Kingston, Ont. (August 27, 2008) - Queen's Athletics and Recreation unveiled its new logo on Wednesday and with it announced a strategic partnership with adidas Canada as its official uniform and sport apparel sponsor.
 
The new logo retains the letter “Q” from the previous logo, but is simplified, dynamic and fresh looking. It is tilted forward slightly symbolizing an ongoing aspiration and desire for success. The new mark is designed to bring together all of Athletics and Recreation programs under a common identifiable logo with separate architecture that allows for distinctiveness in both the interuniversity and recreation communities.
 
“The creation of a unified, strong and vibrant visual identity is a key priority for Athletics and Recreation,” said Leslie Dal Cin, Director of Queen's Athletics and Recreation. “It is important that our identity reflect the attributes of our athletes, while being recognizable and respecting the traditions and history of our athletic program.”
 
“The final design is the collaboration of the many voices that comprise the Queen's community,” continues Dal Cin. “It is bold and in keeping with our vision to be the leading athletics recreation program in Canada.
 
Accompanying the new logo are several key initiatives that will breathe life into the new brand. All inter-university teams representing Queen's will kick off their season in new uniforms designed along a common theme. Gold will be the primary colour for all home uniforms, while blue and red will become secondary or away colours. Coaches, recreational leaders and support personnel will also be outfitted in new apparel. Finally, a new website that will tie brand elements together is poised to be launched early this fall.
 
Additional brand launch activities are planned throughout the year leading to the opening of the Queen's Centre in the fall of 2009.
 
With the unveiling of the new logo, Queen's also announced a multi-year agreement with adidas Canada that will see adidas outfit Queen's inter-university squads and support a number of department initiatives. During the launch, Queen's showcased its new line of uniforms and apparel provided by adidas Canada.
 
Queen's is the first Canadian school to work with adidas Canada under their new team apparel line and is proud to debut adidas uniforms across its entire suite of programs.
 
“Our partnership with adidas compliments our new identity perfectly as well as our soon-to-be-open state of the art sport and recreation facility. Together, the new brand, the new adidas partnership and the new Queen's Centre facilities will form a solid foundation for our athletes as we challenge for provincial and national titles,” commented Dal Cin.
 
“adidas is a world leader in supporting the very best athletes and programs in their pursuit of excellence,” said Dal Cin. “We are very pleased to have adidas join our team; their expertise in uniform design will not only ensure that our athletes look great, but also that we will be playing in the best quality uniforms and product available in the marketplace.”
 
“We are elated about our new partnership with Queen's and believe this union is perfect timing,” said Jeff Clements, Director-Team Business Development for adidas Canada. “Our corporate directions are on very similar parallels, thus enabling cooperative effort to reach common goals.”
 
“With our new 'Team Business Development Unit', this agreement has the distinct ability to provide truly great value to both parties.” continues Clements. “adidas Canada is very committed to the service and support of Queen's Athletics and Recreation. We look forward to enhancing and further developing a deep rooted tradition of success with Queen's.”
 
Karacters Design Group (Toronto) was contracted by Queen's Athletics and Recreation to lead the development of the new brand identity. Their client list includes Vancouver 2010 Paralympics, BC Hydro, Getty Images and Canadian Tourism. During the research phase, students, current student-athletes, alumni as well as staff members and faculty where invited to provide comment and feedback on the development of the new brand identity.
 
“Our goal was to gather as much input as possible on what people felt about our brand and how we could strengthen it” said Brad Greenwood, Manager of Marketing, Communications and Events for Queen's Athletics and Recreation. “We were told, that our brand needed to be strong, successful, perseverant, proud of our tradition and most of all inspiring.
 
“Another major challenge we faced with our old brand was continuous erosion due to inconsistent application and an abundance of unrelated sub-brands,” continued Greenwood. “The new brand and architecture will allow us to achieve consistency across various programs and will also provide a recognizable and marketable identity to our stakeholders.”
 
The revitalization of the brand and strategic partnership with adidas Canada further support changes that Queen's Athletics and Recreation has been undergoing over the past 18 months. The initiatives are also consistent with the recommendations made in Crawford/Deakin Review of Athletics and Recreation which highlight the need for Athletics and Recreation to capitalize on revenues from marketing, sponsorship and other commercial ventures like merchandising.
 
The release of the new brand has been timed to coincide with significant visual elements (floor, signage, etc) within the Queen's Centre - the $230-million athletics, recreation and student life complex which will be home to Queen's Athletics and Recreation. The first phase of the complex is expected to open in the fall of 2009 with additional phases coming online over the next several years.
 
This fall Queen's Tindall Field – Kingston's first outdoor synthetic field – is set to open and will be the home of the majority of outdoor intramurals operated by Athletics and Recreation.