Empowering the Future of Skiing

The Opportunity

Since being founded in 1908, the Norwegian Ski Federation (NSF) has grown to represent eight different ski disciplines (alpine, cross-country, freeski, freestyle, Nordic combined, ski jumping, randonee, Telemark), 16 regions and 1150 clubs. Its mandate is to organize and develop the sport of skiing in Norway.

The world has undergone significant changes since the 1900s, with the premises for skiing both as an athletic sport and leisurely activity having radically changed.

So, NSF sought answers on how to position their brand and empower skiing today, and beyond. ÆRA was invited to help.

The Way

A pre-project was initiated to identify the current status and views on NSF, both internally and externally.

After thorough research and analysis of needs across the ski disciplines, regions and clubs, findings revealed a significant gap in the collective understanding of NSF's role, as well as a lack of shared goals and a unified culture. All this resulting in a fragmented brand with no consistency or structure.

To address these challenges, we helped NSF develop:

• A brand story clearly stating the purpose and the benefits of a united organization
• A new brand architecture to strengthen the plural commercial and cultural aspects of the federation
• A new and updated visual identity by Heydays in partnership

We designed a process involving a broad task force from NSF throughout the whole project. By doing so we enabled co-creation, internal ownership, and a secured a common understanding of the role and needs for the future of NSF. 1.6 million Norwegians spend time skiing in some shape or form during the winter season.

Crafting the Brand Story

To find the true essence of skiing and identify the reasons to why we need NSF, we dove into history, engaging in in-depth interviews with athletes, clubs and people from NSF.

We also conducted mobile ethnography to capture the viewpoints of the general public. Such qualitative methods allowed us to study the role of skiing in average, yet diverse lives.

As our exploration progressed, distinct patterns began to surface. These patterns led us to identify four key topics that form the core of the Norwegian skiing community and consequently highlight the importance of why we need NSF.

• Inclusion and diversity
• Talents and role models
• Meeting places and togetherness
• Tradition and progression

The brand story was then crafted around these key topics, presenting a compelling narrative that showcased skiing's importance in Norway, both for current and future generations.

Building a new brand architecture

To strengthen the NSF brand a new brand architecture was developed.

The architecture is designed to strengthen the different commercial and cultural aspects of the brand. It allows for individual differences between the disciplines, while at the same time secure the connection to NSF at all levels. Based on this, a new visual identity was designed by Heydays making the brand both look and feel more relevant.

The Result

With a new brand story, brand architecture and visual identity, we made NSF ready to be seen, heard and nonetheless: more committed to shaping its own future.

The story lives on in the hands of the organization. It is meant as a cultural tool as much as a strategic tool to structure their way forward, retaining the NSF’s role in civil society.

The brand architecture and visual identity was launched in June 2023. It will gradually become more visible to a broader audience.

What We Provided

• Deep insights and analysis
• Brand purposing
• Concept development
• Change agents and advisors