Trew Knowledge partners with Zync to deliver responsive mobile relaunch of Olympic.ca

We have just completed a collaboration with Zync who was selected to design, develop and support the official Canadian Olympic Team website: Olympic.ca—and they chose Trew Knowledge as their programming partner. View the original article here.

Today, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) officially re-launched Olympic.ca, marking the 3-month countdown to the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

The Committee worked with Toronto-based brand and marketing agency Zync, and their programming partner Trew Knowledge, to design, develop and support a site that will engage Canadian Olympic fans heading into and throughout the Games, with a particular focus on a best-in-class mobile Web experience.

“We chose Zync because they shared our vision to marry elegant, clean, flat design with a content structure that lives within a responsive mobile world.  We know our fans, athletes and our partners are hungry for Canadian Olympic team content,” said Derek Kent, Chief Marketing Officer of the Canadian Olympic Committee. “This new website will ensure our athletes’ stories are told and shared in more compelling ways with fans at home and around the world.”

“Zync focused on how things would actually behave as mobile content and navigation – on function, then form,” said Todd Denis, Director of Brand Connections for the COC. “With the functional blocks in place, they really knocked the design work out of the park. The live site is almost indistinguishable from what Zync originally pitched, on the desktop, tablet and phone. They were a real partner on the project, from creative, to wireframes, to final code.”

The site was built dynamically within a responsive grid, which means it literally ‘responds’ to the screen dimensions of the device it is being displayed on, creating superior experiences from a single site, regardless of screen size.

“The user experience on mobile is essential. Fans have to easily be able to find what they want on any device they own,” said Brad Breininger, Principal & Strategist at Zync. “The new and improved Olympic.ca makes it easy to share articles, photographs and videos, with a menu system built specifically for those smaller screens.”

The COC also collaborated with WordPress, the world’s top blog-specific Content Management System (CMS), which powers more than 69 million sites, including many well-known sport and media properties. Specifically, Olympic.ca relies on WordPress VIP, an enterprise-grade WordPress hosting platform that will ensure the site is ready for any traffic and performance load the Olympic Games can throw at it.

Zync is currently working with the COC to further enhance the user experience for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics on a version of the site that will go live shortly before opening ceremonies.

“I love this new website. For me it reaches the top of the digital podium for the team,” said Kaillie Humphries, Vancouver 2010 Olympic gold medalist (Bobsleigh). “It is awesome. I will definitely be engaging with it, as a gateway to social platforms and all my fans on the road to Sochi.”

About the Canadian Olympic Committee
The Canadian Olympic Committee leads the achievement of the Canadian Olympic Team’s podium success and advances Olympic values in Canada. The Canadian Olympic Team works with National Sport Federations to prepare the Team for the Olympic, Youth Olympic and Pan American Games. By sharing athletes’ stories, they inspire all Canadians through the power of sport.


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