Case Study: EVENT Communications Strategy
Annual PEI Amateur Sport awards
2025
Since 1973, Sport PEI has hosted the PEI Amateur Sport Awards, the province’s premier event celebrating excellence in sport.
Prior to 2024, communications and production for the event were distributed across multiple contractors and staff members. Video production, script writing, social media content, and print materials were all created separately, making it difficult to maintain a consistent theme and production quality.
In 2025, I was tasked as de facto Executive Producer of the Annual PEI Amateur Sport Awards for the second consecutive year, leading all communications strategy and content production as well as facilitating the award selection process itself. In addition to producing all content for social media, print program, website, and awards presentation/finalist introduction, I challenged myself to upgrade the quality of production and event-night experience in particular by including video highlights into the live slideshows, which received unanimous praise.
❋ Challenges
The fragmented production process created several problems:
Event communications lacked strategic coordination
Messaging and creative themes varied across materials
Sport PEI staff had to manage multiple contractors and timelines
Media engagement and online promotion were inconsistent
Leadership wanted to increase visibility, improve storytelling around athlete achievements, and create a more streamlined production process.
❋ Strategic Approach
The strategy focused on consolidating communications production into a unified approach. Key elements included:
Reviewing previous event communications performance and audience engagement
Defining key audiences including athletes, families, sport organizations, and the broader public
Developing an integrated communications plan covering promotion, event storytelling, and post-event coverage
Improving tracking of athlete achievements and nomination details
Creating all event content from a single strategic source to ensure consistency
❋ Deliverables
Event communications strategy
Social media content plan
Event storytelling framework
Media outreach messaging
Video scripts and voice-over production
Social media graphics and promotional content
Written program content and design
Nomination summaries and organization
Post-event communications sum
❋ Impact
The integrated approach significantly improved event communications and audience engagement. Results included:
Stronger storytelling highlighting athlete achievements
More consistent branding across all event materialsOver 300% increase in social media engagement during the promotion and awards announcement period
Highly positive feedback from event attendees and participants
Increased prestige and visibility for the event across the provincial sport community
Timeline
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Promoting via social media, website, newsletter, and on-site for award nominations in 16 different categories over a month period.
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As deadline passes, summaries are created nominations highlighting most relevant information and tiering nominees based on comparisons to past winners and finalists. Summaries are distributed to voters along survey link to submit initial ballots.
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After initial ballots are submitted, voting is reviewed and presented to voting committee in live meeting along with additional details regarding nominees in categories where initial voting did not indicate clear winners/finalists. Further discussion is facilitated for closely voted categories. Voters have the opportunity to ask questions and make arguments on behalf of nominees and re-vote as needed.
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After winners and finalists are selected by voting committee, information is analyzed for patterns, themes, and storylines to create a communications strategy proposal to be reviewed and approved by executive director. This year’s strategy included highlighting unprecedented excellence in the senior athlete, junior female athlete, and team categories as well as a variety of sports represented for the first time and patterns of community involvement & high character among the junior athlete finalists.
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Sport PEI has a long-time agreement with CBC PEI to lend for their radio personalities and recording equipment to produce the voice over tracks used in the slideshow videos introducing finalists and winners on the night of the event. To give them enough time for the voice over tracks to be returned in accordance with the timeline, scripts must be drafted and finalized within days of selections.
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Finalists for the Team, Coach, and Athlete categories and Winners of the other categories are announced through the first week of December via social media (Facebook & Instagram), CBC Radio, website posts, and press release.
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The social media schedule will include posts promoting the date of the vent and how to purchase tickets with an uptick in focus during the second week of December after all finalists and winners announcements have been circulated. This year’s event was sold out for the first time since pre-Covid.
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Finalists and Winners will be announced during the first week of December followed by a spotlight campaign to highlight finalists via social media. This year’s promotion campaign included partnership with another organization program - True Sport Lives Here PEI - to highlight the strong character and leadership qualities of the junior athlete of the year finalists.
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Printed programs are offered to event attendees on awards night that include descriptions of the winners’ and finalists’ achievements and accolades as well as advertisements, which are managed and designed by other staff. Designs and copy must be finalized in time to be reviewed and approved by executive director then printed.
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Concluding two months of work, the event night is a showcase of content celebrating the year of amateur sport excellence in PEI. The “slideshow videos” using photos and video are edited with the voiceover tracks and background music to introduce the finalists and winners of each award; this was the first time the “slideshow videos” used predominantly video content edited together to resemble a highlight package. The videos are arranged in accordance with program schedule and organized into a slideshow with placeholder slides to be displayed while awards are being presented by hosts and accepted by winners. Social content for the evening announcing winners is drafted and waiting to be published as hosts reveal the results to the audience. Video and photo content is shot during the event for later social use and documentation. Conversational public feedback about award experience and content is gathered by Sport PEI staff and board during post-event reception.
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Candid event photos are shared the day following the event while video content is edited and shared the following week as well as studio photos of award winners taken by professional photographer during event night. Meeting is held with Sport PEI senior staff to review feedback and experience as well as to reflect on strategy and adjustments for following year.
Junior Athlete Spotlight Strategy
The nomination classes for the Junior Athlete award were particularly strong in this year, leading the selection committee to name four finalists for male & female categories - one more than the traditional trio of athletes. One of the organization’s initiatives - True Sport Lives Here PEI - is to promote well-roundness and high character in athletes as being just as important to high performance as skill and athleticism. To spotlight to these athletes and promote the True Sport initiative, excerpts were taken from their nomination submissions that matched with the initiatives messaging to highlight their character and leadership contributions.
Initial Announcement Social Content Designs
PRINT PROGRAM Content
INTRO VIDEO
Event Night Video Content
JR. MALE ATHLETE FINALISTS
TRUE SPORT AWARD
Winner announcement video Content (for social)
