Shortly after dinner, it will be launch-time once again for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
The entire team will wear the Rider Nation Alt Jerseys for the first time when the (Obsidian) Green and White opposes the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday at Mosaic Stadium. The action is to begin at 7:30 p.m.
Another kickoff, for the new look, occurred 50 days ago when a grand unveiling was held for a smaller, yet equally captivated, audience at the Rider Store.
Obsidian — the darkest shade of green — formally became part of Rider Nation’s vocabulary during the initial event on May 30.
Emerald Green, a lighter shade of the traditional Rider Green, is also incorporated into the design.
“As much as we launched it digitally and we had our kickoff event, the fans haven’t really had the opportunity to interact with it yet,” says Jacqueline Hurlbert, the Roughriders’ Director of Marketing and Fan Engagement.
“I think that buildup is coming with how much we’ve seen in terms of the players’ excitement to wear the jerseys and people purchasing the new jersey and fans purchasing the jersey and Obsidian gear.
“We’re starting to see it out in the community. At the past couple of away games, we’ve seen fans already wearing it in the stands, so that’s exciting.
“But to have the game happening this weekend where we actually wear it, it’s very exciting, because this is something that was built for Rider Nation.
“It’s going to be that full-circle moment of how exciting this project really has been.”
The project was five years in the making, dating back to an introductory meeting that included Craig Reynolds (President-CEO), Mark Habicht (Director of Retail Operations and Licensing), Anthony Partipilo (the Roughriders’ Chief Brand Officer from April 2018 to March 2024) and Miriam Johnson (Director of Marketing and Fan Engagement, May 2016 to November 2021).
Discussions soon progressed from the conceptual to the concrete as the notion of an alternate jersey — the team’s first since 2014 — and logo was embraced.
Gradually, the circle widened as more Roughriders employees became part of the process.
“I’ve been in the loop for 2½ years and I just loved it from the start,” Graphic Designer Angela Bailey says. “It was so exciting. It was nice to know that such a big brand wasn’t afraid of adding things to it.”
The essential word being adding.
“We also wanted to emphasize that this isn’t replacing the Rider logo and the shield,” Hurlbert says. “We didn’t want fans to feel like we were taking anything away from them.
“Even with launching from a social media perspective, we had to make sure we were very intentional with our graphics and our videos.
“With everything, we were putting it out as plain as day that this is an alternate.”
Some of the hints were also offered in plain sight, albeit with the utmost subtlety.
“We have slowly been integrating it,” Hurlbert says.
“The headwalls (around the perimeter at Mosaic Stadium) were replaced a season ago. They’re Obsidian.
“The Bring ’Em Out tunnel cover is Obsidian. That was Obsidian before we launched the jerseys.
“In terms of our style guide, Obsidian has been part of our color scape since (the 2022) Grey Cup.
“That was really when we launched Obsidian and Emerald. Some of the fans may not have noticed it, but those little intricacies have been here for a while.”
Leading up to the event in late May, invitations to the guests included some Obsidian flourishes.
The modified wheat sheaf, part of the new logo, was included in graphics that were presented to the public as far back as the CFL’s free-agency period in February.
“There were pretty minimal things to hint at it, because I was scared of it being too much,” Bailey says with a laugh.
Bailey worked closely with graphic-design colleague Julia Vaughan as, step by carefully considered step, the team inched toward making the new look public.
“I’m a brand nerd,” Bailey says. “This is my jam. I just love branding and telling stories of brands and having that in the logo.
“I’m grateful that I got to be a part of the jerseys and logo.”
Ultimately, all the staff members contributed to a large-scale project that culminates with two Obsidian games this season. The Rider Nation Alt Jerseys will also be worn Oct. 26 when the Calgary Stampeders visit Mosaic Stadium.
“This a very grassroots organization and a small organization,” Hurlbert says. “A lot of times when there are these big launches, you hire external groups to launch it. That’s something our internal team is super proud of.
“Our content team for the Saskatchewan Roughriders were the ones who put (the storytelling) together. You’ve got two videographers and two graphic designers. Then you’ve got some other marketing team members assisting with the brainstorming and the pulling together of everything.
“That is a very small team so, when you look at that in terms of the scale of the launch. These individuals are so talented and it’s something that, internally, we’re all proud of, but I also hope the fan base recognizes that we’ve got some really talented people working for this organization.”
Blake Tiedeman (Digital Media Producer) and Morgan Fleury (Digital Media Co-ordinator) were responsible for the wide array of eye-catching images.
“We took on a huge project of launching not one, but two, different videos,” Tiedeman says. “One focused on generational storytelling and one focused on more of the hype of Rider Nation and how this brand ties to the land and the people.
“As a team we brainstormed many different scenes for what to include in the generational video until we got to a point where we felt comfortable — at which point I decided it would be a great time to take a month-long vacation and explore the Philippines.
“That left Morgan to begin storyboarding the concept and really bringing the ideas to life. When I came back and sat in on a meeting and listened to what the storyboard entailed, I got chills, because I felt like this idea was actually going to work.
“It began with the huge undertaking of sourcing locations, actors, props, et cetera. It’s no small task, but everyone worked great together to find all these people, places and things.”
The expertise of Seth Strankman (Manager, Game Entertainment and Events) and Eva Fletcher (Event Co-ordinator) has been beneficial with regard to the incorporation of the Alt Jerseys into the overall game-day, well, mosaic!
Arielle Zerr (Director of Communications), Rebecca Perigny (Manager, Marketing and Community), Karina Peterson (Community Operations Co-ordinator) and Mitchell Saretzky (Game Entertainment and Events Intern) have assisted in various forms as a game plan has been formulated for the rollout.
Reynolds and Habicht, both of whom were originally at the table five years ago, provided invaluable oversight as the project evolved to the point where it could be introduced.
“It was really the core marketing and game-day team that came up with the storytelling,” Hurlbert says. “When we got closer to launch, it was a full organizational effort.
“We had admin staff helping out with building gift baskets. We had retail staff helping out with some of our brainstorming for the event. We had Finance and Partnerships helping out with things.
“When it came to the full launch, it was a full organization effort.”
Full days were required to pull it off.
“Upon arrival back in Regina from training camp (in Saskatoon) we had one day between arriving and beginning to shoot all of the photo and video content of (six) players in the new uniforms,” Tiedeman says.
“That posed its own set of challenges as a lot of things came together last-minute. That’s sometimes the nature of the beast in this industry, though, and I feel fortunate to have been here as long as I have.
“I am also fortunate to work with some really great people who have also been through similar scenarios, so the coming together in those last-minute moments didn’t faze us.
“It’s just a crazy experience to look back on now. I’m grateful beyond words to have been part of it.”
At the May 30 launch, the Rider Nation Alt Jerseys were modelled by six players — Trevor Harris, Shawn Bane Jr., Kian Schaffer-Baker, Rolan Milligan Jr., C.J. Reavis and A.J. Ouellette.
Now the entire team will be resplendent in two shades of green — Obsidian and Emerald —
before an expanded, five-figure audience at Mosaic Stadium, against a traditional rival.
“It is Bomber week and I know that does mean a little something different here,” says Corey Mace, who has a 4-1 record as the Roughriders’ first-year Head Coach. “I figured that out pretty quick.
“To this point, everybody is happy with what they’re seeing and they’re looking forward to taking in the next game.
“We’ve just got to continue making everybody proud of the Green and White … or Obsidian.”
