Case Study: Brand Development and Marketing Strategy for ZerOne

ZerOne is a cutting-edge sports performance and healthcare facility located in West Edmonton Mall, integrating elite hockey training with allied health services. With three primary brands—Hockeyology, Athleticare, and Sports Performance Labs (GaMA)—ZerOne caters to athletes and active individuals seeking top-tier training, rehabilitation, and performance optimization.

My Role

As the Manager of Marketing and Communications, I was brought in six months before ZerOne’s opening to lead the execution of brand development, marketing strategy, and overall art direction. This project became the capstone of my career, allowing me to apply my expertise across multiple disciplines—from strategic marketing to brand positioning, web development, graphic design, and merchandise creation.

Brand Development

• Developed ZerOne’s brand identity, starting with refining the existing wordmark and establishing a cohesive brand and design guideline.
• Led brand positioning efforts, analyzing competitors in the allied healthcare and hockey training industries and identifying science and technology as key differentiators.
• Designed retail space by creating concept sketches and renderings that guided shelving, display arrangements, wall graphics, and the fit-out of the GaMA performance labs.
• Created custom merchandise, including apparel that incorporated unique applications of the ZerOne wordmark while considering printing constraints.

Marketing and Communications Strategy

• Established a core Marketing and Communications Objectives framework, defining eight key objectives: sales, brand awareness, community partnerships, business growth, education, engagement, and more.
• Developed a flexible brand messaging strategy to address the dual-market challenge: positioning ZerOne as both a hockey training facility (Hockeyology) and an allied healthcare provider (Athleticare), while also unifying the company under a holistic performance-driven identity.
• Designed and launched the ZerOne website, collaborating with subject matter experts to develop content, optimize for search engines, and later integrate e-commerce functionality for membership and service purchases.

Digital and Traditional Marketing

• Executed targeted digital advertising, utilizing demographic and geo-location data, while running A/B tests across social media and Google Ads.
• Produced investor packages, sales sheets, brochures, flyers, posters, and signage for the facility—including large-scale wall graphics and a custom Zamboni decal wrap.
• Created and coordinated promotional content, including securing Edmonton Oilers’ Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for the grand opening and future marketing materials.

Grand Opening Success

On October 5th, ZerOne’s grand opening was a resounding success, with hundreds of attendees lining up outside the facility. Thanks in part to strategic marketing efforts, the event drew significant interest, generating strong brand momentum and positioning ZerOne as a premier destination for hockey training and healthcare services.

Conclusion

Building the ZerOne brand from the ground up was a dynamic, high-energy challenge that demanded creativity, strategic thinking, and adaptability. From shaping the brand’s identity to executing its marketing strategy, this experience reinforced my passion for bringing ideas to life and creating work that resonates with audiences.