelling Bee among tutors, parents, donors, and students themselves
  • Align with ONE TO ONE overall brand, while maintaining its own identity and messaging
  • Continue to amplify the ONE TO ONE program, creating engaging visuals, copy and strategy for the Spelling Bee
  • Develop a suite of engaging materials: event promotional assets, including social media graphics, email templates, and posters to ensure success.

Getting Down to Business  

Brand Strategy

Our process began with comprehensive strategy development, including persona creation and key messaging tailored to diverse audiences.

We crafted profiles for key audiences to ensure our messaging resonated across all touchpoints. We also crafted key messaging that highlighted the transformative power of literacy and the direct impact of the event.

Brand Identity

We designed a distinctive identity for the Spelling Bee Challenge that evoked warmth, nostalgia, and a sense of community.

We chose a bold typeface that is friendly, approachable, fun, and reminiscent of story book text. We paired this with a handwritten typeface, less polished, yet still approachable – a nod to children’s handwriting.

The letter imagery balances nicely with the logo. Playful and vibrant, the bubble letters represent diversity, childhood memories, and pair with our messaging: ‘How do you stack up against the competition?’

We used the original blue and green from the ONE TO ONE colour palette, but added more colours for flexibility and variety. The bright and fun colours pair nicely with the friendly fonts and subtle use of happy characters – peep the adorable smiley face.

Celebrating The Wins

The Spelling Bee Challenge stands out on its own, while reinforcing ONE TO ONE’s crucial mission. By blending nostalgia with purpose, our approach transformed the Spelling Bee into a strong brand identity that will last for years to come.

“Working with Rock & Bloom was a wonderful experience. We feel so fortunate to be part of their Brand Aid program. From the first time we connected, they were clear on expectations and scope, made it easy to contribute to the process, and provided lots of updates along the way.

Their creative team took on the tricky work of re-imagining and reviving the brand of our legacy fundraising event. We had an ambitious dual goal: creating something we could introduce to new audiences while holding on to what makes it special so previous attendees still felt welcome.

They more than hit the mark, creating a new brand that feels joyful, fresh, inviting and engaging!”

Carol, ONE TO ONE

Learn more about ONE TO ONE’s important mission on their website and read more about our transformative Brand Aid Initiative. 

Rising to the Challenge: How Strategic Design and Storytelling Fueled a Polytechnic’s $100M Fundraising Goal

Saskatchewan Polytechnic drives the province’s growth by aligning with industry needs, fostering collaboration on applied research, and supporting labour market development.

With its activities and students contributing approximately $2.6 billion to the provincial economy, Saskatchewan Polytechnic supports one in every 19 jobs in the province.

Currently, Saskatchewan Polytechnic is spread across multiple locations, making things challenging for students to get the full campus experience and easy access to services and support.

Enter the Time to Rise campaign.

Challenge Accepted

The Time to Rise campaign aims to empower Saskatchewan Polytechnic graduates and strengthen the provincial economy with a new, 21st century Saskatoon campus.

This new campus will consolidate an existing network of decentralized outdated buildings into a modern, technology-rich learning environment, making it a one-stop shop for learning and community growth.

Our goal was to create a visually compelling campaign that supports Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s drive for fundraising and helps them to achieve their $100M fundraising goal.

Big Goals Lead to Big Gains

The project scope included: 

  • Brand identity
    • Personas
    • Key messaging
  • Marketing Collateral
    • Branded slide deck 
    • Pop up banner design
    • Social media templates
    • Email design template
  • Video Collateral
    • Short format videos for social
    • Digital ads
  • Microsite

Getting Down to Business  

Brand Identity

Our goals with the design were to create something eye-catching, bold and exciting, adding more depth and personality to Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s overall brand. We wanted the campaign design to feel new and fresh, while still staying true to its familiar roots.  

Featuring a strong silhouette, we chose a colour palette that was connected to the main brand, yet allowed for the campaign to stand out on its own. Our font pairings are high-impact, bold and confident, drawing users in immediately.

Microsite

The microsite is an expansion of the brand, telling Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s story and creating meaningful conversations around donations. It serves as a powerful storytelling tool by driving targeted messaging, capturing the attention of potential donors, and inspiring action.

A strong microsite enhances user experience with a clear narrative and easy navigation, making it simpler for visitors to understand the institution’s mission and the value of their contributions. By creating an immersive and engaging online environment, we’ve helped to build trust and encourage deeper involvement.

Celebrating The Wins

Our collaboration with Saskatchewan Polytechnic resulted in a $100,000 donation the day the new site went live. Users commented on how easy the site was to use and how engaging the design was. Through thoughtful collaboration and execution, the end result has set Saskatchewan Polytechnic up for success on their path to $100M! 

“We at Saskatchewan Polytechnic want to thank Rock & Bloom for their amazing work on the Time to Rise Capital Campaign website in support of the new Saskatoon Campus. Their design and marketing skills boosted our outreach and engagement, leading to a generous donation that exceeded our expectations. The website’s user-friendly design, compelling content and intuitive navigation has provided us with positive feedback from our community. Rock & Bloom’s work has been invaluable, and we’re excited to continue to work with them on future collaborations.”

Sarah Fedirko, Director Alumni & Donor Relations

Check out the new Time to Rise microsite and support Saskatchewan Polytechnic as they strive to strengthen Saskatchewan’s economy.