IIHF World Juniors Championship

I worked on the IIHF World Junior Championship from 2019 through 2022, leading creative direction alongside the Creative Director to develop a cohesive and impactful brand experience for both digital and physical touchpoints. When the pandemic hit, one of our biggest challenges was finding ways to generate sponsor value and visual engagement in an empty stadium. Our solution was to transform the seating area into a large-scale branding opportunity — wrapping the seats with sponsor logos inspired by the Aurora Borealis visual theme. This not only enhanced the broadcast visuals but also created a new revenue stream for the client.

The campaign messaging centered around light and energy, with taglines like “Be here when the lights shine brightest”, capturing the spirit of the event. We conducted A/B testing for digital campaigns and discovered that positive, uplifting language outperformed traditional calls-to-action. I also designed stadium pageantry, participated in photoshoots, developed logos for in-stadium activations like the Ice Shack, and produced hundreds of digital assets. The event achieved a record-breaking $17 million 50/50 jackpot, and the creative direction resonated so strongly that the client continued the branding in subsequent years.