History
The practice of sports on the island of Montreal is part of the city’s history and has been contributing to its exposure for many decades. As a result of becoming an Olympic city in 1976, Montreal benefits from a most enviable status and is home to major sports organizations, including most of Quebec’s provincial sports federations, some national sports federations and some professional clubs. There is a large number of people who participate in sports, at all levels: Recreative, Espoir, Relève, Élite and Excellence.
In the Fall of 2007, in the framework of a large public consultation, top executives of Montreal’s sports ecosystem clearly expressed the wish to see the implementation of a regional organization whose mission would be to efficiently support high performance sport as well as the island of Montreal’s exposure with regard to sport. It is for this very reason that Excellence sportive de l’île de Montréal (ESIM) was incorporated in December 2011 and began offering concrete services two years later.
Mission
ESIM’s mission is to contribute to the development of high performance sport and to the exposure of the island of Montreal by working on three axes in distinctive ways:
ESIM-Athletes: ESIM ensures the coordination of services that complement the development of high performance athletes on the island of Montreal, as well as that of sports stakeholders who operate around these athletes.
ESIM-Events: with the help of partners, more specifically Tourism Montréal and Ville de Montréal, ESIM provides a dedicated expertise when it comes to attracting and hosting national and international sports events on the island of Montreal.
ESIM-Synergy: By grouping together all those involved in high performance sport on the island of Montreal (sports commissions, clubs, coaches, athletes, people responsible for college- and university-level sports, etc.), ESIM ensures the leadership to create the synergy needed to optimize the development of high performance sport as well as the exposure of the island of Montreal.
Values
Accessible
Open, non-threatening, neutral, engaging, collaborative
Dynamic
Proactive, efficient, flexible, performing, vibrant, agile, innovative, leadership
Professional
Expert, competent, efficient, honest, ethical
ENRICHING THE SPORT EXPERIENCE
A simple, yet significant short phrase that communicated the organization’s deep motivation to contribute to Montreal’s growth as a renowned sport venue. The slogan has significance within the three axes:
ATHLETIC AXIS
Supervise, guide and support coaches, stakeholders in the sport community and athletes in their development.
EVENT AXIS
Promote Montréal, leverage the event offer, enhance the experience for sponsors and spectators as well as for the organization.
ESIM is the go-to strategy consultant for a most rewarding sport experience.
SYNERGY AXIS
Increase cooperation among the stakeholders in the sport community. ESIM is the leader of Montreal’s sport community, and coordinates discussions and interactions among the various parties involved.
Logo
Inspired by connectivity, this symbol represents a network of interconnected dots which form a star. The intertwined traits of the brand identity create a perspective which gives the impression that the star was drawn in a single stroke, evoking ESIM’s three axes of intervention.
The star, is the top-level athlete reaching his full potential. It symbolizes ESIM’s collaborative spirit and the synergy among the various stakeholders in Montreal’s sport community. One can also see an arrow pointed towards the top and slightly tilted towards the front, pointing to a goal, which is to propel top-level athletes to new heights.
Il embodies ESIM’s motivation to guide and support these rising stars in sports. The star is therefore a reference to our artistic culture and supports the idea of giving our top-performing athletes the status of stars.
This aspect of ESIM’s responsibility in the development and the deployment of high-profile sporting events is thus etched in its brand image.
The integration of the strategic positioning slogan to the brand helps to understand ESIM’s foundations and its desire to improve the offer in Montreal.