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CAMS at NAIT

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Background

CAMS at NAIT is a medical simulation centre supporting healthcare training, testing, and innovation. It offers hundreds of simulation scenarios and highly realistic environments that can be adapted to a wide range of needs, from clinical and community care to emergency response and applied research. CAMS also plays a role in Alberta’s health innovation ecosystem through partnerships and innovation funding.

The Clarity Gap

CAMS provided a valuable service, but its potential was not fully understood outside of NAIT. Many external audiences did not know CAMS existed, did not understand what it offered, or were unclear about how and when to engage. NAIT engaged Incite to better position CAMS externally to diverse audiences. Internally, CAMS had to navigate a post-secondary environment, where progress depends on managing approvals, limited resources, and evolving priorities.

Our approach

Incite led a full brand strategy process, built to create clarity and an action plan that the team could actually use.

We started with discovery to align on objectives, constraints, and what success needed to look like for CAMS. We then conducted stakeholder research to understand how CAMS was perceived, where confusion was happening, and what barriers were limiting engagement and growth.

From those insights, we developed a strategic direction that supported CAMS’ evolution from an internal academic asset to a more visible offering for external audiences. The strategy clarified positioning, messaging, and priority audiences. We also provided an implementation plan focused on practical actions to build awareness, improve engagement pathways, and support business development.

How the work evolved

This engagement did not stop at strategy. As CAMS moved into implementation, the work shifted into advisory and execution support. The goal was to keep momentum while helping the CAMS team prioritize what was achievable and useful right away.

Support included:

  • Materials to enable business development, including case study and pitch deck templates for different audiences
  • A LinkedIn playbook to make posting easier and more consistent
  • A process map to help audiences understand how to engage
  • Research support for podcast themes and potential speakers
  • Strategic discussions with CAMS’ media partner to align activity with the strategy
  • Event and opportunity research to support outreach and ecosystem engagement
  • Reporting to support accountability and proof of value, including sustainability and impact reporting for leadership and grant funding
  • Website review and recommendations to improve clarity and usability

”Incite played a critical role in the CAMS at NAIT transformation from a largely internal training centre into a nationally recognized leader in simulation-based health innovation. Their market insight, positioning work, and storytelling helped us clearly articulate our value, build credibility with funders and partners, and unlock significant new opportunities for growth. Incite didn’t just help us communicate our impact, they helped us create it.

John SutherlandDirector, Centre for Advanced Medical Simulation

Outcome

The work helped CAMS get clearer internally and show up more clearly in the market. It gave the team a foundation for consistent storytelling and practical tools they could use to support awareness, partnerships, and business development, even when implementation was constrained by institutional realities.

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