Case Study: Communications Strategy Reset
Sport PEI
2024-25
Sport PEI is a federation of more than 60 provincial sport organizations in Prince Edward Island. The organization supports athlete development, promotes amateur sport across the province, and provides programs and services to its member organizations.
By 2023, Sport PEI had gone several years without experienced communications leadership. As a result, communications efforts had become reactive, digital engagement had stagnated, and the organization struggled to consistently promote the accomplishments of PEI athletes competing outside the province.
Sport PEI engaged communications consulting support to modernize its communications strategy, strengthen messaging, and build a more effective digital presence.
❋ Challenges
Several structural communications challenges had developed:
The organization was operating with an outdated communications strategy
Social media reach and engagement had plateaued
Messaging varied across programs and leadership voice
There was no clear narrative explaining the organization’s mission and priorities
Communications were largely reactive rather than strategically planned
Stakeholders had limited awareness of athlete accomplishments outside PEI
Leadership needed a clearer framework to guide communications planning and increase visibility for provincial sport.
❋ Strategic Approach
The project began with a communications audit examining Sport PEI’s website, social media platforms, newsletters, and program communications.
This process identified messaging gaps and inconsistencies across communications channels and revealed opportunities to strengthen storytelling around athlete development and provincial sport success.
The strategy focused on several key priorities:
Modernizing the visual quality and consistency of social media content
Expanding original content production featuring local athletes and teams
Strengthening relationships with local media outlets
Developing a recurring recognition program highlighting athlete accomplishments
Creating a structured communications planning framework aligned with organizational priorities
The result was a communications strategy designed to improve visibility, strengthen messaging alignment, and create a sustainable approach to communications planning.
❋ Deliverables
Communications strategy document
Messaging pillars and narrative framework
Stakeholder audience segmentation
Annual communications planning calendar
Implementation and management of communications strategy
Social media content (Facebook & Instagram) including design and written copy
Website news content
Email newsletters
Press releases and media outreach
High-performance athlete tracking system
Radio interviews and media engagement
Communications education workshop for staff and member organizations
❋ Impact
The strategy provided leadership with a clear framework for communications planning and improved alignment between organizational priorities and messaging.
Key outcomes included:
Significant improvement in social media reach and engagement
Increased consistency in messaging across programs and leadership communications
Stronger visibility for PEI athletes and sport accomplishments
A structured planning approach that replaced reactive communications
RESULTS
Sport PEI - Communications Strategy Reset implemented in 2024
2.8K
5.6K
6.5K
700
6.8K
6.8K
8K
59.8K
62.5K
29.8K
50.8K
34.3K
4.4K
46.2K
34.2K
282.8K
324.3K
500K
Newsmakers
One of the most successful additions to the strategy reset was the revival of a 1980’s newsletter column called PEI Newsmakers, a monthly post highlighting the top accomplishments in the PEI sport scene each month. With a limited media market in Prince Edward Island, there are few opportunities for athletes and teams to be recognized outside of their organization, particularly niche sports. This simple but effective campaign filled a gap for Sport PEI in their mission to promote and recognize all of their members’ accomplishments.
International Women’s Day
An intentional, strategic choice was made regarding the celebration and acknowledgment of holidays and national/international awareness dates only if something beyond a checkbox social media post (ie. event, recognition, organization-specific messaging). International Women’s Day was identified as an awareness day to commit to highlighting women in different roles each year - athletes, coaches, board members, and organization staff - sharing individualized messaging, and rotating which role is highlighted every year.
Bold + Personal Style
In a close-knit community like Prince Edward Island, the use and promotion of local faces in social media is a major determining factor when reviewing engagement analytics. Posts promoting organization programs consistently use a variety of individuals to encourage engagement.
In previous years, many of the social posts would contain an overuse of text to share information. The use of bold but simple statements emphasizing names and purpose of programs has also resulted in increased visibility and engagement.
Shout Outs & Major Events
Sticking with the theme of recognition and promotion of accomplishments, Sport PEI has taken on the responsibility of being a reliable and timely source for major events and historical news. Preparing engaging content to be published as major live events (ie. Olympic & Paralympic Games, Canada Games, World Championships) unfold not only drove traffic to the social media feeds and website, but also elevated the accomplishments to be recognized by all with proper context.
The impact of this readiness for live events was seen during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games when two PEI athletes reached the medal rounds in their respective sports, illustrated with major spikes in Facebook Page Visits (+90%) and Interactions (+38%), that were unable to be matched in 2025 without comparable accomplishments.
Performance Hub - Grand Opening
While much of the organization’s communications strategy is centered around recognizing accomplishments and promoting the individuals who achieve them, a new major program was added in 2025 as Sport PEI introduced the Canada Games Legacy Performance Hub. The Performance Hub signaled a new era for the organization as the first opportunity to invite athletes and coaches into the facility for athletic testing and planning. With the concept of athletic testing being unfamiliar to the average PEI sports family, promotion surrounding the opening of the Hub leaned into the mystery of a new concept by taking close-up photos of state-of-the-art technology to peak interest.
