A new website to connect Canadians, from coast to coast to coast.

Canada C3

Students on Ice (SOI) is a leader in Arctic and Antarctic education. Their mandate is to enlighten the world's youth about the importance of the polar regions, and to encourage respect for the environment. The foundation has taken over 2500 students and staff on its highly-acclaimed educational expeditions to the Polar Regions.

bv02 has a long relationship with SOI, having completed multiple projects in the past with them–from branding work to the development of their main website, studentsonice.com. In celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation, Students on Ice founded the Canada C3 project. This project will take 300 remarkable Canadians on a 150-day sailing journey from Coast to Coast to Coast. Throughout the journey, events will take place along the way that will allow all Canadians to interact with what’s going on in the expedition. With the intent to bring all Canadians together, these events will take place in various places, such as First Nations communities, major cities, small towns, nationally protected parks and bird sanctuaries.

When the founder of SOI, Geoff Green, came to bv02 with this exciting expedition, we were eager to be a part of something that would bring so many Canadians together. bv02 was tasked with bringing Canada C3 to life–in a digital sense–by creating the Canada C3 brand, and developing the overall look and feel of the program, website tools, and social media channels.

To create a proper digital representation of the significance of Canada C3, we needed to create both a website and a completely interactive digital space. This would include a web platform and an interactive voyage map built using CartoVista. Through the map, users are able to view what the voyagers are experiencing at each stop. The map has embedded videos, and it allows you to view the culture, environment, population and even the weather of different parts of Canada.  

Project Goals

  1. Give Canada C3 a unique and worthy brand.
  2. Bring Canada C3 to Canadians in a digital setting.
  3. Ensure that the platform can grow while still maintaining its appeal before, during and after the expedition.
  4. Have the website act as a time capsule, post-expedition.

Approach

bv02 held interviews with every department within the SOI and Canada C3 teams. Through discovery and insight from these interviews, we were able to determine the messaging, voice and engagement goals. Ultimately, we were able to produce an interactive platform that appeals to a broad user base and provides ongoing content about the expedition.

Results

The project was quite successful for Canada C3, resulting in:

  • 1400 applications to be one of the 300 Canadians on the expedition within the first few days of launch.
  • 3000 newsletter registrations.

Next Phase

The next phase of the Canada C3 project will involve a second version of the map. This version will be more interactive with more data and information. The next phase will also involve the integration of an e-commerce store so that visitors can purchase soundtracks, books and artwork.

Solutions Provided

canadac3.ca