Ottawa Senators fans have had a month now to sit with the team's new branding, and the executive behind it says the point was never just a fresh logo. Peter Shier, the Senators' vice-president of marketing, says the rebrand was about declaring what the team stands for under its current ownership group.
Why now
"I think the ownership group has been in place for two or three years and it was an opportunity to turn the page and say, 'This is what the new Senators stand for,'" Shier said. The branding was unveiled at a media event last month, and the timing lines up with TSN's own coverage of the new slogan in early September.
The Hill We Choose
The centrepiece of the campaign is a new slogan: "The Hill We Choose," or "Le Sommet Que Nous Choisissons" in French. It's a deliberate nod to Ottawa itself, tying the team's identity to the city it plays in rather than a generic hockey tagline. The Senators worked with Acart Communications, a local Ottawa advertising agency, to put the campaign together, keeping the creative work in the city the team represents.
A shuttle for the Sens Army
The rebrand isn't just visual. The team is rolling out a new shuttle bus program called the Sens Army Express, which will run buses to eight bars around Ottawa and Gatineau on game days.
ottown covered the Sens Army Express when the team first rolled out details on the initiative back in September, and this latest reporting fills in how it fits into the broader marketing push. For more background, see ottown's earlier report on the program's rollout.
More for women fans
It's a small but telling detail in a rebrand that's clearly aimed at widening who shows up to games, not just refreshing colours and fonts for existing season-ticket holders.
What it means for Ottawa
For a city where the Senators are often treated as a bellwether for downtown energy on game nights, a rebrand that leans into local identity, with a French and English slogan referencing the city's geography, a local agency behind the work, and a shuttle network tying together Ottawa and Gatineau bars, reads as an attempt to make the team feel more woven into the city it plays in.
Sources: Ottawa Business Journal, TSN
