Canadian Sponsorship Forum Blog

Paralympic Swimmer Makes Waves for the Movement

After I met Stephanie Dixon for a phone interview last week, the slogan "With glowing hearts" resonated on a new, meaningful level for me. Born with one leg, Stephanie is recognized as one of the best swimmers with a disability in the world. A deserving reputation indeed, this heralded achievement should not overshadow her drive, leadership, and tenacious spirit for the Paralympic movement. That’s what I came to admire most about Steph.

[BREAK]Stephanie recently appeared in a Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) ad that I saw in the Globe and Mail. In the half-page ad, she stands tall, arms crossed, over the tagline "She doesn’t want your sympathy. But her opponents might." Intrigued by the boldness of the ad, I quickly Googled her to find out that she is a world record holder, has won an astounding number of medals and earned an impressive career in swimming at a young age. Thanks to our friends at the CPC, I soon after had the opportunity to connect with Stephanie and have a glimpse into the life of this woman who stared back at me from the pages of the Globe.

"Ambition" should be Steph Dixon’s middle name. With an encouraging support system from an early age, she has gone after her dreams relentlessly. When she started swimming competitively at age 13, she had never heard of the Paralympics. Steph just pursued what she enjoyed most, amongst able-bodied athletes. With dedication and practice, she developed her skills and results followed. One year after she started swimming, at age 14, Steph had already earned her spot on the National Team for Swimmers with a Disability.

"The best type of training is to have people to chase after," said Steph. "I felt lucky to have trained with able bodied athletes. It opened up my eyes. I saw no boundaries and no limitations. You need a push and not be at the top all the time. Competing with able bodies pushed me to excel."

Steph attests to the challenges that athletes with disabilities face, including accessible opportunities for training, portrayal in the media as elite and to be truly recognized for their level of athleticism. In March of 2007, Steph visited Rio de Janerio and San Paulo, Brazil as an Ambassador of the Rio 2007 Parapanamerican Games. On the visit, she raised awareness for the need for equal sporting opportunities for all athletes.

"I would have never achieved what I have today without my great support system," added Steph. "I want to come full circle and be on the other side of it – either as a support mechanism or to open up doors for other people to pursue their dreams. I feel like it is now time for me to lift someone else into that position. Although things are getting better and moving forward, there’s still a long way to go!"

(Can you see her glowing heart, yet?)

Not to be dwarfed by the media-frenzied Olympic Games, the awareness difficulties that Steph challenges translate to the Paralympic movement in various aspects. She acknowledges the progress made in affiliating the Paralympic Games in conjunction with the Olympics, but conveys that it is the responsibility of the athletes to get their story out there.

"There are so many inspirational stories of Paralympic athletes," Steph enthused. "If people only knew and could see these stories, then everyone would be keen. I want to use my accomplishments to promote the Games. I hope that I can help encourage the development of the Paralympic movement and bringing awareness to Paralympics. Paralympic athletes are not fighting for an individual spotlight. We are all fighting for the whole Paralympic spotlight."

This community spirit is truly what sets the Paralympic Games apart. When I asked Steph what her favourite thing about being part of the Games were, the unique atmosphere and uniting energy topped her list.

"There are so many records broken because not only are athletes physically preparing, but they’re also feeding off of other team mates, the crowd, and the atmosphere – almost like people vibrating on a higher level," said Steph. "The energy – it’s so wild. It’s like living in a dream world for a few weeks."

(It was with this image in my mind that I could first imagine every single athlete with his or her heart aglow.)

Steph is a huge believer that role models are essential for anyone to pursue their dreams and achieve their best. For Steph, her role model is Natalie du Toit – a South African Paralympic athlete. Du Toit began competing internationally in swimming at the age of 14. In February 2001, her left leg was amputated at the knee after an accident. Three months later, before she started walking again, she was back in the pool with the intention of competing in the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Du Toit swims without the aid of a prosthetic limb and went on to compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and actually qualified for the able-bodied races!

Although, Steph maintains her stance on the importance of role models in sport, she emphasizes that just because someone is an amazing athlete that does not necessarily mean that they are good role models.

"It’s important to regard a role model as a human being and not just as an athlete or a gold medal," she expressed. "All great role models should represent overcoming adversity, staring fear in the face and not letting it push you down. Seeing the stories about what they had overcome to get there... that’s inspiring!"

Steph told me that when you are with a group of people fighting to be recognized, there is more of a connection; that the experience becomes a bigger cause than your own personal achievement; and that when anyone gets recognized, everyone is supportive because it is something they all believe in. When I asked Steph what her proudest moment was, she demonstrated this as truth in her own actions.

At her second Paralympics, in Athens, Steph raced against the one and only Natalie du Toit. Going into the race, Steph held five world records. Every time she raced against her role model, du Toit broke those records! The end result for Stephanie was winning four silver medals and losing four world records.

"My proudest moment was how I dealt with the situation," explained Stephanie. "Instead of getting angry, I took the frame of mind of being proud to race against such an amazing competitor as Natalie. I did the best races that I could do, and was so proud of coming silver. They were all my personal best!"

When it came time for the 100m backstroke against du Toit, she didn’t lose faith in coming out on top. Racing neck and neck, Stephanie out-touched du Toit in the end, creating a new world record!

"That was my David and Goliath moment," Stephanie joked, proudly. "I was totally annihilated four times in a row, but still found the confidence to do the best I could do. I knew that Natalie would put up a fight, and I did too!"

Taking things one year at a time, reassessing at the end of each year, Steph will keep swimming as long as she has the motivation to do more than what she has already accomplished.

"Before committing to London 2012, I will look at things and see where I stand," commented Steph. "After 19 medals, you wonder, ‘Can I do more?’ But competing in another sport? That’s another question!"

We will continue to see Steph do things she’s never done and climb to new levels. For now, when she’s not in the pool or advocating for the Paralympic movement, you can find Steph in the rock climbing gym or wherever her friends are. She will be there with laughter... and a glowing heart.

Go World

I witnessed a lot of interesting marketing at the Olympics during my visit, and one that jumped out at me was VISA.

Their "Go World" campaign is a powerful example of a truly integrated campaign. But it stands out because it was built on a beautiful piece of creative.

[BREAK]When I first saw the "Go World" headline, I almost felt it was too simple. Too obvious. But as I watched the campaign unfold I realized its beauty resided in its simplicity. But don't mistake simplicity with lack of impact. This is a campaign with impact.

The grey blue imagery is beautiful and consistent from TV to retail bags to Point of Sale to even the support trucks roaming Vancouver. VISA did a beautiful job of creating POS merchandising that delivered a warming message every time you purchase a souvenir.

What do I mean by warming? Inspiration.

I think that's the power in this campaign. It’s inspiring. Whether it be the ads that celebrate the Jamaican Bobsled Team history, or celebrating Canadian athletes from coast to coast, or the congratulatory ad celebrating Canada's first gold on home soil.

When it comes to executional brilliance, that ad was on the air a mere eight minutes after Bilodeau won gold. Unbelievable.

Speaking of execution, I find Morgan Freeman to be the perfect voice for the campaign. Almost as if he was born to read these scripts.

Around Vancouver you can't miss the millions of Hbc garments. Their clothing is awesome. What a recovery from Beijing!

The Coke house looked amazing. After I spent a grand total of 4.8 hours waiting to get in, I never saw inside but one of my team who went loved it. Personally I just loved the shape of it! It was a Coke can lying on its side.

Samsung had an awesome sponsor pavilion with technology to knock your undies off.

I didn't get into the Bell Ice Cube either, I hate lines, but the exterior of it and a/v was unreal.

So many events. So many sponsors. So much fun. Kudos to all.

Certainly, VISA owns the podium in my view.

Online Travel Forum for Delegates

Have you made your travel arrangements to Whistler for the 2010 Canadian Sponsorship Forum?

The Forum Team wants to make getting there as easy and stress-free as possible for all of our delegates. In addition to the helpful tips we have provided you on the Travel Information page of our website, we have dedicated a space on our Canadian Sponsorship Forum blog where delegates can leave comments, questions and connect with each other to facilitate their own arrangements.

We encourage you to make this your forum for communications with other delegates!

Green Olympian, Red Canadian

Being a rookie Olympic visitor I am somewhat concerned that there isn’t much I can put into this blog you haven’t read twenty times over. But in the midst of an 11-day visit to the Games, I will do my best to describe my introduction to the Olympic spirit.

The spirit is everywhere and it is like nothing I have ever felt before. Not during a Final Four or Super Bowl or Wimbledon. While I'm not the most traveled person in the world, I have attended all of those events live. I used to think the Final Four had the most amazing sports atmosphere. It is amazing, but the scale of the Olympics is on another dimension.

[BREAK]I would say that only the Calgary Stampede and Disney rival the Olympic spirit. Why Disney? It’s the volunteers. The volunteers at these Games are like Disney employees… except the Vancouver volunteers smile naturally and not because of a biweekly salary. It’s not just the volunteers who smile spontaneously, it’s ticket tackers, security, cashiers, you name it. Everybody is pretty bloody happy.

No bloody pun intended but we drove right into the protest on Saturday and even then the police and emergency crews who diverted us in our rental car were cheery. Maybe they were excited to get a chance to show off their shiny new helmets. But happy they were.

The spirit is impacting the entire city. Canadian flags hanging from condos and cars, shop windows painted with sports and national imagery, everybody adorning their latest purchase from Hbc. It’s impressive. Vancouver is embracing the Games like Calgary embraces the Stampede.

That’s the answer to the “Why Calgary Stampede” part of my earlier quiz.

Love is in the air in Vancouver. It feels like spring to us cold Torontonians here. Especially when the sun is shining like yesterday. There are thousands and thousands of people everywhere and nothing but smiles, hugs, and foreign accents.

It’s truly remarkable. As we marched with throngs of people to see the cauldron yesterday, the crush of humanity to see burning gas was mind-boggling. Inside Canada Hockey (used to be GM) Place, as we cheered on goal after goal scored by our women’s hokey team vs. Slovakia you would have thought each of them was a Stanley Cup Winner. Not a contributor to an 18-0 rout. As my 9-year-old buried his face in the pillows when the last mogul challenger to Alexandre Bilodeau went down the hill, we could feel all of Canada watching to see if we would finally win gold.

I wish I could bottle the spirit up and take it home.

Somebody must have bottled it and secretly injected it into the dozens of people I've been in line with. Yes, the Olympics are about lineups and some of them are brutal, but to my pleasant surprise most are manageable.

A major reason they are manageable is that all people want to do is socialize. Yes, the Olympic lineup is more engaging than an online chat room. It seems every time I'm in line people want to reveal more about themselves than they would ever tell their in-laws.

In the span of a few minutes you will quickly find out that the people in front of you have a son in the competition; the Zambonis that keep breaking down are from California; the ticket brokers who sold snowboard standing room tickets aren’t honoring refunds for the cancelled seats; the food at Canada Hockey Place is horrible; that Peter Coors was at the Molson Hockey House; that you’re in the wrong lineup for Will Call; that if you wait long enough a new security tent will open in five minutes; that the Opening Ceremonies ticket takers missed a few people who snuck right up to the front row; that Heineken House is overpriced; that the buses servicing Cypress Mountain were bought on the cash for clunkers program; and that the Dutch faithful wear orange vs. the red-white-blue of their flag due to the lineage of their beloved King Wilhelm.

When I'm in these lines I'm proud to be a Canadian. I'm often a proud Canadian, but this is probably the first time I felt this way on Canadian soil. It’s overwhelming me. Causing me to spend countless dollars on buying Canadian things for my kids. It’s all consuming. It has me screaming at the top of my lungs for speed skaters and female hockey players I have never met before. It has me jealous that I don’t have a significant role in hosting the world at these games. It has me delighted that I've been able to see it with my own eyes, and sad that you may not see it with your own.

Seeing is Believing

I didn’t pretend to know who Brian McKeever is, until recently.

In fact, my exposure to Paralympians really only began a few years ago when we started planning to have the 2010 Canadian Sponsorship Forum in Whistler, during the Games.

But over the past few months I have been gradually becoming more immersed in the incredible story of Brian McKeever. Even more so recently when I opened my Globe & Mail to see the full-page Vitamin Water ad triumphing his accomplishments. Only then I realized Brian McKeever would be one of the biggest stories of the year.

[BREAK]What he has accomplished is unbelievable.

A former junior national cross-country ski team star, McKeever was diagnosed at 19 with Stargardt’s disease. In just two years he became legally blind.

When I first read this I thought about all the things I experienced as a 19 year old. As a 20 year. As a 21 year old. To think that McKeever went from star athlete to blind during that period, really hit home.

But obviously it did not slow him down. He began training first for Paralympic events and then able-bodied events. In no time he reached the pinnacle of the Paralympic podium, winning gold four times between the 2002 and 2006 Games.

He didn’t stop there. He not only became the first Canadian athlete with a disability to compete in able-bodied race, he finished 24th in the World Championships!!!

I couldn’t imagine being the 24th best at anything in the world. Let alone to be doing it with such a disadvantage.

Now he has gone on to an even higher accomplishment, becoming the first winter athlete ever to qualify for both the Olympics and Paralympics. In my mind that alone should make him the top story in Canadian athletics for the year.

The Olympics gets a ton of exposure, at times dwarfing the Paralympics. The accomplishments of this Canmore Alberta native will be an unbelievable boost to the Paralympic movement.

My friend Henry at the Canadian Paralympic Committee told me that Paralympians eat INSURMOUNTABLE for breakfast. From what I have learned of Brian McKeever, he may eat INSURMOUNATBLE for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

16 Candles

It was my birthday the other day.

Thanks to the seventy-eight people who wrote on my Facebook wall with greetings. Unfortunately I only know seven of them. Guess in this social media crazed world I am not supposed to admit I have Facebook friends I don’t know, but do the math…

[BREAK]One person who I do know, and actually is a friend, asked me if I was going to have a midlife crisis now that I was turning the age of forty-five. I think his real reason for asking was so he could join in when I hit the bars for a shooter tour to wash away my potential issues.

I'm pleased to announce no impending crisis here. But his question did make me think? Am I really at midlife? Does this mean I will live to ninety? I mean that would be nice to live that long. And I wouldn’t argue about living a little longer. My Dad has an aunt who is 106; give me some of what she’s drinking…

Let me ask you a question. Do you feel your age? Do you look in the mirror and say… wow I’m old. The end is coming. Do you feel like the ticking of the clock is getting faster and faster?

Why do we make such a big deal out of the milestone birthdays? I can’t tell if its celebration or is desperation. People dread turning 30. They bemoan turning 40. The jokes get lamer when they hit 50. What's the worry?

The irony is we make a big deal over these milestones, yet I find most people see themselves as being younger than they are. The other day I was telling a story about some older guys at the squash club. Old like in their fifties old. Then I remembered, that will be me in five years.

Imagine how I looked to the 24 year old I trounced (had to throw that in) in my Monday Night League match last week? He must have thought I was 80.

Perhaps working in an office, where only a few of us are past, shapes my lens. Being surrounded daily by twenty-somethings in their first job or their first internship doesn’t necessarily make me feel young. It just makes me realize that when I was their age, I thought I had to achieve everything in the next five minutes or I would be a failure.

Today I look at them with envy of having twenty years on me, and all that time to accomplish so many things. Perhaps that it was why we fear getting older. If forty isn’t the dying part. Is it a bit of subconscious uncertainty settling in, that perhaps we will never accomplish all that we set out to do? I can’t imagine anything more tragic.

Steven Covey likens your personal mission statement to your eulogy or obituary. Imagine tomorrow was your funeral, and specially what would the attendees have to say about your accomplishments. Candidly, I am addicted to the obituaries. Every day I read the Greater Toronto section of the Star, Business in the Globe, Sports in USA Today & Globe & Star, Marketplace from the Wall Street Journal, the Marketing section of the National Post when they have it, and the obituaries.

I hunt through all my papers for two types of obituaries. First I look for men who are around my age. Don’t know why but I like to scare myself. Then I look for people whose life was a story. Those fascinate me.

My favourite section of Maclean’s magazine is the last page. It is entitled “The End” and is the story of an ordinary Canadian who lived an extraordinary life. It’s always well written. It’s always spellbinding. It’s always amazing. These people jump out of the grave and off the page into my heart and soul. I often get emotional reading it. Not only because they have passed. But selfishly because I never had a chance to meet them.

The End. That may not be the correct title for this feature. Because more often than not these people have passed all too prematurely.

The End. How many people will write on their Facebook walls when they died?

The End. Did they rejoice or remorse on their last birthday?

The End. I only saw the Beginning on my birthday. The Beginning of my 46th year. The Beginning of another year with my awesome kids. The Beginning of another miraculous year with my wife who puts up with way too much. The Beginning of another year being so blessed to have my own business and great clients & staff. The Beginning of another year for me to make new resolutions, since less than a month into 2010 I have already broken some of my New Year’s pledges. The Beginning of another year of promising to get under 200 pounds before I begin coaching high school football again.

The End. The end of my mid-life crisis that lasted only the few minutes it took for me to share this story with you.

Resolutions to Last a Decade

Turns out I was wrong. I gave everybody a rousing speech about having an amazing decade, and it’s not even the start of the new decade. Seems the decade starts with “1”. Like “2011”. Hmmm… that’s pretty embarrassing.

[BREAK]The only good news is I wasn’t alone. Many pundits, bloggers, journalists, commentators and writers were heralding the start of a new decade. Perhaps its because too many surveys are written so you pick your decade from 0 to 9. As in… were you born in the 70s… which is 1970-79. (I wasn’t). Isn’t that a decade? Isn’t 2010 the start of 2010-2019? I think so.

Wasn’t 1999 the last year of the 20th Century? Okay, now we have another time measurement issue. Perhaps I should say the last year of the 1900s. That seems more logical.

Then again I do get the point. 2010 is “10.” And 10 is the end of a ten-year span. But I'm sticking to my guns. Time is different. The third digit in our yearly designation rolled over from 0 to 1, like the odometer on my car. We are in a new era.

To prove it I sent out a survey to a few acquaintances and some other folks to find out if they agreed. More importantly, if they were aligned, I asked them to tell me something they personally would do differently in the next decade.

Every one of them answered it’s the start of a new decade. More importantly, they also shared with me their resolutions to cover up for their multitude of sins.

Look at all the great things we have to look forward to!!!!

Unnamed golfing icon with animalistic name and habits: Resolves to change his name to Cheetah, to get a sponsorship deal from Frank D’Angelo and employ Ben Johnson as his stunt double!

Unnamed assistant coach for a green CFL team: resolves to learn to count to twelve.

Unnamed former head coach for a blue CFL team: resolves to learn to count to twelve.

Unnamed soon to be former mayor of Toronto: resolves in his next job that when he allows his employees to strike to once again ensure they recoup all their lost wages the first weekend back on the job.

Unnamed city in Manitoba that is selling sponsorship to their manhole covers: resolves to raise enough money to pay severance in order fire the person who came up with this zany idea.

Unnamed media industry: resolves not to irresponsibly spread word of pending economic doom in our country, the one with the stable financial sector, just because the crooks to our south messed up bad.

Unnamed media industry: resolves to not cause panic among parents across the country by telling us all our children are about to die if we don’t get them vaccinated by Christmas.

Unnamed coach of Toronto hockey team: resolves to coach the American team in similar way to Toronto team, thereby guaranteeing Trinidad & Tobago their first ever Winter Olympic ice hockey win.

Unnamed hockey sponsor who tried to impose a new hockey cheer on Canadian fans: resolves not to use of the word “eh” in its next 55 TV ads.

Unnamed female American political candidate cum author: Resolves to return as Governor of Alaska, force the state to secede and become the 14th territory of Canada, and then resign to run for Vice-Prime Minister.

Unnamed trio of car companies from Detroit: resolves to quit trying to fool Canadians that they are “domestic” companies and therefore their employees deserve handouts over employees of foreign companies employed in towns such as Alliston and Cambridge do not!

Unnamed hockey team wearing maple leaf on their chest that has to win gold medal in very big upcoming international tournament or an entire country will sulk for two years at which point we can wash away our misery with the 30th anniversary of a certain hockey event played against a certain evil hockey empire who don’t call themselves the Red Army team anymore, but should, especially when they win this big hockey tournament that is coming up: resolves to win it all in convincing style and shut up a certain bald, beige, big belly blogger once and for all.

Everybody Loves a Top 10 List

It started the day after primitive man made the first cave painting 32,000 years ago. It was made famous by The Late Show with David Letterman. The Top 10 List is now an indispensable tool of MSN and other news sites for capturing readers’ attention. As a continuation from our last blog entry on the current social media trends affecting public relations, I will countdown Fantail Communications’ own Top 10 List on ways to maximize PR returns in today’s news environment.

[BREAK]To provide context, I should first summarize the five social media trends from our original entry. In brief, we said that the media landscape has changed and we are experiencing something known as citizen journalism. Anyone can be a journalist nowadays and news is being consumed on demand; 24 / 7 with the cachet of traditional media outlets, like TV and newspapers, waning slightly. Companies are allocating a larger portion of budgets on search engine and internet advertising instead. With the explosive growth of wireless in Canada, consumers are mobile with access to traditional and social media. This fact is allowing marketers to be very creative in communicating their messages to the willing consumer as they use their mobile device as �life’s remote control.�

Now enough of the background stuff! Without further ado, let us run through the Top Ten Ways to Maximize PR Returns in 2010.

10. Find, and mind, the "gap"
Every product or service has a desired perception outcome. Most don’t get there, there’s a gap that needs to be filled. It has to do, usually, with where you sit against competitors. So, find your unique, unassailable messaging and constantly communicate it. In time, all conversations about your company will help to narrow the perception gap, leaving crystal clear take-aways about who your company is and what you do best.

09. 1 + 1 = 3
Including PR adds credibility to marketing programs and boosts returns. A cluttered, and increasingly cynical, media landscape requires integration to reach your target audience and reinforce your messaging. Most award-winning campaigns are on- and offline in today’s environment. A great example from some years ago was the execution of the Nike Run TO campaign and event.

08. Lead, not follow
Avoid talking about your product or service as best you can. What tends to be more effective in social media is to talk about why your organization is smart and worth dealing with. Providing consistent thought leadership to your industry will set you up to own customer education and to be a "go-to" source for media.

07. Get over yourself
When you are communicating with your customer, be sure to write for your audience and not to hear yourself talk. Use examples and stories they can relate to as if you have walked in their shoes. This makes the conversation interesting and emotional and when you connect on this level, the better the chance of them considering your product or service.

06. Include the "well-what-do-ya-know" factor
By definition, news is something, well... new. It is discovery. Therefore, be sure to inform and provide content never heard before. Doing so increases odds of viral success and increased exposure, and sparks more conversations about you.

05. Be Picasso
You don’t really have to paint Cubist art, but be sure to do your best to provide the media with the material they need to put together a complete picture. The internet has created a visually-driven communications world, so images, links, and video all help clear message delivery. The world is suffering from ADD and most times the way to engage is to entertain.

04. Oh yeah? Prove it
Traditional media reporters have a responsibility to provide non-biased stories. In the world of blogging and social media, this doesn’t always happen. To minimize speculation, be honest and open about your company and always prepared to support your messages (right Tiger?). It can be with easy to understand facts and figures, third party research, analogies and examples.

03. Be your own journalist
Newsrooms of traditional media outlets are shrinking and it is getting harder to place stories. While you are waiting for traditional media to pick-up your story, be out there in the blogosphere and create awareness yourself. Create customer value with links between your story and other relevant information.

02. Keep tabs
Spend 30 minutes/day monitoring a number of key target sites/blogs that keep you hip and in the know. Always be aware of what your customers are saying about you.

01. Create a working relationship
PR does not = Press Release any more. Engage reporters, editors, bloggers, online news sites etc in your story by including materials to help deliver the complete story. Be sure your story is multi-level with links to cross platforms, is accessible to everyone, has context and, most importantly, is accurate.

While perhaps not as humorous as a Late Night Top Ten, we hope our list has given you pause to think about leveraging the social media trends affecting PR in 2010. This beast and the consumer are evolving rapidly, so marketers may never get a complete handle on social media. If you and your audience are ready to take the plunge, however, sustain your efforts, experiment and have fun with it!

Cheers!
Robert Landsmann
Account Director, Fantail Communications Inc. Toronto
rob@fantailinc.com

Party like its 1999!

What a weird December.

The Leafs are winning. The Steelers are flailing. Tiger’s “Woods” are finding the sweet spot…in more ways than one.

It’s been a weird year. Twelve months ago the sky was falling. Today? Never been busier. Never.

[BREAK]Last winter it was layoff city. Now? I have at least five great, and I mean great, jobs in my inbox from clients looking for referrals.

So come this holiday I suggest we all party like its 1999. Maybe you haven’t noticed but 2010 isn’t just an Olympic year. It’s the start of a new decade.

I love milestones like that. 1,000 yard rushers. 50 goal scorers. Becoming a millionaire. (Okay I'm 0 for 3 on this list personally). But I do.

It seems to me we haven’t given this new decade its fair due. Its 2010 in a few short days. Think about that.

First of all we get 365 days to write out the letters 2-0-1-0 every time we date something. Or for those of you who prefer other date formats, try this one on for size 1-Jan-10. Cool. 1/1/10. Onederful! Or 10/10/10… now that’s a day for a party. 10-10-10. Hmm… I think there is a promotion concept here. Don’t steal it from me.

Secondly the start of a new decade brings in a whole new era. Think about what could be created in the next ten years. What will be the next iPod? Facebook? Twitter? Yesterday I was in a meeting when a web guy actually said, “In the old days we would use an email list to update consumers”. The OLD DAYS? What is he talking about… 2002? If I could remember that far back… maybe.

It would be nice if some peace could be created in the next ten years. Iraq. Pakistan. All over Africa. South America. You name it. How about eradicating AIDS, poverty, world hunger, and child abuse. Add to this list as you see appropriate.

Thirdly, a new decade brings a canvas of opportunity to mind. Its one thing to set New Year’s resolutions. But what about creating your Grand Plan for the next ten years. I mean honestly think of how much change you could create in your own life by writing a ten-year plan. Ten years ago I did not have two beautiful kids. Ten years ago I was stuck in a business partnership that was draining my soul even faster than it was draining my pocketbook. (Thankfully my beautiful wife made me vow to get out…, which I did, and it saved my professional life).

Ten years ago I hadn’t won a playoff game as a high school coach (now I have two city championships). Ten years ago I had hair. Ten years ago I had never taught a university class. Ten years ago TrojanOne wasn’t the name of my company. Ten years ago I was participating in a “dot com” (for you kids, that’s a no longer used term for internet business!) that later failed miserably. Ten years ago I wasn’t living in my dream house.

Ten years ago I am not sure I knew what I was good at. Ten years ago I really didn’t know what I was bad at.

Ten years is a long long time. It’s a an opportunity of a lifetime.

No we can’t look at this turn of the calendar as just a new year. Its much much bigger than that. So fasten your jock straps. Adjust your goggles. Pop your motion sickness pills. Get ready; you’re about to get a whole new set of playing cards. You’re about to get ten amazing years to shape, paint, and create.

Happy New Decade everyone.

Green Cup

Yes, I know the Saskatchewan Roughriders lost the Grey Cup. I was there. I've replayed the last play in my mind at least 13 times.

I'm not usually a Roughriders fan. I prefer the two word riders. You know the Ottawa kind? But last I checked the CFL schedule, they have a bye week or decade until 201X? So when I was invited by the league (thanks again Mr. Commish & Mr. SVP for the hospitality) to enjoy the festivities in Calgary, the easy thing to do was to jump on the Green bandwagon.

[BREAK]Calgary held a fantastic Green Cup.

The city was branded in Stampeder red, but energized by Rider green. Green clothes. Green faces. Green people. Green bodies. Green hair. Green Pilsner. Green money. Everywhere but the Marriott (where the mighty Alouettes were holding fort) was awash in vert.

The Grey Cup Committee had an ambitious plan and boy did they succeed. Having been to a dozen Grey Cups across the country, this one was a dead heat for Winnipeg in ’06 for staging and hospitality. The Calgary festival group had the built-in advantage of Steven Avenue Mall/Walk (you can call it either) for a staging area and the not entirely anticipated Rider Pride invasion to bring it to life. The organizers had concerts, galas, fundraisers, breakfasts, player parties, brunches, pre-game parties, post game parties, you name it.

The festival attracted an unbelievable A-list of celebrities, politicians, oil tycoons, and corporate sponsors. Everywhere you turned you ran into people with green, who knew how to make green, or taxed our green. In fact, if you weren’t there, you should be green with envy.

The Grey Cup is a marketers dream. It unites the country. It represents everything I love about being Canadian. The game on the field is more wide open and dramatic. More prone to amazing swings and momentum shifts. The game in the stands is kinder and less adversarial than a trip down to Ralph Wilson Stadium to get screamed at by some bare-chested Buffalo based barbarian, because you have the audacity to be employed! The game on television draws tremendous ratings, in no small part to the amazing coverage provided by TSN.

Sitting high up in the stands, on a gorgeous November evening, just three seats down from the league commissioner, I was ready to shed a tear at our national anthem. I love football. I love twenty-four soldiers doing battle on a field of green. I love the passion that CFL fans show for the team. I love the fact that Saskatchewan features a unit of predominantly Canadian receivers. I loved being surrounded by green fans displacing the regular red of McMahon Stadium. And I love the Grey Cup.

I can’t wait till the day I can take my two boys to the Grey Cup. This is a tradition I want to pass onto them. My nine year old had one souvenir request for me. An autograph from the winning quarterback. Well I felt green at trying to figure out how to fill that request. Thankfully Henry Burris signed two balls for me at the Commissioner’s brunch. Okay I know Hank and the Stamps won in 2008, but my kid didn’t specify what year the winning QB had to be from. He should consider himself lucky I couldn’t catch up to Russ Jackson on the sidewalk. (If you’re asking who that is I am going to be disappointed).

The Green Cup was a historic one. Record TV numbers. Potentially one of the best events ever staged in Canada. A coaching error of unprecedented proportions.

As I watched the Als locker room scene post-game, I realized that it really won’t go down as the Green Cup. Which is fine. What I saw in that room is the most beautiful in all of sport. It’s that moment when you close the door and all of the fans, wives, girlfriends, sponsors, and most of the media are outside. It’s that moment when you look around the room and all you see are teammates, friends, warriors, and brothers forever. It is a moment that can never be taken away from you. If you haven’t won a championship in sport or business or life you will never know it. It’s an unbelievable moment.

I loved the scene when Anthony Calvillo entered at last. A true warrior. By all accounts an outstanding husband and father. The Kurt Warner of the CFL according to Chris Berman. His team erupted upon sight of him. "AC, AC, AC" they chanted over and over. Imagine being loved that much for just one day of your life.

That love is universal on the Montreal team because when the Als needed it most. AC delivered.

I feel badly for the Riders. Some day they will have an AC. A man who can deliver them to the Promised Land again.

But for now, they too, are green with envy.

Social Media - Who needs it?

Uh, all of us marketers do. They say there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes. I’d like to think one more should be added: marketing using social media. Its meteoric rise as a targeted marketing channel is changing the marketing landscape so rapidly that marketers are constantly catching up to its development. For public relations professionals, we must now think as everyone as a potential source for disseminating information about companies and their products and services. The traditional PR model is no more and a new one is developing. Here are Fantail Communications’ observations on the biggest media trends affecting the planning of a PR program.

[BREAK]What do consumers, celebrities, bloggers, reporters, publicists and Flickr.com have in common? They are now all news sources. Once upon a not so long ago, PR professionals spoke with editors and reporters of media outlets to pitch stories. Now the list of people who can talk about your company, and be heard, has expanded. Anyone with a computer, an internet hook-up and a desire to be read/seen/heard, can. Because news sources are greater in number today, companies must be that much more aware of what is being said and where, so they can leverage the conversations to benefit their messages and positioning in the marketplace.

As there are so many communication mediums available to the public, the popularity of the usual suspects, TV networks and the daily newspapers, as targets for PR news releases, are on the wane. There is a media sea change in that news is truly 24/7. We are seeing an increase in entertainment news, the death of real celebrity (as anyone can be one) and that news is now whenever the consumer is ready for it (or not). The rise of citizen journalism has added being part of a two-way conversation to the priority of landing a story on a big news network.

The explosive growth of wireless mobility has Paul E Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm, saying that your mobile phone can become a remote control for your digital life. I really like his analogy. The mobile phone will be your guide through a world that is increasingly blurring the line between the physical and cyber world. At any given place it can tell you if there is content or services available to you. No longer will it be limited to kids or Twitter, but across all platforms. Once the prices for data become dirt cheap as in Europe, this thought can become a reality.

So where does this lead us? It all leads us to the place where all the news and information content propagates: online social media. The lines are blurred, and we’re all journalists, commenting on what’s new. We all make "news" as it is newly-defined. All the various social media places on the internet serve as sites where companies can engage targeted consumers in an ongoing conversation to deliver products and services that fill their need. Is this marketing evolution or revolution?

The last trend is actually a demonstration of the first four trends. When orchestrated properly, a web swarm can be created. A piece of news permeating the internet in real time and enabling the public, as well as the media, to fully report on the story, creating a flurry of information buzzing around cyberspace through push and pull PR techniques engaging many more people is called a web swarm. Highly effective, it engages not just the public, but more traditional media too. The World Wildlife Fund, with whom we have worked, orchestrated a masterful web swarm around their �Save Our Climate� campaign. So wonderful a job in fact, that the CBC built and reported their story from what information was available online and not walking out their front door to Front Street in Toronto to investigate the story first hand where the actual event was taking place. This swarm generated such attention that it is considered a gold standard in �the new� PR.

Therefore, to summarize the big 5 media trends, it is safe to say there are new audiences, content and patterns of news consumption to address. A company’s PR program must have integrity and be customizable to reach targeted audiences because the freedom of media requires that they rely on complete strangers for content, which cannot be vetted. Messages communicated in future will have to be carefully thought out as public scrutiny is at an all time high.

This was a snapshot of what PR professionals are dealing with today. Later this month, Fantail will outline our insights of how to leverage these trends and maximize PR returns.

Thank you for reading!

Robert Landsmann
Account Director
Fantail Communications Inc., Toronto
rob@fantailinc.com

Apple of My Eye

I love Steve Jobs.

You’re the second group of people I have said that to this week. The first was my staff. I am sure they could have lived without the details.

Seems like Fortune loves Steve Jobs as well, based on the fact they named him CEO of the Decade in their last issue.

[BREAK]For me, Jobs has been “the” CEO for the last three decades, since he and Steve Wozniak and another chap named Ronald Wayne launched Apple in 1976. Truthfully I had never heard of Wayne until I wanted to check some facts for this blog. Don’t know where he is now, but he did shrewdly sell his 1/3 stake in Apple for $800.00 in 1977. So I assume he is living the high life off the interest!!! Perhaps Ronnie might have wanted to hold say until today, when the market cap hit $176 billion.

Okay enough bad jokes. Maybe he can’t count. Oh, that would make him a Saskatchewan Roughrider football coach. Definitely time to move on!

Back to Jobs. Three decades of Jobs.

The reason for my love is he is the consummate perfectionist, who has also met many failures in his career. Fired by his own company at age 27. He flopped with his subsequent business venture called NeXT. He launched the Newton, which was a PDA before its time, another huge failure.

Yet despite all these failures he has more triumphs than you could imagine. iPhones. IPod. iMac. MacBook. Lisa. 1984. Apple II. Pixar. On and On. This man is a genius among geniuses.

He has even proven recently that he can cheat death, battling health concerns that would slay an army.

Jobs perfectionist pursuits are always about product. He is relentless on creating products that delight consumers. That fill needs they didn’t even know existed. That redefine industries in ways that many thought impossible.

Today Jobs is the largest single shareholder in Disney. In many ways Steve Jobs is the rightful heir to the man who perfected many of the forms of entertainment in the last decade.

Both of them have boundless imaginations. And a stunning ability to energize extremely large workforces to have the same creativity.

Both of them endured bankruptcies, personal challenges, and legions of skeptics.

Both of them took industries that had broken models and created magic.

Lead On!

Nine hundred members of the Canadian sports community invaded Vancouver last week for the Petro-Canada Sport Leadership Conference, put on by the Coaching Association of Canada.

The purpose of the conference is to support the development of Canada as a leading sports nation. It is a collaboration of the major sports organizations in this country and supported by blue chip sponsors. The conference was sold right out; a credit to the event quality the CAC has produced the past few years, buffeted by the energy of 2010.

[BREAK]There is a ton of energy in the Canadian sports community right now. The Olympics. The Pan Am win in Southern Ontario. A new MLS franchise in Vancouver.

Life should be good for sport. But there are some storm clouds in the air.

Sport participation has been on the decline in this country for a decade.

Teenagers in Toronto are less and less interested in our national pastime of hockey.

Next summer will mark yet another FIFA World Cup that will not see the Maple Leaf represented.

And my Ottawa Rough Riders are still dormant.

But I think in many respects we are in a better position than ever to deal with these issues. The Olympics in this country has created an entire generation of more sophisticated sports marketers, sponsors, activators, programmers, event stagers, venue managers, promoters, ambushers, government officials, volunteers, coaches, technical managers, development staff, broadcasters, digital producers, and sports savvy consumers. In a few short months, when their accomplishments in British Columbia have been completed, counted, and celebrated, Canada needs to keep them engaged.

Don’t let them leave our continent for London, Sochii or Rio. Don’t let them leave sport for corporations or academia. Don’t let the activities that funded their existence dry up.

No, Canada needs to ensure they have dynamic roles to tackle. Building the 2015 Pan Am Games. Ensuring we win a women’s soccer medal in London. Fielding the next JC Watts or Conredge Holloway. Driving up participation in sports, fitness, and active living.

The talent that is being developed represents an unprecedented pool of human capital this country hasn’t seen in twenty years. Olympics are like a positive twist to wartime innovation. What we are collectively learning as a nation is on an accelerated pace, accompanied with a passion that is only realized once a generation.

Our sports community has an opportunity to do more than just help us be a leading sports nation. It can help us become a leading nation.

A Nation's Thanks

Last week I went on a short but poignant field trip with my six year-old and a few of his Cub pack mates.

Since they were heading downtown, I decided to help the pack leaders keep track of these rascals, given they were going to travel by subway. Turns out they really didn’t need me. Attendance was down due to the variety of ills flying around. I was short one myself, my older cub home battling a withering flu. But if you believe in all things happen for a reason, this might have been one of those nights.

[BREAK]Now before I disappoint you, let me preempt the ending with a quick comment. There really is no big climax to this story. It’s much less sublime than maybe you seek.

I learned a fair bit about my city that night, which was great given I originally expected to be watching over my son and his cousin. The trip itself was to visit the cenotaph out front of old Toronto City Hall, and the Ontario War Veterans Memorial at Queen’s Park. Led by “Scouter Dave,” the kids trekked around downtown, fascinated by the lights on the CN Tower, the weather lights on the Canada Life building, and the various hospitals on University Avenue where most of these cubs were hatched, including Mount Sinai for the Harrison boys.

“Scouter Dave” was the real highlight of the night. He patiently explained to the boys the role of our country and our fallen heroes in the two Great Wars, Korea, and today in Afghanistan. He gently helped them understand that we aren’t bombing people in that far away place. But instead we are building schools, forging damns, and replacing infrastructure. He educated these youngsters on why other kids, Dads are risking their lives, for people they had never met before. He helped them understand the pride that we should all share as Canadians.

He also helped me understand how much they do.

I was surfing the net for a project and through an unrelated search came across the story of Master Corporal Jeffrey Walsh, from Regina, who died at 33 in Afghanistan last year. Just yesterday it was announced that Walsh’s family will receive the new “Sacrifice” medal from the Canadian government. It took a year of lobbying, by the deceased’s parents, to convince the government this medal should go to Canadians also felled by friendly fire. For some reason, our government had previously defined “sacrifice” as only dying from enemy fire. (How do these people get their jobs?)

Anyway, the story is about their bittersweet “victory.” You can watch the video yourself… which is obviously quite sad. Watch video

Pause the video when Walsh’s mother is interviewed. The look on her face is so devastating, so utterly beyond repair, it jarred my senses. The nerve it found deep inside me triggered a replay of standing in the dark shadows of those memorials in downtown Toronto. It made me realize that yes we need to pay tribute to honour those who have fallen for our freedom. But this November we should also honour their families. They too make the ultimate sacrifice when a son, wife, husband, aunt, or daughter doesn’t come home.

Like the family of Mstr Cpl. Walsh, with a young widow left behind to care for three young children.

Who are now left without a father, to take them to cubs.

A Balancing Act

I am a proud member of Generation Y and I am not afraid to admit it! And, as a member of this Generation, full of technology and the ability to communicate 24/7 (blackberries, email and Wi Fi…oh my!), it has been quite the learning curve to figure out this little thing called “work/life balance.”

But, in the past few years, I have learned just how important it is to maintain a work/life balance. For your clients. For your team. For your sanity!

[BREAK]Flexibility – Today, the balance is no longer about being at your desk from 9 to 5, Monday to Friday, and then checking out completely until the next morning. With tools like laptops, blackberries and wireless Internet, we have the ability to provide top-notch client servicing outside of standard banking hours! But there is a fine line between being helpful and over-committing yourself.

We’re lucky; we can go for a lunchtime gym session and make it up with some deck writing after hours. Or, we can go for coffee with a colleague and be able to respond to an email at 9:00 PM, as necessary. By adapting to our current world and leveraging these tools, we are able to do away with the 9 to 5 paradigm and bring in a higher form of client servicing (keeping in mind that, when needed, we must still always be there for our clients from 9 to 5).

Sick Days – When you’re sick, get out of the office (not just this year because it’s “a different type of flu season”) because sick days aren’t just for you. Get out! Why? 50% because you need to get better and another 50% so that other people don’t get what you have!

Vacation Days – Maybe not just for you either! In fact, in the client-driven business (and perhaps otherwise), they may not be for you at all. Vacations are not something you need to take just because people are telling you that you need a break. You NEED it! You must relax, renew, and rejuvenate! You must check out so that you can come back stronger, more insightful, and more motivated than ever before.

Getting Active – Let me tell you, it’s no word of a lie that getting active gives you more energy. Going for a run, going to the gym, or hitting a yoga class isn’t going to suck the energy out of you. It’s going to give you more energy to tackle your to do list and increase your productivity.

What’s New in the World? – Finally, we can’t succeed at our jobs if we are chained to our desk for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In the sponsorship and marketing world, a significant factor to success is knowing what is going on in the industry. What better way to educate yourself than by immersing yourself in the field, taking time to go see events, reading the magazines you enjoy and exploring these trends and insights first hand?

So, in conclusion… A balancing act… Agree? Disagree? Got any tips to share?

What The CFL Is Teaching Me About Marketing

Perhaps nothing I say here is going to pioneer new frontiers of knowledge, but hopefully these thoughts will contribute to the ongoing dialogue about how to connect brands with customers.

I’ve always likened brand-building to relationship-building. Strong brand-consumer relationships are founded on some of the very same principles as human relationships – there’s a courtship, a healthy two-way dialogue, periodic slip-ups (followed by some making up), and a mutual love and respect that is cultivated over a period of time. So to that end, I’m going to lean on the works of the Beatles to share some of these insights I’ve gleaned over the past couple of years.

[BREAK]Of the 180 or so credited songs Lennon and McCartney wrote in the 1960s, the relevance of those timeless songs seems to resonate across so many areas, and much of their popularity can be attributed to their insightful observations about love and relationships. So here are 3 of them which really help to tell the story of the insights I’ve gathered working at the CFL:

1. Can’t buy me love. (1964)

This is simple, true, and relevant when it comes to building a brand or finding a life partner. And typically, brands spend money to talk about themselves and provide value-added incentives to woo consumers. At the CFL, without the luxury of big budgets to do the same, I learned you can win fans if you actually just “be the brand”. What does that mean? Well, without a big ad campaign to showcase our brand positioning (This is Our League), we were faced with the challenge of helping people experience our benefit through other means.

So we dug into the pillars underscoring that positioning – Authentic, Accessible, Affordable – and sought to amplify those brand attributes through our actions. This year, we showcased our authenticity through our 1960s Retro program, with players wearing uniforms and a season-long celebration of the great players who excelled during that decade.

We made ourselves more accessible by soliciting fan input on rule changes, by having fans vote for the Grey Cup halftime playlist, and by announcing a regular season game in Moncton for 2010. Our affordability is a sustained point of difference, and many of our teams responded to recent economic challenges by giving fans a break on ticket prices. By introducing initiatives that demonstrated our brand promise, we said a lot more about ourselves than we would have by simply talking about it.

2. (I get by) With a little help from my friends.

The CFL has survived through ups and downs because we’ve been lucky enough to lean on some very supportive partnerships. Our agency partner, Bensimon Byrne, passionately supports our cause demanding little in return because they do it for the love of Our League (a brand positioning which they wrote, by the way).

Our sponsor partners truly love the CFL and embrace our brand truths in their activations. Our Government partners, at each of the Federal, Provincial, and Municipal levels have been loyal supporters who often rally to our cause in the interest of sustaining what they know is a Canadian sporting and cultural icon. Great brands make friends along the way and help their partners become more successful as well.

3. Get Back (To Where You Once Belonged) (1969)

This expands a bit on my earlier point about how we developed our brand positioning, This is Our League. The first challenge that Commissioner Mark Cohon issued to our team was to define our brand. To inspire that process, we sifted through our history, our foundations, and our fundamental truths.

We recognized that the CFL needs to become what it always has been, and that our job was not to change the brand, but to shine a light on the very aspect of it that fans adore. In the past, when the CFL brand became vulnerable, it did so in losing sight of its core truths – particularly when it expanded to the US. We rediscovered our brand positioning by articulating our band truths – those very truths that had been tested for over 100 years.

World Vision

I don’t think I realized how small my world is until this week.

Unlike many of you, not much of my work world takes me outside of Canada. But this past week I had the business trip of a lifetime, when fulfilling an invitation to be a speaker at the 29th annual International Fundraising Congress in Holland. An event that attracts nine hundred delegates from over seventy countries. Seventy! That alone is unbelievable.

[BREAK]I met people from Cameroon trying to raise money to fight AIDS, which is afflicting 30% of the population under thirty-five. I met people from Spain trying to educate the world on how to eradicate poverty. I met people from Germany building homes for teens that have been incarcerated. I met people from Brazil trying to fund heritage festivals in communities that can barely feed themselves. I met people from France who protect patients who are abused or mistreated in hospitals or in home care.

Given the opportunity to talk one on one with a wide cross section of delegates, a new breed of individual was presented to me. They are the serial humanitarians. I don’t mean that in any way negative. These people travel the globe. Continent to continent. Country to country. Challenge to challenge. They work for organizations you know such as UNICEF, and for bodies you may never have heard of such as Rote Nasen Clowndoctors (Red Nose Clown Doctors). These people have seen things I will never see.

They have built houses in India.
They have held dying hands in Burma.
They have rescued flood victims in Sri Lanka.

They protect animals in Denmark.
They stop hunger in Germany.
The help farmers in Italy.

My role for three days was to conduct a six-hour Masterclass on writing cause marketing proposals and two workshops on corporate sponsorship. At least that’s what it said on paper, and is what I set out to do.

Over the course of my sessions, my role underwent a metamorphosis. I became a coach, a cheerleader, and advocate. Many of these people really didn’t understand how valuable their organizations could truly be to a corporate sponsor. They were brave enough to face adversity in the jungles, slums, and ghettos of countries I have never heard of. Yet an MBA toting marketer, backed by a big corporate logo, made them wilt.

But once we talked about the equity that lay within their organizations, the stories that they could help sponsors tell, the manners in which they could engage their followers in a movement, the information they could access which proves their impact, and the ability they all possessed to build the careers of their individual champions at their corporate partners… you could see the light go on.

Together we brainstormed ways to price a global cause marketing relationship; identified data that could uncover the issues most important to consumers in their home country; and schemed opportunities to generate substantive media coverage.

Magically, it became a brainstorming attended by people from dozens of countries, with incredibly different backgrounds, religions, ideals, and beliefs.

I fly home with a business card stack of new contacts. Many of who have asked for me to send them templates. They think that I have something to teach them. But they taught me. They have opened my eyes to the power that exists within these organizations. The drive. The determination. The commitment.

They taught me there is a big, wide world out there. I’m embarrassed by how little I really knew.

It won’t take long for me to expose some of my clients to these opportunities. I humbly feel enriched by the opportunity to get out of my tiny, and chilly, Canadian sandbox.

Playing Favourites

It’s performance review time at TrojanOne.

I don’t know how it works at your company, but there is something strangely archaic about the whole thing. And I am very guilty of perpetuating the issue.

Every time I do a review, I wonder why I don’t do them more often. Yes, it takes time. But there is something comforting about reflecting on what is working well and what needs improvement in the relationship between my company and my team and, of course, me. Every year I vow to do quarterly reviews… six month reviews… monthly reviews… and I don’t.

[BREAK]One reason I should do them more often is they have a great ability to suss out the issues. Sometimes I hear them directly. Other times they come via the dreaded grapevine. This year I have been hearing a lot about me playing favourites. Yes indeed, so and so is Mark’s “favourite,” accuses the disgruntled employee.

How does Mr. Not-as-Happy-as-he-should-be know that I have favourites? Well apparently they get better computers, better blalckberries, better desks, and better shooters at our staff parties. Now that isn’t true. I buy everyone the same shooter. Even if I don’t think they are a great employee.

But seriously. Favourites? Me?

Hell yes!!!!

I have my favourite adminstrator who can write letters impersonating MH3 from a foggy 6:00 am voicemail.

I have a favourite intern, who announces themselves at my office door and pledges their gratitude for the opportunity.

I have my favourite consultant who pulls an all-nighter before a report is due, and the only complaint they have is “I stink!”

I have my favourite project leader who has earned the trust of the CEO of my most high profile client, by never missing a deliverable. Always double checking her work. And in general ensuring that the client is provided with materials that are world-class. Not once in a while. Always. To the point where the CEO has told me repeatedly she would steal my star away if it wasn’t for our relationship.

I have my favourite ex-employees who range form clients (three of them), to competitors (many of them), to suppliers (one of them), to volunteer football coaches (one, with others acting as virtual advisors).

I have my favourite project manager who when asked by HR about her salary, said I am too busy to worry about money.

I have my favourite ex-student who moved halfway around the country to manage an office for me.

I have my favoruite warehouse guy who makes things happen at the backend of our programs day, night, and weekends even if I haven’t stepped foot in his shop in six months.

I have my favourite studio manager who is always looking at new ideas for us to make money.

I have my favourite finance manager who stays up all night counting my pennies, like each and every one of them are hers.

I don’t know what the punishment is for having favourites. Solitary? Rations? Loss of the TV remote for a weekend? Whatever it is, sign me up for double.

Because I will take a company full of my “favourites” any day!

Busy

Ran into an old colleague the other day. Asked how things were...her answer? "Busy!"

Went to see a client, made same inquiry of him. His answer? "Busy!"

Took a call on the BlackBerry just before I started typing this. We had a two word conversation. "Busy...you?” "Busy!"

I use this word too often. The entire business world does.

How come?

[BREAK]Well imagine this. Your boss shows up at your office door. She asks how things are going. You're new reply? "Great. I've got nothing to do. No deliverables. Nothing going on. I might just leave at 2:00."

So you leave at 2:00.

You head to the coffee shop cause you've got free time on your hands. You run into a competitor in your business, with her boss. They look frantic. But they pause to ask how you’re doing. "Pretty good," you reply. "Things are so good today I'm taking the afternoon off."

Then your wife calls. She's double booked in meetings and has been trying to pickup the Thanksgiving turkey she ordered. "Well I'm not busy, of course I could swing by the butcher and get it. After my coffee of course." She is still staring at the phone, perplexed.

An hour later you opt to rake your lawn. A car speeds by. Slows down. Reverses. It’s the VP at the startup you interviewed with two weeks ago. They owe you a decision next week. Puzzled the veep asks if you're on holidays. "Me? No. Things aren't busy so I thought I would rake the lawn." The car (and your offer) drives off.

We must live in a really busy world. Take the "busy test" yourself. Ask ten people tomorrow how they are doing. Two metrics I want you to record. How many words comprised their answer. How many words proceed the B-word.

Listen very carefully to what people have to say. File away your scorecard. Do it again in a week.

Do another scorecard. File it away. Do it again.

Try again in a month or a year. Horror of horrors! It never changes. We are always busy.

Retirees say they're busier than when they worked. Students think they are busier than their teachers. My employees think they are busier than I am.

Oh "busy." You are such an important word. You are a badge. An emblem. I have made it. I am self-important. I am busy. I am very busy. Oh man, am I busy. Wow, it’s the busiest time of the year.

Maybe I should get a tattoo. Ink those four letters right on my chin. Or my forehead. Or my bald plate. Or palm.

Would make for a great salute. You say hello. I hold up my lifeline. Read if you have time.

Or don't bother. I know you're busy.

View Mark Harrison's profile on Linkedin.

There is no I in team (But there is in WIN)

The fall is my favourite time of year. The weather is awesome… especially, on a comparative basis, this fall of 2009. The world is back to work, back to school, back to business. My Steelers are back. Or so their uniforms say. Hockey is upon us.

And I get to coach my high school football team as a volunteer.

[BREAK]You’ve probably heard the story before, about my superhero quarterback, Simon. Well in 2007, when Simon first came to play for me he was a 5’8”, 247-pound wanna be QB, who I played at centre. I kid you not; two-hundred and forty-seven pounds spread over 68 inches. Not a pretty sight.

Especially for him.

Yesterday at practice, as I was chatting with Simon in warm-ups, the weighty topic arose again. In two years this young man has transformed himself into a 5’9”, 181 pound quarterback. One of the best in the city. But skip back a sentence. One hundred and eighty one pounds? Did this kid really lose sixty-six pounds? Wow! How?

Well there may not be an I in team, but there is in WIN. And Simon wanted to win. He wanted to win the starting quarterback spot that I dangled in front of him. He wanted his team to transform from an 0-5 squad, which we were in 2007, to a 2-2-1 squad like we were in 2008. He wanted his best friends to catch touchdowns and enjoy the game.

This was a classic case where the motivation overcame the obstacles. Simon doesn’t starve himself, he makes his own food (pretty heady at 18), and works out constantly, and doesn’t chug 2-litre cream sodas in class in anymore. Which he literally used to do. He would actually sit in class (why the teachers let him I don’t know), hugging a giant bottle of cream soda.

And work out he does. One day when he was still in the “200+” camp, Simon decided to run 10k. He hit a local school track and started the laps, staggering in circles ready to faint. But he told himself, I am running 10k today or I am going to die. Cause if I can run this 10k, I will be convinced I can get under two hundred pounds.

When I go to my office and hear from some staff that they can’t write this deck, or solve this problem, or develop this idea, it makes me wonder… could they lose sixty-six pounds? Are they not motivated by this task at hand? What separates the person who blames society for this difficult project or this excess weight on their hips. But I realize now that motivation has to come from within.

No one could tell Simon to lose 66 pounds. But he wanted to win.

View Mark Harrison's profile on Linkedin.

Wood For Sale

As the cooler weather approaches, you may be attracted by this headline to stock up on firewood. But this blog isn't about traditional methods to keep warm, cook, or get cozy with your lover.

[BREAK]No, this Wood for Sale sign is about another red flame: Greg Wood. Former VP, Partnerships, at Tennis Canada.

Shockingly, the top corporate sponsorship builder in Canada is a free agent on this chilly September morning.

Inevitably I knew the economic panic we’ve been facing was going to take out the underperformers, the pretenders, and the talkers. Never could I have imagined the market slashes would reach beyond flesh wounds and strike bone. But when Tennis Canada announced a significant restructuring last week, that included their parting ways with Greg, I was proven wrong.

When a great organization has to part with a great talent, it rattles the nerves.

But rather than sit and quake, I am going to use my pen to shake and bake. More specifically I'm going to use my pen to write a pitch.

Wood for Sale. Yes your organization should hire Greg Wood. Better put… your organization should enter the Greg Wood lottery!

We are talking a once in a lifetime opportunity here. To understand take a look at the lifetime of this 42 year old.

Fourteen years at Tennis Canada, where along with current WTA chief Stacey Allaster, he helped solidify the organization’s corporate sponsorships despite having to walk away from the easy cash of big tobacco.

Prior to joining Tennis Canada he was a stellar client relationship manager with Xerox, a passionate executive at the Canadian Diabetes Association, and along the way he was named New Brunswick's Crime Fighter of the Year. I kid you not.

If you were to ask ten people about Greg Wood, the answers would be unwaveringly consistent:
1. Nicest guy in the world.
2. Smart without acting smart.
3. Always worried about the best interests of others.
4. Pounces on opportunities before the other guy is out of bed.
5. Charming.
6. Practically invented the word integrity.
7. Tireless.
9. Clothes horse
10. Consummate professional

Some people would say Greg could sell anything. Well I agree with them. But the reality is he doesn't sell.

He builds trust, credibility, and solutions. Then you buy.

There are hundreds of organizations out there that have never done deals with Canada's largest communications company. Never cut deals with a Middle East airline. Never worked with all the luxury car manufacturers. Never built television agreements with the largest networks in the country.

Woody has done all of the above and more.

Each and every one of you needs to go to your board, ask for a big bucket of cash, and start bidding for Wood. Because whoever wins, those buckets will turn into barrels. Those barrels will turn into boats. And those boats will be come boatloads of cash that will forever keep your organization comfortably afloat.

I didn't write this because I want a cut. I didn't write this cause I have a bromance with Greg. Which I do. No, I wrote this for you.

This is your opportunity to sign the top free agent of the year. This is your shot at LeBron, Ovechkin, Ronahldino, and Brady all rolled into one. This your shot. Not his. Not mine.

Greg is getting married this fall. (Sorry ladies.) He’s in the market for a new house. Now he has one more major choice to make it.

That choice is to decide who is the next organization that will benefit from the millions he will bring in, the staff he will cultivate, and the culture he will create.

Cha-ching.

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Canada Games

Embarrassingly, I had never been to the Canada Games before. Bad on me.

So I looked forward to a chance to return to Prince Edward Island, after having gone on a marvelous vacation there two years ago. My plan was to catch the tail end of the 2009 Summer Games, including the closing ceremonies.

[BREAK]Don't know why I've never been before. I've done business with the Council. They've been a featured part of the Canadian Sponsorship Forum. I've come to know some of the national staff, and the 2011 host team. But for some reason in all my years in this business, never made it to a Canada Games.

Perhaps this is the case where the sample size of one (me) really means more than just one. Have you been to the Canada Games? Have you taken your brand there? Have you supported the efforts of your provincial teams?

What I saw this weekend made me realize what a hidden gem this event is. Not to say it’s not a gem that doesn't need a serious polish, but the raw material is there for a tremendous marketing property.

Every province and territory is represented. Nearly 5,000 athletes compete in a wide variety of sports. Host community members open their doors to visitors from coast to coast to coast. Both the Governor General and the Prime Minister attended the Opening Ceremonies. This must be big.

Indeed it could be. I think the Canada Games have a unique opportunity to be the backbone of our sporting future. A savvy marketer could celebrate each athlete and coach in his/her hometown. A local sponsor should build promotions to take advantage of venues filled to the rafters like I saw at the volleyball championships. A brand wanting to appeal to parents should ease their travel burden in supporting their daughters and sons in a province they have never before seen.

I'll be back to the Canada Games. The next edition is the Winter Games to be hosted by Halifax in 2011. On any given day, Halifax is a great city to visit. (Save for my 1991 trip to the drunk tank for a night.) But Halifax is a hospitality machine when its hosting events.

The 2011 team unveiled their theme on the last night of the 2009 games via a star-studded video. I loved it.

Entitled "What will you BRING?” it challenges athletes, coaches, parents, administrators, and media to bring their passion to Nova Scotia. Sponsors should start thinking of doing the same thing.

Punch my ticket. I'll be in Halifax in 2011 and I'll be BRINGING some clients!

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The Recovery is Upon Us

Well it’s been a while since I have babbled about the economy. I found it was getting a bit stale. I would assume that if I as the author found it stale… you the reader had probably reached and surpassed that point much much sooner!

But recent events have triggered me to believe that the mood and the economy are turning in this country. What I don’t know is whether it’s temporary or permanent. Doesn’t matter. It’s here and now.

[BREAK]So the real point of my musing today isn’t about the duration of the alleged recovery. It’s about what to do about it.

Before we get there, lets start with some highly scientific information as to why I feel it has recovered. Hopefully all of you have access to this high priced technology. Perhaps you may have needed some training on it. Or perhaps you outsourced the implementation to a consultant. Regardless I am pretty sure all of you have access to it.

The technology? It’s called the telephone.

But it’s a different telephone than ten years ago. Not just because the rotary dial has been replaced by buttons. Not just because the screen lights up to tell me when Revenue Canada is calling. (Yes I know that’s not their name anymore). No, it’s not because the useless little tape in the bottom, that housed my messages, has been replaced by a chip.

No, the “telephone” is more of a metaphor today. What I mean is this. The phone is ringing. Marketers are calling me and my competitors and our property clients, and proprieties with good news… they have budgets. Just this morning I had breakfast with another tenant in our building. They run awesome trade and consumer shows. They just signed their LARGEST sponsor in the 20-year history of the company! Stuff is happening.

But today it’s not just the phone. It’s email. It’s networking events. I am hearing about new activities in the market everywhere. Here is the penultimate for me! I had a pitch on Monday that started with a former client POKING me on Facebook last week. Hey we are both over 40, so it was a good clean poke, but nonetheless I would have never imagined someone would have found me (we haven’t worked together in five years) on FB!

So now that you have agreed with my science, what should you do?

Carpe diem my friends!

Grab as much as you can; however you can, now. Not tomorrow, now.

Don’t tell me you lack resources. There is plenty of Grade A talent on the street. Bring a herd in for a short-term contract. Tell them, the top three producers get full-time jobs. Align yourself with organizations that have resources if you don’t. Pay your staff a bonus if they secure five new sponsors in the next sixty days.

Why the rush? I think many of us learned we had it far too easy. I did. For five years the collective business of sponsorship, event marketing, experiential marketing and sports marketing has grown and grown and grown. Not because we did anything special in my opinion. It just seemed to be a demand for what we do. Lucky us.

Many properties have benefited form robust economies. Sponsors clamoured for profile positions. Sales execs clamoured for high-end hosting. Consumers clamored for new types of entertainment.

Today the tickets and sponsorship are back. Albeit corporations and consumers are budget conscious. But hosting – ouchy pouchy – that’s a black hole.

So the second thing you should do, besides act now and get the resources to do it, is to restructure. Restructure what you sell, how you sell it. Restructure what you buy, and how you buy it. If executives are afraid to be seen behind home plate these days, then get them to donate those seats to kids from a local charity. What a great scene… thousands of kids in VIP seats, so close to their heroes they can get autographs between innings!

Or if you cant afford that, repackage the perks and sell them to your consumers. Allow them to access once in a lifetime opportunities, they may not get if they aren’t a purchasing manager for a big client.

The third action to take advantage of these opportunities? Invest in analytics. I probably spent one-quarter of my July and August in meetings related to measurement, scorecards, and evaluations. Its fantastic, but why did it take a body blow economic wallop to get people thinking about this. Crazy. So if you don’t have IMI International on speed dial (yes that’s a shameless plug for the best in the business), then email me and I will send you their coordinates.

Last action? Summer is here. The weather is nice. The market is nicer. Get out of hibernation! Get out and meet new prospects, sponsors, partners, employers. That foxhole we dug ourselves is the worst place to be in this business. I’m spending this week schmoozing at the Rogers Cup. Next week the Canada Games in PEI, NASCAR in Montreal, and the week after at an Atlantic Lobster event in Vancouver (maybe I have my coasts mixed up?), and the CN Women’s Open in Calgary.

Meet me there! That’s where your customers, clients, and future employees are!

Isn’t it nice to be able to skip the CPR session for a day or two and breath a little easier?

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Kate Bush where are you?

If you’re old enough to get the connection between Kate Bush and jogging… you’re probably old enough to understand my situation.

I jog all the time. But I am slow. Damn slow.

[BREAK]I've been wondering if it’s historically psychological, dating back to 1976 when I delivered the literary masterpiece known as The Orillia Packet & Times. Today I think it’s just called the Packet or maybe it’s The Times. Regardless, it was our daily paper and I had thirty-eight households who counted on me nightly for their fix of town gossip, national headlines, and the odd wire story about some far off land like Communist Russia. No internet news feeds back then kids, but we did have telephones, television, and telegraphs!

Back to my slow jogging.

My paper route required me to walk past the house of my Grade 7 teacher’s parents every day. That’s right, my teacher’s parents. Well according to these retired creatures I was the slowest walker they had ever seen. Not only that, but according to them, I walked with a tilt. To make matters worse, apparently I was talking to myself the entire time.

They used to time how long it took me to pass their house. In pork chops! Yep, some days if I was feeling limber, the head of the house would have himself about � of a chop, replete with apple sauce while I was still in sight. Other days, perhaps I wasn’t quite so quick, like any day called winter. On those days I was up to a chop and a half, plus a few bites of boiled potatoes mixed in.

Oh my, the scarring I endured when I heard these details. Not sure why I heard them though. Is that the best my alleged mentor could provide my folks during parent teacher night? Brutal.

Slowly I will get back to my point.

I noticed the other week when I was jogging that I am really slow. I have a Nike+ system (no, this isn’t a paid blogging plug) and I love it. Of course I am so old I call my iPod a Walkman. It’s true. But I have had it for three years and my Nano is still going strong. I love listening to music when I run, and I love knowing how far I run. Lately I have been paying attention to how fast. Oh crap is I slow.

The system tells me my pace and I didn’t really realize how slow I was until I did the math. If I ran a 10k, the hourglass would empty. If I ran a half marathon, I would miss the movie and the trailers. If I ran a marathon, I would miss the Grey Cup and the Junos. Ok, maybe not that slow.

But I am slow. I used to make excuses when other joggers lapped me.

“They aren’t going as far as I am.”

“They don’t have a backpack full of work clothes on.”

“They aren’t 223 pounds.”

But the technology won’t let me hide. I am slow and I have to figure out a way to speed up.

I've tried a few different angles. Sometimes I daydream that I have won a really big pitch! Other times I think I am coaching the USC Trojans in the Rose Bowl! Another favourite trick is to pretend I am the oldest Olympic marathon champ ever and I am racing the last 500 meters to glory.

Once in a while I listen to a playlist that includes personal coaching from Serena Williams. She tells me to speed up. She tells me to slow down. She asks me if I would be embarrassed if she saw me right now. I might just ask her next week at the Rogers Cup. Maybe during a changeover I can catch her eye. Hey girl… how bad did I look in Moore Park last week?!

My newest technique is the “Gale Sayers.” Besides being the greatest football player of all time (narrowly beating out JC Watts IMHO), he is also the inspiration for my initials…MH3. (Yes it’s juvenile, but if you can figure out what it means I will give you a prize.) Sayers had a brilliant but too short NFL career, ravaged by knee injuries. But he was the greatest open field runner ever.

So when I get really slow, you’ll see me start weaving past benches, trash cans, parking meters and flower pots. My head tiled down, my imaginary # 40 jersey tight against my chest, my right arm pretending to cradle the pigskin, and off I go. Weaving, deking, cutting, and speeding way from imaginary tacklers… all to the sounds of Running Up That Hill ringing in my ears. (Oh I love my Walkman. )

Does it work? Well, the real Gale Sayers once scored six touchdowns in ONE game. When I need a little boost down the sidewalk…I make it seven!

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Good Newz Kennel

I love dogs.

When I launched my business out of a lonely corner of the master bedroom of our house that once served as a sunroom, my vice president was none other than my beautiful pound puppy, Buddy.

[BREAK]Buddy is a bit of a legend around my family and friends. We talked about him so much, our friends had to tell us to change the subject!

Work-wise, I took him to pitches. He greeted clients when they came to my house for meetings. He was omnipresent at my events.

He was also at most family events. Of course there he was eating my mom’s souvenirs from her trip to Barbados. Or devouring my niece’s birthday cake. Or dry humping anything that moved.

He was a destructive rascal. When I was having my house renovated (I will hold back all insults about my renovator, on advice of my legal counsel), we had to move three times because the moron (err contractor) was late by, oh, six months. Our last move was to a no-dogs apartment, so contactor man handed Buddy over to his girlfriend, who we were told was a dog lover. A week later, after Buddy devoured her food for a dinner party, peed on her couch, stole a sandwich from a woman at a polling station, and bit said GF on the hand… Buddy was back. (Atta boy!). You may have seen it on TV. It was… check out YouTube!

Buddy was my ace in the hole for any dreaded weddings that my girlfriend (now wife & CFO) had ensnared me to attend. You’ll be on my side when you understand there was like 18 of them in two years and every one involved at least one and sometimes two CA’s. Remarkable how a pre-wedding walk with Buddy could turn into a brief period off-leash, which often turned into a twenty-four hour search and rescue mission. Sorry honey, I can’t sit in a church when Buddy is lost!

Yes, I have always loved dogs. As a kid we had two other beagles (as was Buddy), named Duke and Sparky. I don’t remember them much except that my Dad built an awesome two-story doghouse and pen for them in our backyard. Later on we had a black lab named Baron. He was the best. One time he was dognapped near Dorset. Thankfully we spotted Baron in a boat with the culprits, called out his name and he leapt out of their boat to our waiting arms. How traumatic was that? One of my siblings told my Mom they had wished it was me who was taken instead!

We had to put Bud down a few years ago. He had cancer. It was the day before we were going on vacation. I was cramming in the office on a Sunday when the vet called me with the final word to bring him in. I bawled all the way home and when I got there my two young sons had made “good-bye” cards for Bud Bud. That didn’t help. I flew solo to the vet and will always remember holding him as he died in my arms. Leaving there I felt such guilt, like I had killed him. Even though the rationale part of me knew he was better off.

I can barely type this without being sad.

Which brings me to the point of my story. I loved Buddy as a companion and pal. I also used to love Michael Vick. Yes, Michael Vick the quarterback, dog killer, convicted felon, partially reinstated NFL player.

For me Vick was the light at the end of the tunnel for a long line of black quarterbacks who should have played in the NFL but got sent to DB, wide receiver or the CFL. Conredge Holloway, JC Watts, Walter Lewis, Turner Gill. These were my idols growing up as a very short, big haired, weak armed, half back, wanna be quarterback.

When Vick burst on the scene at Virginia Tech and almost beat Florida State for a national title, I fell in love. When he took the Falcons into Green Bay and became the first visiting team to ever win a playoff game at Lambeau Field… ever… I was enthralled. When as a black QB he became the highest paid player in the league, I was over the moon. I could never cheer for the Falcons. But I could always cheer for Vick.

Two years ago when it came to light he engaged in dog fighting, and worse that he helped kill underperforming dogs, I was sickened. I was so mad at him. Both for what he did to the dogs, but what he did to me and his millions of followers. How could he betray us? How could he betray those animals? Clearly to God he had never met Buddy.

Maybe that is the issue. I doubt that many people had pets growing up in Newport News, Virginia. It’s not a nice place. But maybe that’s the problem for Vick. Where he grew up pets were an unaffordable luxury.

If so, perhaps we should all start buying puppies for people who don’t have the same advantages we do.

I read a quote today from legendary Coach John Wooden. He said that coaching is all about love. He said the word hate should be stricken from our vocabulary.

Perhaps Vick needs to understand that.

I think Buddy could cure a lot of hate. I bet you feel the same about your dog. Too bad Vick didn’t.

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T-Odour

I've never quite figured out why one of Toronto's nicknames is Hogtown. But these days it wouldn't be too far off the mark, because we are living in a pigsty.

In case you haven't heard, we have a municipal workers strike going on. Better known by most of my neighbours as the "Garbage Strike".

[BREAK]Which isn't really accurate because community pools are closed, park venues, social agencies, tourist attractions, the island ferry service, building permit offices, public health agencies, you name it. But like anything in life, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. In this case it’s not so squeaky, as it is smelly.

While the City of Windsor has had a similar yet longer strike going on, they at least have been smart enough to haul their trash away.

Us? Oh, we are piling it up in our parks, our outdoor hockey rinks, baseball diamonds, green spaces, soccer fields.

Drive, jog, bike or walk past one of these parks and get ready for a stomach wretch. The smell is horrific. The raccoons aplenty. And a swarm of hungry rats have to be on their way.

I used to live next to a park. We thought it was a perk. Pity my former neighbours. It’s gross.

It’s so bad I held off adding to the problem. But finally after four weeks, every spare bin I had was past its limit.

So my hard working bride donned some rubber gloves and made me a nine bag load to haul down to the dump...err park....er hockey rink.

I didn't know whether I would be crossing a picket line, forced to pay a fine, or stuck in an hour wait. The answer? None of the above!

It was pain-free. The fill-in staff...wonder what they usually do at the city?..sneered at my convertible serving as an open air waste transpo. But they came right to the car, helped with most of the bags and gave me a "don't bother" look when I uttered a cheery thank-you. Okay, I tried to show my gratitude. 'Cause I am grateful.

However, I do wonder why we can't make like Windsor. Their strike has lasted even longer, but they have hauled all their garbage away. No dodging soup cans for kids enjoying their play structures.

Someone has got to make this stench go away. Events are being cancelled. Tourists are being scared off. Our health is in jeopardy. Kids have lost summer jobs. Taxpayers aren’t getting their services. Especially, those who need it most.

Yep, I can whine about my garbage, but thank goodness my family doesn't rely on social services or a paycheck from a municipal department.

The whole thing stinks in so many ways. We truly are Hogtown right now. Never before have I really been interested in municipal politics.

Time for my apathy to end. I can’t breathe!

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Season Tickets Wanted

I don’t go to enough Toronto FC games.

Saturday was the first time I made it down, despite the fact I held tickets for a half dozen games this season. No I don’t own season tickets, but I managed to scrape together a swap with a former employee, and a high bid at a school fundraiser, and a couple of other tricks to score what I did.

[BREAK]But circumstances worked against me, so I ended up giving away most of them to my staff.

Back to Saturday.

I took my two sons and one of their buddies. Two eight year olds and a six year old, who all play soccer, know three players each from Brazil, don’t know a single Canadian national player, and think Dichio is one funny name to yell!

It was a great game to take kids, because MLSE was barred from selling booze that day, due to some previous transgressions. I felt badly for them, their sponsors, and some of their fans. It would have been a great day to sell beer. Although the pre-game party must have been well attended, as a good number of loyalists around me smelled pretty tanked!

I also felt badly for the ticket takers. Holy lineups at the gate! With every Dick & Jane trying to get in the place being frisked from head to toe, it was a very long wait to get in. I got two rubdowns (for the price of one and even my kids got frisked. They loved that.

Made me wonder though…are some dads actually using their children as “booze mules" at soccer matches?

I understand there is a huge drinking aspect to attending a match. The south end zone, anchored by the Red Patch Boys, is a key component of the entertainment a TFC match provides. And even without booze, the boys in Section 111 & 112 were leading the charge.

Overall, a Toronto FC match is a great experience. There is a lot of fun going on in the Play Soccer zone prior to the match. The concessions offer good options such as the Broil King bbq stands, serving darn awesome burgers. The Pizza Pizza stand I patronized was jammed with helpful and speedy youthful attendants. The Carlsberg beer garden is awesome… when it’s open. And the stadium.

Oh man, as an ardent football fan, the stadium gives me pigskin envy every time I visit. Even perched up on the second tier, I felt like I could touch the players, and we had unobstructed views East, North, and South. Sailboats on the lake. Porter planes in the sky. Ontario Place rides to the right. It’s all marvelous. And not just because I unashamedly squeezed two clients into this paragraph of my blog!

Branding aside, BMO (not a client) Field is a terrific venue. It’s all things a stadium should be.

The Toronto FC experience is the same. The kids love it, the action is endless, and there is no need, or time, for tacky in-game promotions. It all happens, and happens very well.

So that brings me to the point of my blog. I need season tickets. Someone out there has to want to sell me their season tickets. I really need them. I am missing out on one of the best attractions in the city!

If you do have season tickets let me know. I know… there is no way you’re going to sell them to me. But maybe invite me (and my kids) to a game?

If you don’t know already, just go to a game (if you can get a ticket) and you will understand what I mean. If you live in Vancouver, get your Whitecaps tickets RIGHT NOW for the launch of their MLS team in 2011. If you live in Montreal go to an Impact game, Saputo Stadium looks awesome.

Yes I need season tickets. Maybe I should move to Vancouver. Maybe there I can get me some season tickets

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Stampeding

I almost didn’t get to the Calgary Stampede this year. Which would have felt very odd for me, because I have been to almost every one since 1989. Throw in a family trip in 1971, and that’s a whole lot of cowboying for a short kid from Orillia, Ontario.

But the business world works in mysterious ways, and I picked up a little project two weeks ago, that saw me needing to head out for the final weekend of the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.

[BREAK]I think the Stampede is the greatest show and the best event in Canada. The way it captures the imagination of the city. Its role in our country as a Canadian icon. The sponsors and partners it has.

Plus the staff and volunteers have a combination of commitment and professionalism that may be unmatched in the country. Or at the very least, set a standard to which we should all aspire.

If you haven’t been to Stampede and don’t think you’re ever going to get there, you need to understand what you are missing. Allow me to be your Stampede guide for a brief moment, because you’re missing a lot:

You’re missing Chuckwagon racing, where four horses pull a covered wagon round a 1-1/4 mile race track, with a stove and tent in back!

You’re missing the waitresses at Cowboys who receive “attribute funding" after working there three months.

You’re missing a sport where a 180 pound man wrestles a 500 pound steer, and some zanies say it’s inhumane. (They are right; it is unfair to the poor cowboy).

You’re missing a cultural celebration that was started in 1912 by an American named Guy Weadick to help ensure Canadians celebrated their heritage!

You’re missing dozens of Stampede breakfasts that are such a tradition people will line up for hours to get a free pancake and sausage.

You’re missing the Coca-Cola Stage which has ten days of free concerts by Kreesha Turner, Simple Plan, Terri Clark and Bif Naked to name a few.

You’re missing Nashville North, a tent on a parking lot calling itself a bar, that holds 1,900 people who often wait over three hours in a cow pen-style structure designed to manage unruly line-ups.

You’re missing Ranahans, the Lazy S and 30X… some of the best in-stadium dining experiences in North America.

You’re missing the midway, agricultural events, the cowboy barns, and more people watching than your eyes can manage.

I once had two clients show up for beers at the park in track pants and t-shirts. After an hour of strange looks on a sunny patio, filled with Western dressed beautiful people, they escaped to the on-site store and picked out some new Wranglers. So now that I’ve convinced you to get to the Stampede in 2010, let me remind you to go shopping first!
- Mh3

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Owe Canada

Despite the title this isn't another rant on automaker bailouts. Although they do "owe" all of Canada....

This is a Canada Day tribute to our great country.

Canada Day may be seen as a holiday for most, but it really should be thought of as a tutorial for Canadian business.

What can we learn from Canada Day?

[BREAK] For one thing, it’s held on July 1st, which means the year is half over. A year that many of us entered with significant trepidation, primarily based on the economy and the unknown challenges it presented. So give yourself a test. Think about your stress level on January 1 vs. July 1. My guess it was a lot higher on New Year’s Day? The lesson...things are never as bad as they seem.

The next thing we need to learn from Canada Day is to hold our heads high. It’s a clich� to say Canadians don't celebrate being Canadian often enough. I would go further and claim we don't do this enough in many facets of our life. Look around with pride at your company, your community, your neighbourhood, your kid's schools, your local gardening club. You belong to some pretty neat groups. Take pride in the daily life you lead and the organizations to which you belong.

Another great benefit of Canada Day is that it’s a day off. We need more of these in this country. A day off refreshes, rejuvenates, and recalibrates our senses. I once read that "Sleep is a Weapon" (Art of War maybe?). Draw the same parallel about a day off. Down time is a weapon.

Canada Day is a day we show our colours. Yesterday I spent the morning at a Canada Day event in Calgary and the night at a community club event in Toronto. (The beauty of time zone traveling). I attended, and I felt grateful that I wore a white shirt. By fluke! Everybody was in Red & White and it looked amazing. How often do we do that at work? How many companies dress their staff up and show off their brand assets? Once in a while dress up in your company colours … nothing like feeling like a soccer team to create some bonding!

Canada Day events from coast to coast have a ton of lessons for all our businesses. For one, the diversity of entertainment that represents multiple cultures really emphasizes the brand DNA of our country. It’s authentic and genuine. How often does your company display that?

The other thing is that it gets people out of their routine and out of their houses. People like to have things to do. By creating low cost and interesting activities, Canada Day events attract consumers. So if you're lacking foot traffic, don't try to sell people. Give them something to do!

This morning’s newspaper reminded me of another valuable lesson. The power of earned media. In these times, with budgets slashed and brands screaming PRICE PRICE PRICE… a little earned media goes a long way. Yes the PR manager for Canada Day did a great job. Okay, there is no PR manager. Yet in there lies a fundamental lesson of PR. If you have a great story, the media will cover it. If you don’t… it doesn’t matter how many hacks you have issuing press releases. So focus on your business being a good story every day, and not just on the day of your stunt to get some attention.

Lastly, every day should end in fireworks. Yesterday was the first Canada Day I was able to see my children in seven years, (The perils of the event business), even though it was only for a few hours. Just sitting with them last night at our community event it struck me. We don’t celebrate enough in business. To close the event, the event staff led us in a chorus of Happy Birthday, and then rolled out a 16 ft. (That’s right) birthday cake for all the kids– young and old, followed up by a rendition of O Canada that preceded a really great fireworks display. Why don’t we do this at work? Every day, every week, every project, every meeting should be celebrated. It can be a large or small gesture, but it’s worth doing.

Give it a try today. Thanks Canada.

12 Gauge

This afternoon I witnessed a very intriguing presentation of research that had been conducted by IMI, Cossette, and Canadian Business. The report was entitled Gauge.

I added the Dirty Dozen shotgun reference to the title of my blog, because the research really shot some holes in a ton of existing marketing mythology. The study was done with over two hundred CEO’s and CMO’s of major Canadian firms. Big companies. The type we want as clients. Some of you want as sponsors. Others want as employers

[BREAK] The purpose of the work was to understand what was on their minds. It was fascinating stuff, and among other things told us that:

Most executives think they can steal market share right now… that’s good.

Most don’t think they have enough budget and they won’t be increasing their budgets… I can live with that, though you may argue.

That brand activation tactics were more important right now than equity build…great if you can provide experiential or value based offers… far from great if all you are selling is brand affiliation.

That most CEO’s felt their marketing group wasn’t aligned with the company’s core purpose… huh?

That most CMO’s felt Sales and HR were not aligned with their company’s core purpose… now children!

That most CEO’s and CMO’s don’t measure their marketing expenditures… uh oh.

When confronted with these results, to their credit, most executives do not deny them. They are unsure as to what works and what doesn’t. They have macro indicators from past campaigns, but not the true analysis they need.

Unfortunately this means they jump to what’s hot. Insert “Social Media” here. Five times this month I’ve been asked to create a Big Job campaign, with a Little Man budget! Or they resort to what has worked in the past. Insert “Price Discount” here.

But it’s not their fault.

It is ours. As Employees. Agencies. Sponsees. Consultants. Managers. Advisors. Planners. Sellers. Marketers. Creators. Researchers. Activators. Branders.

It is our job to integrate metrics, measurement, and rigor into everything we do. It is easy to skip that step when times are good, and budgets are flowing like Budweiser at the Stampede.

But even though that was just one year ago, times have changed.

So get out your 12-gauge. Aim steady. Fire.

If you didn’t hit the bulls-eye, call a professional. Find out why not? Before you reload. Before you fire again. Before you even decide you have the right marketing tool in your hands.

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Sometimes when we blog the honesty is too much

I know, that is one sad pun. Sorry Dan Hill. What is even sadder is that I am sitting at my desk, at 7:24 AM, laughing hysterically because I think I am funny.

Unfortunately last week some people didn’t find my blog so funny. While the comments scoreboard on my blog stands at “0”, my email inbox was lit up like Marc Andre Fleury. (Yes, I wrote this before Game 6… so maybe that won’t be an accurate crack either).

I don’t want to sound like the jaded old journalist who tells you that for every angry email received, there were ten positive ones… but it’s true. That said, I did realize my blog last week insulted some people. That includes one I would consider a business friend, although I don’t know him well.

[BREAK] So to him I apologize.

I read my blog again and realized that it was very Mark Harrison-like. The 3,739 surviving former employees of mine out there can attest to that. Sometimes I can write what should be some simple feedback (hey… are there page numbers on that deck?) and turn it into a searing packet of nastiness, disguised as an email. Yes, sometimes what I write can ruin your day.

So when I read my blog, I realized it was pretty harsh. Maybe that’s why so many of you read it. We actually set a record last week.

When I re-read it, one mistake I realized is that it wasn’t just GM that was my intended target. It was Chrysler and it was the US banking system. It was Lehman brothers and it was Goldman Sachs. It was a big client (who will go nameless) of mine.

You see back in November we had a major client drop a seven-figure project like it was a baby’s first dirty diaper. All because they too hadn’t done a great job of managing their business, and their American owners were scrambling for money.

Between you and I and the rest of the World Wide Web, it was a fatal loss from someone we have worked with for over ten years. I had heard of other agencies having this happen. I once lost a big client when they were sold and stopped doing event marketing. But never my biggest, and never from someone I worked with since 1996. Never. Ever.

So I stood in front of my staff last December and said I had good news and bad news. The good news? The holidays were coming. The bad news… see above.

We were clear with our team that it was a huge part of our year, revenue-wise and since we were already mid-year (we go summer to summer… don’t ask why), that our back half was destroyed!

Say good-bye to profit for the year. Say goodbye to the bonus plan. Say goodbye to some colleagues.

Stop right there.

While I lost many a nights sleep. (Probably less than our CFO though, and since she’s my wife I should know). And while I lost a few more hairs, I didn’t lose any people.

Thankfully our team pulled together. We won some new business. Received some new assignments from some current clients. And got lucky with a couple of brands that increased their budgets with us.

Bottom line is we survived.

What does this have to do with GM or Chrysler or my harsh words? It explains my frustration. I couldn’t have imagined receiving a bailout of tax money to keep my business afloat. I am not a great businessman, but as an entrepreneur that’s the risk I take.

As a shareholder in a big company, that’s the risk you take.

Candidly, as an employee who bargains for increased wages and benefits for years on end, that’s a risk you take.

I am all for our government helping out. I just hope it works. I hope we triple our money by investing in the auto companies.

But I would have preferred they had put that money in the hands of Canadians. I like the “junker” program being bandied about. Why not encourage the sale of new cars by providing trade-in allowances on old ones? That would spur the sector and let the consumer decide. That way the best company wins.

I don’t like government subsidizing one company over the other. My tax dollars should be a stimulus, not a crutch.

Maybe if I could do it over, I would have written a less inflammatory blog. But maybe if I had, my point would not have been made.

Perhaps I should have listed to my inner Dale Carnegie. I’ve been reading his books (listen up ex-employees). Although one could argue you cant read your way to a personality, I am trying!

But in life, unlike cyberspace, there is no rewind button. So let’s look up to the Stairway to Heaven and not down the Highway to…

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I'd go Bankrupt for $ 9 Billion!

I have friends who work at GM.

I’ve had some great speakers from GM at the Canadian Sponsorship Forum.

I know people whose parents rely on GM pensions.

So as I write this I’m not trying to insult them. But it’s time for another GM rant.

My blood is boiling over this $ 9.5 billion government bailout. It is utterly ridiculous. As a small business owner I am outraged.

Why am I paying for their ineptitude?

[BREAK] Why do I have to tell my employees to work harder because we have to pay taxes to fund a company who made inferior products for thirty years, and convinced the government a nine-month-old recession caused the problem?

Why do I have to create new marketing approaches for my company, in order to pay for a company whose bright idea was “employee pricing”?

I’m happy to help the pensioners maintain their standard of living. I am willing to help laid off employees get their feet under them. I feel badly for the local businesses that are impacted by this.

But you know what? There is no way $ 9.5 billion in GM is EVER going to generate a return. We will be pouring more money into this mess again in a year. And next year. And the year after that. Can’t our politicians see they are being had! This isn’t a solution. It’s a flimsy band-aid that is going to fall off again very soon.

Think about it. Each and every April you will pay your taxes and in June you’ll pay your GM subsidy.

There are too many car companies. Too many brands. Too many dealers. Too many execs making much too much money. Too many union issues.

Let some of them die, and maybe the rest will learn how to survive.

Or perhaps they should give you guys the $ 9.5 billion. That would equate to almost 700% growth in the Canadian sponsorship industry. If our industry had the money, what would we do?

We would sponsor entrepreneur conferences, science fairs, and innovation competitions that would help us produce more companies like RIM. We would sponsor events that draw tourists, attract foreign investment, and encourage the worlds’ brightest doctors to move to our northern frontiers. We would bring F1 back to Montreal, basketball back to Vancouver, and NHL hockey back to Quebec City. We would buy every Canadian a bicycle, which would reduce our health care costs. We would sponsor runs, walks, and rides that will help fund a cure for breast cancer.

We could do tons of things with $ 9.5 billion a year …couldn’t we?

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Change of Plans

The other day I heard a stat that made me whistle. On average, the 32 million people on Twitter, apparently spend 2.5 hours "tweeting" a day.

So I whistled. Then I tweeted.

I fired up my Twitter account, which I had actually secured on March 2nd. Hmm, just a bit of a delay. Especially in digital dog years. I changed my user name to something I liked. In minutes I had 9 followers. In a matter of hours it was 13. And then I tweeted.

[BREAK] For about six hours.

Then Tweety Bird died. He just ran out of gas. He didn't get it. I mean I'm a fan of social media. And I like doing a blog every week. But why do I need to provide 138-word reports on every meeting, every phone call, and every email I send. Some of my emails aren't even 138 words themselves.

Now I know the world is all a-twitter over this. And I get the attraction of being able to send short shout-outs to people. But why Twit when you can send an email? Why Twit when you can blab on Facebook? Why Twit when you can talk?

Guess I will find out. I'm going to try to stick with it. Thirty-two million can't be wrong.

But if you want to make money off of this, how do you do it? How do you get people tweeting about your brand? About your attraction? About your event?

Remember the most fundamental principle. It’s called "Social" media for a reason. It’s to socialize.

Who are the best socializers? Those with something to say. Those with some content. Those with a story.

As I discovered yesterday. Sometimes a good old-fashioned workday isn't that exciting. Sure I enjoy my work. But it’s a bit of standup, sit-down, write notes, move to the next room. Reminds me of high school in a way. So do some of the people!

Social media is at its most powerful when we provide content. Either someone makes that content or someone follows it. Why else do you think that sports websites are so popular? There is something to socialize about!

I'm back to my experiment. You can find me on Twitter if you like. I'm "MarkHarrison3".

Hope to not disappoint!

Okay so I tried.

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Price Wars

It seems that pricing is on everybody's mind these days.

I had a call yesterday from a sports agent offering me his star client for 10-15 cents on the dollar. Ugh.

Today I am conducting a pricing tutorial for a not-for-profit client's provincial offices. The same question is asked over and over...is there a fail-proof way to validate their pricing to sponsors?

[BREAK] Tomorrow I am meeting with a new corporate client about how to optimize their sponsorship portfolio. What investments should they continue and where should they exit?

Pricing is always important. The issue is exasperated by the current climate.

To prepare for these conversations I have been trying to update my data on the topic. Have to say, what's out there is pretty slim.

Vague references to brand prestige...old fashioned equations about cents per banner...misguided belief about the value of a logo appearing on screen.

Yikes! Is this the best we have?

So I have a request. Share your best practices. Who has some great information? Lay down your competitive swords.

So this is less of a blog and more of a plea. Lead me down the path of the best pricing related information/articles/studies that you have read. I'll play it forward to our entire database.

And we'll all live to see a more profitable day!

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Proud Canadian

It’s hard for any Canadian to not feel like we should have more NHL teams.

So when a business hero like Jim Balsillie jumps into harm’s way, in his endless pursuit of a team, we all automatically rise to our feet and cheer. How can we not? Balsillie and his partner Mike Lazardis are Canada’s answer to Steve Jobs and Bill Gates in the realm of ultimate technology entrepreneurs.

In fact the only reason I don’t switch to an iPhone to complete my absolute love of Apple… is the fact that RIM is a Canadian company. If the Crackberry was a Silicon Valley invention they would have sold dozens less this year. Because my company wouldn’t be a customer anymore.

[BREAK] But patriotism can’t be the only reason to make business decisions. The BlackBerry for example is still superior to the iPhone in many ways for business users. Perhaps patriotism is also blinding our viewpoint regarding Balsillie’s efforts. Perhaps he shouldn’t be able to deke out Gary Bettman to get a franchise. Perhaps he shouldn’t be able to save Hamilton’s despair by bringing the team to Copps Coliseum. Perhaps he shouldn’t be able to potentially draft The Great One to return home.

Like or dislike Gary Bettman, he did help ensure as many Canadian teams as possible could survive. Like or dislike the lost season, he managed to bring significant improvements to cost management to the game. Like or dislike the whistles, the new rules have made the game much more appealing.

It’s easy to say the Americans are ruining our game, and they should lose their franchises, I too have a hard time reconciling teams that reside in iceless Arizona, college town Ohio, and music city Nashville. But these markets provided expansion fees, jobs for players/coaches/administrators, and increased reach for everybody in the hockey business. Gloating over some problem franchises isn’t beneficial today.

We are in the midst of yet another playoff run sans a Canadian team. Adding another mediocre operation wont help.

But what it would do could be momentous. A new Canadian franchise could help break the chains of the current recession. Forty plus games means 600,000 fans over a season shelling out sizable dollars for tickets, hot dogs, and beer. A Southern Ontario based team will provide access to millions who presently can’t get into the vault better known as the ACC. Locating a franchise in Hamilton and/or Waterloo and/or Oshawa will bring excitement and energy to a community that could use it, plus significantly increased media exposure.

The strength of the Canadian franchises presently makes this proposal almost mute. They have climbed back form the abyss. It’s time to capitalize on the moment. Hamilton. Quebec City. Winnipeg. They could all support a team, and I’m not so sure that Halifax couldn’t pull it off.

So let’s do this the Canadian way. We are nice people. Friendly folk. Let’s go make the right friends at NHL-HQ. Bring them some poutine. How about a new BlackBerry…loaded with a Mike Myers movie. Maybe a Pinball Clemons autographed picture. By the time we are done, Canada will have its choice of three new teams.

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The Business of Sponsorship

Recently during a sit down with a former client I was asked the “question” again. You know the “question”. You’ve been asking it. You’ve been asked it. You can’t escape it.

The question comes in many forms. What’s going on out there? Is anybody spending money? How are things? What impact have you felt?

Over and over, we hear the question.

I spent a lot of time dealing with this train of dialogue a few months ago. Dealing with the economy, how to face the recession, banding together as an industry. Being the eternal optimist I am, I had hoped that by now this whole schmozel would have evaporated as quickly as it appeared.

Guess I was wrong.

[BREAK] While the troubled times haven’t disappeared entirely, they are also not nearly as deep as many panicked minds anticipated. Still, organization after organization is facing unprecedented challenges. In the past two weeks I have made presentations at major conferences, held fireside chats with some of the leading charities in Canada, attended a CEO-level cultivation event for a national sports property, and heard frontline feedback from development managers and agency staff. There seems to be some common themes.

Budget cutbacks have been less prevalent than expected, but are still very significant. More significant has been the anticipated, yet dramatic, shift of funds into sales generating tactics. As one marketer said to me this week, “Our couponing program is doing really well.”

Certain types of media seem to be getting pounded every day. The last time you reached for your favourite magazine, did you notice its weight? Has it been Jenny Craiged in a big way, by the withdrawal of advertisers? Has this money been sucked out of the market or redirected?

Budget freezes seem to be more and more common. Clients are claiming they have the money, but they just aren’t allowed to spend it. Okay, I’m not the brightest bald guy in the room…but what the hell is the difference? Well I guess there is one, because as one agency President told me this week… the number of unbelievably late project approvals he has been receiving is mind-boggling. Clients are sitting on the fence, waiting for some mysterious crash to come. Realizing it’s not coming, and that their competitors are stealing their lunch, they are racing back into marketing mode, with zero lead time but with the same expectations as before.

What are the implications for sponsorship properties, sales agents, and agencies? (And quite frankly, clients who perform a sponsorship role). I would suggest they will be dramatic.

Dollars are out there, but they are scarcer. Those dollars that do exist are being concealed until the last possible moment. And when they are ready to be spent, everybody expects a deal…a big big deal.

So what do you do? Well for one, get out of the sponsorship game. Yes, you heard me correctly. Do not adjust your sets, your satellite dish is working just fine. Get out of the sponsorship game.

It’s time for some game changing strategies. One of the biggest is to abandon a dying industry and head for a new one. Which one?

Well I think we can keep the name sponsorship, despite my comments of a few sentences ago. But I think we need to start thinking about the Business of Sponsorship, as opposed to Corporate Sponsorship.

The Business of Sponsorship provides a lens to examine your activities from a new perspective. It encourages you to stop thinking of your property as an event or a cause, and to consider it a business. As a business your property could be much more than an awareness builder or an experience deliverer. It could become a distribution channel, an employee trainer, a customer, a reseller, a promotional outlet, a media outlet, a recruiter, a consultant, or a solution provider.

Yet it will take a whole new approach to business. It will require you to drop the clich�s like “fewer things better”. What a dumb statement. If you’re incompetent you can do a few things. But you’ll do them poorly. In fact, they will be just as bad, as if you did many things. If you’re talented you can do tons of things well. As a business, you’re going to need to do a lot more things. And you are going to need to do them well. Expand your horizon.

Similarly you can shelve the old adage about it being easier to do three big dollar deals than thirty small dollar deals. Not anymore folks! If you want sales growth you’re going to need to be able to retrofit your property to make it work. The big deals are harder to find, harder to close, and harder to service. The small deals will be focused on a few deliverables, easier to secure, and easier to service. Plus, the loss of one or two small deals will have far less negative impact than a biggie.

So develop new products and opportunities for the new reality. Develop products you can mass market and you mass harvest. Develop products that can be pitched, sold, and serviced all in the same day.

Exclusivity is mandatory. Not anymore people! Refer back to my comment that everybody wants a deal. That’s fine, give them a deal. But don’t give them the farm. In this market you need a wide base of customers. Some will be from the same category. Sure exclusivity made sense when you wanted a Corporate Sponsor (nee donor). But now you are engaging in the Business of Sponsorship. Your business has products to sell. So sell! Don’t spend time worrying about exclusivity for small customers. Spend time worrying about how many customers you can sell your new products to.

Here is a simple example of what I mean. One property I know has tens of thousands of participants, and only a dozen or so sponsors. That means there are 488 companies in the FP500 they don’t do business with. Can they sell those others a sampling package, couponing program, contesting opportunity? The property has the critical mass. They have a targeted audience. They have products waiting to be exploited!

It’s time to stop selling branding and emotion. It’s time to start selling customer penetration and revenue generation.

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Super SUN RUN day!

Well I finally got to see it. This morning I lay witness to the second biggest running event in North America.

At 9:00 am, fifty-five thousand, eight hundred and fifty-eight people took part in the 25th Annual Vancouver Sun Run, Presented by HSBC. A number that large deserves to be written out long form. Let’s try it in numeric form: 55,858.

That’s not a big event. That’s a city! When I left my hometown of Orillia, Ontario in 1983, the population was about 26,000. Today I watched two of my hometowns run past me!

[BREAK] I don’t live in Vancouver, so far be it from me to understand the success of this event, but I think there are a few apparent lessons:

It has longevity. How many marketers are willing to stick with their idea for twenty-five years. I know the answer: NOT ENOUGH.
It has demand. The owner of any bar can tell you that the best advertising is a big lineup. People don’t want to drink in a dead pub. People don’t want to go to events that seem unpopular.
It has pride. One thing that is evident everywhere, is that Vancouverites are darn proud of this event and that fuels some of its success.
It honours its heroes. Whether it be at the VIP breakfast or at the awards ceremonies, the founders and legacy contributors to this event were honoured.
No one’s a loser. Yep there are trophies. And first place finishers. But participating in this event is the true prize, and the entire vibe reinforces that.

Will applying any one or all of these lessons to your marketing ideas propel them to North American success? I don’t know, but it certainly can’t hurt learning from those that have succeeded.

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Sport Tourism Pays

I just got back from two days in Ottawa, where TrojanOne produced the Sports Marketing Stream content of the 2009 CSTA Sports Event Congress. For those unfamiliar with the CSTA, which stands for Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance, it is the national advocate for a $2.4 billion industry in this country…“Sport Tourism”.

If you think about it, that is almost twice the size of the Canadian sponsorship industry, according to research we sponsor through the Institute for Sports Marketing.

The rationale for the size, scope, and importance of this sector was aptly summarized by one of the event’s PRESTIGE award winners.
(For details, visit http://www.canadiansporttourism.com).

[BREAK] President of Trade Center Ltd. in Halifax, Scott Ferguson, collected the hardware for Sport Event of the Year, awarded for their staging of the 2008 IIHF World Hockey Championships.

Ferguson’s acceptance speech zeroed in on the future of the Canadian sport tourism industry. To be successful, he stated, the industry must focus on the business they are truly in. That business isn’t so much “sports tourism”, as it is economic development. He cited the tens of millions of dollars that Events Halifax spins off on an annual basis. And he is right on!

For many of the 300 stakeholders, attracting and running great events is their daily focus. However, their true mission should be about contributing to the economic growth of their communities. Certainly hosting great events will bring return visits and new events. Yet maximizing the impact of that event on the host community’ economy will attract more funding from government and private sectors.

Ferguson also implored the delegates to constantly remind all levels of government that they are in the business of “Economic Development”, to ensure that this crucially important, publicly funded, support is continued.

I think it’s important that all sectors of the sports marketing industry do their part as well. Without this government support, corporations won’t have audiences to market to, coaches won’t have events to prepare their athletes for, broadcasters won’t have content to cover, agencies won’t have venues for activations, and horror of horrors - thunder-stick makers will go bankrupt!

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So? Go!

Do you know a teenager who could be more physically active? I bet you do. Whether they are in your own household, or your neighbourhood, or an extended family member.

Ever wanted to get them to do something about it… but weren’t sure how? Or you failed on your last five attempts!

Well, at the risk of being accused of self-promotion, we have worked on something pretty cool with our clients at ParticipACTION and Coca-Cola that I have to bring to your attention.

It’s called Sogo Active and as the web site says… It’s the Sickest Way to Live Healthy!

Go ahead, log onto www.sogoactive.com, Its not what you would expect. It’s pretty funky and I think a big departure from your classic fitness website.

[BREAK] This initiative is booked for five years and each year will feature a different incentive program for youth. Kids who participate in Sogo Active have an opportunity to be selected as an Olympic torchbearer for the 2010 Games. There are 1,300 spots to reward kids with, so this isn’t some “long odds” competition.

If you want to get involved, but you’re not 13-19, you can become a community host through any affiliations you have with a local sports association, school, fitness club, or whatever!

So get out and pass the word. Let me know if you do and if you have any questions. Sure I want to see the program do well… but the bottom line is, as someone who struggles with their weight, despite daily exercise on my part, I want to see us have a fitter country. And it starts with young people.

Want proof. I have told many of you the story of Simon, the quarterback on my Lawrence Park football team that I coach. Well in 2007, Simon was a 5’8” – 257 lb block of rubber! I made him play center despite his desire to be a QB. However, I told him… lose 50 pounds and I will give you a shot. Well Simon started working out, skipping the odd snack, and reducing his fast food intake to something reasonable. Next thing you know he showed up fifty pounds lighter in September 2008, and had one of the best seasons at QB I have ever seen.

Just last week Simon told me he went for a 10k jog. This is a 17-year old who once couldn’t run a lap of the field!

Stories like Simon’s are my true motivation. By the way, Simon is signed up for Sogo Active as well.

So? Go!

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Easy Rider

I am not sure how to make this story all that interesting, so I'll just tell it like it is.

I went to the Sportsmen Show on Saturday, and took my boys for a guy’s day out, while Mom stayed home and worked.

Couldn't believe the line to get in. Maybe a thousand people!

What recession?

Couldn't believe how many more people were inside the show.

I repeat. What recession?

[BREAK] Everybody there looked like they were from my hometown. Which makes perfect sense because the last time I went, I was an 8 year old from Orillia.

People were buying boats, guns, hot dogs, and dog chow.

What recession?

My kids had a riot.

They tried archery. Mom was not happy (with me).

Shot air rifles. Mom's really not happy now.

They rock climbed. Mom was surprised.

They ate candies, ice cream and drank Sprite. Mom wasn't surprised.

They rode motocross bikes. Mom was freaked.

Ah yes. The motocross bikes. My boys, ages six and eight, got geared up from head to toe and tried out real bikes for the first time ever. The program was managed by the Yahama Racing Academy. They were real pros. Excellent with the kids, and even better with the parents. On time. Very organized. You name it. Plus they were respectful yet informative with their sales pitch to attend their academy some day.

My kids said it was the best they ever did. Their Mom predicted they would want bikes for Christmas.

So at dinner I popped the question. What do you want for Christmas? (It’s a weekly year-round question in our household!).

Mom was right. They want bikes.

I guess Mom didn't realize how much she knew about experiential marketing!

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Let's Climb the Mountain

Technically this isn’t a blog, so if you don’t care to read it I understand.

This is really an invitation. An invitation to climb a mountain.

This isn’t just an ordinary mountain. It’s a big mountain. It’s a professional mountain. And a personal mountain. It is a place and a time, and most importantly, an experience.

What I am talking about is the 2010 Canadian Sponsorship Forum. Set at the base of Whistler Mountain, at the Westin Resort & Spa, next year’s Forum will be unlike any other we have ever done.

Thanks to our friends at the Canadian Paralympic Committee, the Forum will be immersed in the 2010 Paralympics and its final weekend. Our delegates will be wrapped up in this event for every waking moment. You’ll see first hand how an event like the Paralympics is staged, marketed, and supported. You will hear from athletes, coaches, sponsors, volunteers, and organizers. You’ll witness gold medal events, presentation ceremonies, and the closing ceremonies.

Thanks to our lineup of unrivaled speakers you’ll be inundated, motivated, and educated on the best practices in Canadian sponsorship from the arts, culture, festivals, education, business to business, sports, fairs, music, action sports, environmental, online, gaming and charity sectors. We may be at an international sporting event, but our topics will go well beyond whistles and podiums!

Thanks to our new training program, The Business of Sponsorship, you’ll have a chance to develop specific skills that will help your career. Whether it is developing internal recommendations, program evaluations, proposal writing, fulfillment reports, negotiating, pricing, or prospecting. Yes, we have a good time at the Forum, but it’s time for some hard-core training!

Thanks to our sponsors, you will build contacts, relationships, and partnerships through our unbelievable networking events including dinner at the top of Whistler Mountain, pregame Sledge Hockey final party, skiing, and apr�s skiing!

Yep this is some invitation. One could call it a sales pitch…because it is. I want you to climb the mountain. I want you to build your company’s sponsorship success. I want you to build your career. Our industry is full of dynamic talent, energy, and passion. Take it to the top of the mountain next March. You’re all invited!

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The next Dale Carnegie

A lot of people are very good at their jobs but they suck at public speaking.

It’s not that they are shy, but because they don't know what to say.

Most speakers talk about what they want to hear. Very few talk about what you want to hear.

Great speakers teach. Bad speakers preach. Yesterday at the IEG Sponsorship Conference, there were two great examples.

The teacher was Peter Diamandes creator of the X-prize. The preacher...will go nameless. No sense in bashing.

The teacher knew that his audience wanted to learn. The brands in the room wanted to be educated on how to look for breakthrough properties that can generate exponential returns. The properties wanted to learn how you sell what's never been done before.

What did I learn?

Rich individuals can be a sponsor!
To reinforce to my clients that it takes time to sell.
That once again entrepreneurs can solve issues that big companies or government can't.
That a property can become a sponsor of another property and generate a return doing it.

The preacher thought we would all be impressed because he gave away prizes, works for a big company, and had some slick video.

Unfortunately what he really taught us is that even with twenty full-time people working on one sponsorship project, you can still produce remarkably stale work. That’s right, he has 20 people working one property…year round.

The preacher should be ashamed. He told an audience of 1,000 industry professionals that his strategy is men/sport/beer. He told us his key insight was fan passion. He told us his big idea was his brand is a part of the game.

Now to be fair, the preacher did open by stating he would focus on execution vs. strategy. Which was an enticing approach. But he didn't deliver on his promise.

His talk stayed superficial. High level. Low value.

A speech that was focused on execution could have provided great learnings around fulfillment process, activation implementation, or measurement in action.

Alas we were denied.

I think speaking to a group is a skill that needs development. The hardest part is to shed your own skin and become the audience. Imagine them reading your session summary. What expectations does it raise for them?

By answering that important question, you could be the next Dale Carnegie.

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Clear & Present Danger

If you've been to the IEG conference, you've seen Rob Prazmark speak. He's spoken every year since I was in Grade 7. Although his surname sounds reptilian he is no dinosaur.

Today his speech was a great mix of past learnings (The story about American Express turning down the TOP sponsorship in 1985 is a classic) and some sage advice.

But this morning his talk focused on an interesting issue. Specifically, he drew attention to the attack on sponsorship by US politicians. Rob commented that they believe companies receiving bailouts shouldn't do sponsorship. Which is, in my opinion, ridiculous!

They aren't picking on other types of marketing, but misguidedly feel sponsorship is all about ego and schmoozing. The rhetoric is causing some firms that aren't receiving bailouts to be wary of high profile deals.

Holy Crap people!! Don't let this happen in Canada or we are all dead! D.E.A.D.

It’s up to us to publicize and promote the strategic benefits of our industry. So spread the word with your properties, clients, bankers, and elected officials.

Nobody is going to bail us out. Frankly we don't need it. Let's keep it that way.

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Big Mac

McDonald's Johan Jervoe took the audience through their LOST RING property which was a runaway success heading into the Beijing Olympics. This campaign ran for 6 months and engaged 5 million consumers. With nary a golden arches in sight. If you haven't seen this campaign google it today. I mean today.

What was amazing about this campaign is that it started with a teaser campaign to just fifty people (yes 50!!) in countries around the world and it grew and grew. Their target? Young people who were tired of obnoxious brand marketing. Did it work?

Based on favourability scores and intent to purchase, yes it did.

Besides checking out this case, you may want to read two books that Jervoe recommended: THE DREAM SOCIETY and LEADERSHIP WITH KINDNESS.

Guess I've got some reading to do on the plane ride home.

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The Dream Society

Keynote presenter Rolf Jensen of the Dream Company made his point on two key fronts.

As it relates to companies who are challenged in these times he reminded them that "The Tour de France is won in the mountains". A great analogy.

Secondly his consumer prediction is that despite the tough times, consumers will continue to buy with their hearts. Which is good news because it costs little to add a story to a brand. He spun a tale about a Portuguese sardine company who were having issues with sales. They then added a written back story on each can about when the fish were caught, who was the crew, and what happened on that trip. Sales tripled.

Sounds like someone else believes in story telling.

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Not Stupid Old Marketing

Lesa Ukman delivered a spirited and hard charging opening this morning to a smaller than usual crowd at the IEG Sponsorship Conference.

Calling on the industry to stand up for itself she made several amazing points:

1. Politicians in the US are off base for picking on sponsorship by companies who received bail out funds, yet saying nothing about the advertising they run. Sponsorship is about building brand value not people schmoozing and we need to remind ourselves of that.

2. Sponsorship should be about business not marketing. Ideas that are business driven will be more powerful than marketing.

3. Ideas are currency. The X-prize has created an entire industry of private entrepreneurs in space travel.

There was a lot more, but those were the highlights.

Well done Lesa.

Deja Vue all over again!

Left Ottawa today… was there for an event… to head to IEG. As soon as I got to the airport the bad Sponsorship Forum memories started creeping in!

My flight to Chicago went from delayed by two hours, to canceled, to a rebooking to Washington in the span of an hour. So I am on the plane now to Washington, and praying they booked me through to Chicago, and even more concerned about baggage. Oh well.

IEG this year should prove interesting. I actually haven't been south of the border since the Great Depression hit. I am anxious to see the mood and to gauge the gloom on the street. Will the shops be empty? Will my favourite restaurant be closed? Will the Hilton give me a discount?

The conference itself should provide some clues as to the market. The US sponsorship market is so dominated by Banks and Automotive, I have to imagine that a ton of properties are suffering. However I am also hopeful they are in attendance and finding new ways to do battle.

If you're in Chicago, send me an email (mark.harrison@trojanone.com) or a text (416-726-6720) and we will hook up to compare notes. If you’re not, I will keep you posted throughout the conference! I don’t TWITTER yet so this blog will have to do.

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Parlez Vous?

Why listen to me babble about this year’s Forum when you can hear it straight from the mouths of Canada’s leading sponsorship marketers who braved the economy and the fog to get to Quebec City last weekend…

I have taken the liberty of pulling excerpts from many of the emails I received from our delegates. If you see yourself quoted in here… hopefully you wont mind my sharing your sentiments!

"Hi Mark,
the forum you and your team organized was truly above and beyond. To quote Clueless "It was two thumbs up and Great Family Fun" (well maybe Chez Maurice @ 3am was 'not so family')."

"... Just wanted to send a short note and say WELL DONE!!! Again an exceptionally professional show, with great speakers and content and fantastic networking."

"Hi,
I just wanted to send a brief email to thank you for holding such an
informative sponsorship forum. It was incredibly well run, especially given the unforeseen weather issues!"

"...We are in for 2010…and the foreseeable next 5 years if they are repeats of this year.
Cheers.... well done."

"Pippa, you beat us to it. Thank you for your incredible support and dedication to not only the conference itself, but to the delegates and making our time in Quebec City enjoyable, wonderful and memorable. You ran the conference well and your passion and eye for detail was evident in every aspect of the 3 days.

For me, you were incredibly accommodating in every aspect leading up the conference and at the conference; you provided not only me, but my entire family with a feeling of warmth and inclusion. Mark and Trojan One are fortunate to have such a warm, friendly and professional person on their team."

"...The stories we all have and can take away from this
years Forum will likely bring even more exposure and interest for 2010's
event."

"Hey Guys,
This was my first forum and it was amazing. I've never experienced an event like that.
All of the delegates that I spoke with over the weekend had nothing but great things to say about the event. I just wanted to say that I am so proud to be a part of the TrojanOne team. I think we have a great group of people working together. This is an event that I'll never forget, and I am so proud to have worked on this with all of you. Everyone did an amazing job. Have a fantastic family day everyone."

"..Great conference Mark. Thanks for the opportunity to present, very much appreciated."

"I just wanted to extend a huge thank you for a great sponsorship forum. I found it incredibly helpful, informative and fun. This was my first year attending and I was impressed by the level of organization and professionalism. Hats off to you and the Trojan One staff for an amazing job!"

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What is sponsorship anyways and how can we make it better?

Having worked within the sponsorship industry for nearly a decade, you’d think it would be easy for me to answer the first part of this apparently simple question. But just try Googling the word sponsorship and you’ll be left scratching your head.

Up until a few days ago, the standard answer I would serve up to people that asked this vexing question would begin something like “….well it really depends who you are and what you’re trying to accomplish…..”

The vagueness of this answer was based upon the dynamic and ever changing nature of sponsorship and by my displeasure with those in the broader marketing industry who’ve hijacked the term to serve their own agenda….don’t get me started!

Just two weeks ago I was asked by the VP of Marketing for one of the world’s largest QSRs, what the strategic purpose of sponsorship is. This particular question was a little easier to answer because we were no longer talking about a definition but rather the purpose of sponsorship within a particular marketing category. Nevertheless, I still could have spouted a myriad of answers which would have all been correct to varying extents.

So in a world of sports and entertainment sponsorships, broadcast sponsorships, online sponsorships, cause marketing sponsorships, venue naming rights sponsorships, philanthropic sponsorships, etc; what are we to do if we want to preserve sponsorship spending in 2009 and beyond as we stare down a deep recession that according to Dr. Norm O'Reilly from the Canadian Institute for Sports Marketing will wipe out $200 million of available sponsorship spending this year in our country!?!?

I’m happy to report that after three days at the Fifth Annual Canadian Sponsorship Forum, I may have a partial solution. I won’t go so far as to say that I hold the keys to a universal definition which I could confidently defend to earn a PHD but I may have a simple place from which to start. You see the theme of this year’s Forum chaired by Mark Harrison, President of TrojanOne, was the power of Storytelling and I came away with some clarity and some ideas on how we can each work more effectively to leverage the power of sponsorship and help preserve its place in corporate budgets.

After listing to a range of terrific speakers from across Canada and participating in discussions (and a few debates) with industry colleagues, I’m fully convinced that sponsorships have the profound ability to connect people emotionally like almost nothing else. Tap into people’s passions and engage them in dialogue (the process of storytelling) and all the supporting marketing strategies and tactics will flow from there.

The most impressive sponsorship case studies I heard at the Forum were all rooted in people’s passions. Creative and strategic activation, execution and post analysis are all important but they’re next to useless if they’re not grounded in relatable stories that have the power to speak to people as people NOT as consumers or brand targets.

Brian Levine

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Whistler In 2010

I just got off stage a few minutes ago where we made the exciting announcement that the next Canadian Sponsorship Forum will be in Whistler from March 19th to 21st during the 2010 Winter Paralympics! The event will be co-presented by TrojanOne, Institute for Sports Marketing, and the Canadian Paralympic Committee.

Joining me on stage was Benoit St-Amand, a member of Canada’s 2006 gold medal winning sledge hockey team, won at the Torino Paralympics. St-Amand talked about the pressure’s of defending gold on home ice during the 2010 Paralympics, which was extremely relevant as our conference delegates will be attending the gold medal Sledge Hockey game! Additionally we ill be attending the closing ceremonies of the Paralympics in Whistler.

Today’s final day of presentations at the Forum were highlighted by Scott Moore of CBC Sports, closing the day with his storytelling about the new era at CBC Sports. This was the perfect complement to our high energy opening presentation conducted by Alison Gordon of Rethink Breast Cancer who was rescheduled after missing her flight on Thursday. In between Angus Reid Strategies, Reebok CCM, ParticipACTION, and CN all shared great learning's.

Also on the agenda today was the 3rd annual Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Survey presented by Dr. Norm O'Reilly which identified a big jump in spending and activation in 2008, with the rights fee projected growing to $ 1.39 billion, a growth of 14% over 2007. However the forecast for 2009 shows a sharp decline in spending… wiping out almost $ 200 million in available sponsorship in the market!

We started this weekend’s discussions with a focus on how to provide solutions to the economic. Sounds like we might need two hundred million of them!

Thanks to all of you who attended this year’s Forum. I look forward to spending more time with each of you in Whistler.

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Bill Baker & Bonhomme Stole The Day

What do the Chief Strategic Officer (Bill Baker) of Envisioning & Storytelling and the official ambassador (Bonhomme) of Carnival have in common?

Well they both stole the opening day of the Canadian Sponsorship Forum. Bonhomme was greeted to such a thunderous ovation, by the two hundred delegates in the audience, you would have thought it was a room full of eight year olds. Not a collection of sponsorship marketing professionals. He brought greetings to the group and taught them his famous cheer – Joyeux Carnival! - made fun of my weight and then posed for a couple of dozen photographs with adoring delegates.

[BREAK]His appearance came following a pair of presentations outlining the history of the Carnival and then a panel featuring some of its biggest partners such as Kraft and Loto-Quebec.

Up next was Baker, who has made the transition from being one of the leading strategic planners in the Canadian advertising industry to a partner and strategist in the much admired E+S. Baker’s presentation, The Magic & Logic of Storytelling, provided motivation, insight, and conviction for all in attendance. Indeed it was the perfect foundation for the theme of this year’s Forum which is Sponsorship Storytelling.

Baker talked to the power of stories to inspire people and get them to unite in action. There are three steps to developing a story according to Bill: 1. Envision; 2. Engage; 3. Enact. Beyond these three steps, he talked about the power of story telling and the keys to success behind it. Including engaging people beyond your company’s marketing department to challenge your thinking.

But he also cautioned that story telling is not propaganda. Not a tag line. Not about being on message

When I opened the conference today I threw down a request of our delegates for us to come together as an industry and work for the betterment of all of us. In these times we need to push on all fronts and help our country and our planet rebuild itself economically, socially, environmentally.

I think its possible. Storytelling will be a big part of it.

Stay tuned for more Forum fables.

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The Fog Blog

The Fog Blog

Last night was not fun. Not for the dozens of delegates and speakers and sponsors who were stranded across Canada by the unseasonal weather in Quebec City.

Like ghosts of soldiers past the fog rolled in over the Plains of Abraham around 11 yesterday morning. By mid-afternoon you couldn't see ten feet in front of you, let alone recognize Wolfe from Montcalm.

As I plunged across a gorgeous ski trail on my afternoon jog, the fog must have been reducing the oxygen flow to my brain. Because it never dawned on me this was going to mess up my Forum.

No I was too enthralled watching hundreds of school kids bound from the yellow confines of their buses into the Carnaval grounds. Zipping between food stations tubing, and ice sculptures, it was clear they weren't fazed by the weather. But come 4:00PM when they had to head home, the emails to Forum HQ were coming fast and furious.

Delays. Delays. Delays.

My team spent four hours scrambling to help identify alternative routes and possible sleepover locations for those stranded in Montreal and Toronto. We were paging every bus charter and airport shuttle we could find. We booked rooms and unbooked rooms so many times that we made a mockery of credit card security.

The war room buzzed as we ordered in supplies (Ceasers & Coronas) to ensure we survived the battle.

Around midnight it was over. So we thought. Most flights had been cancelled. Our battalion mates were headed to their barracks at airport hotels in three cities.

I waved the white flag and surrendered for the night. Time for bed. Hopefully we would see everyone Thursday morning.

Surely the fog would leave.

Cause it had to make way for freezing rain!

Mh3

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Midday Blog

Hey sports fans I just spent four hours in a run through of every final (well almost final) presentation for this years Forum and all I can say is wow and get YOUR BUTT DOWN TO QUEBEC CITY.

There is a ton of great learning to be had from Angus Reid to BMO to Canon. The next three days are going to be like a PhD in sponsorship.

All of our speakers have embraced the story telling theme to the max. I can't believe the quality and content of these decks.

Over the next three days I will share a highlight or two from each of them for those of you who won't make it to La Belle province!

Mh3

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Landed!

I guess I am not all that technically advanced after all. See I am going to try to blog throughout the next few days from the Canadian Sponsorship Forum and already I have been told I should be “Twittering”! Sorry I don’t Twitter yet. So its blogging or else you could email me for updates!

As well I did enough twittering last night on my WestJet (sponsor plug!) flight out here. Yeah I am nervous flier. Even a little bit of turbulence makes me nervous. Not great for someone who is airborne about 100 times a year! Okay maybe 40. But if you count each leg, its close to triple digits.

“Biggie” and “Short Bus” from my office were kind enough to pick me up at the airport and whisk me down to the Hilton Qu�bec where all the action will be for the next three days. A quick unpacking session, and it was time to get working! First task? Inspect the pub for our Thursday night IMI International Networking Event. (wow this branded content is a bit too obvious).

Off we went down a series of stairs, cobblestones, and sidewalks. We turned a five minute walk into twenty, but we got there just in time for my first lesson in Quebec City business customs. Our waiter was friendly… thankfully “Short Bus” speaks French…but quick to point out they were closing in 20 minutes (it was 11:40 at the time).

So we ordered a round, harkened our comrades to join us from the hotel (they were quickly talked out of their PJ’s and red wine and into the chilly Quebec air). Our group morphed from three to seven and with each added order, our man Friday, became friendlier and friendlier. Lesson I in local economics, flash the Trudeaus and the bar doesn’t close!

At 2:00 am the table next to us ordered their second bottle of Veuve Clicquot, kinda weird for four fellas to be drinking champagne on a Tuesday night, with ice cubes in their glasses… but I didn’t want to die so I stopped staring. So we kept ordering as well.

Bottom line is the pub is exactly what we need to get the Forum off with a bang. I didn’t need to be out till 3:00 am on a Tuesday. But I did it for you.

See you soon!

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Super Bowl �Loser�?

In case you’re not aware I consider myself the biggest Pittsburgh Steeler fan this side of Myron Cope.

But I didn’t make it to the big game this year, due to numerous other weekend travel commitments. And my two buddies who were coming over, succumbed to the pressure of their better halves to watch it at home. So I ended up watching the first half with my eight and six-year old sons and one of their buddies… who between them had about 23 Steeler souvenirs! Smart kids.

By halftime their interest had switched from watching to playing, and our house became the scene of a full fledged game of tackle, which I refereed down to a game of “two touch” (that’s what kids call two-hand touch these days) after one too many near concussions.

While the three of them all pretended to play for Pittsburgh, and somehow still be in the Super Bowl (house rules perhaps?), I managed to devour the food I had ordered for my alleged buddies who abandoned me to marital harmony. It made me wonder… what type of guy sits in his plasma-screen adorned den… wearing a Steelers sweatshirt that hasn’t been washed since the playoffs started… alone… in the dark… while turning down other friend’s invitations to join them in full family parties for the evening?

Maybe my better half is right. This isn’t normal.

Oh she is right all right (I am in trouble when she reads this). It’s not normal! It’s better than normal! It’s Super!

You see, the Steelers are my religion. I die with every incomplete pass and rejoice at every perfectly executed zone blitz. I cry when Big Ben misses an open man downfield and genuflect when he escapes a sack. I cringe when they show Rod Woodson in his old Ravens uniform and experience tingles when they show Coach Tomlin doing his Omar Epps impression.

It’s pathetic. But it’s me. The Steelers have been my team since my nine-year old friends called me “Franco” Harrison as a kid.

And I love it!

You know what… I really wasn’t alone. My BlackBerry was very EXCITED it was Super Bowl Sunday, because it was in for a multi feature workout. Every game I engage in a nonstop conversation of email, PIN, and Messenger back and forth with fellow football junkies from Calgary to St. John’s to Atlanta… and one guy who lives three houses down my street! On Sunday the gaggle of digital groupies was even bigger than usual. There were so many involved, that between plays my fingers could barely keep up with the flurry of comments and predictions flowing across the digital divide!
Every big moment brought some great commentary:

When (Steelers Coach Mike) Tomlin didn’t go for a TD on the first drive: “If we lose by three I am going to puke!”

After the James Harrison 100 YD TD: “Which one of your kid are you going to rename James?”

During the Springsteen show: “Why didn’t he shave that…@#$&!”

When Larry Fitzgerald burst for a 64 YD TD romp:” Disgusting!”

When the officials were reviewing the Holmes TD: “I think his one foot was on top of the other.”

Two hours after game time: “If we hadn’t won I was going to call in sick tomorrow!”

Gasping for air between thumbprints, I barely had time to watch the action live. Thank goodness for PVR. Watch a play, send a comment, rewind to see it again, hit the LIVE button to catch backup, flip back to my BB and rehash what we had all just seen.

It’s like being at the Stadium and talking to everyone around you adorned in Black & Gold. Okay, not quite but almost.

Yeah I know it sounds weird, and maybe next time you see me, you might have yourself a little snicker. But it’s fun to be a Steelers fan.

Even if I look like a loser.

All by myself. In my little dark room. Nursing my Bloody Caesar. Eating pineapple pizza. The glow from my TV matched by the glow from my PDA. On a snowy street in Toronto. Oh so far from Pittsburgh and even farther from Tampa Bay, but darn close to Heaven.

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An All-Star Weekend

I have to raise my stick to the NHL for doing a great job at this past weekend’s All-Star game in Montreal. It was one of the most impressive events I have been to in a while, and I thought you might enjoy my sharing a few of the amazing activations, event details, and hosting occasions I witnessed.

So here they are in no particular order:

The Lays Jamboree was amazing. This was truly an interactive fan zone that swept consumers off their feet. The entrance opened up to a giant staging area featuring a super-sized Stanley Cup, memorabilia, big screens, and an autograph area. Immediately behind the autograph area was a gigantic merchandising area. Very Disney-like. Sell! Sell! Sell!

Honda created a see-through replica of their new enviro gem, the Insight, that consumers could sit in and have their picture taken. The “ice” structure really drove home the message of the reduced environmental impact of this car.

Speaking of ice, amidst a bunch of cool NHL All-Star branded ice sculptures, stood a block long row of jerseys encased in icy “tombstones”. An amazing touch!

The winners of the McDonald’s all-star lineup promo. What a great activation… twelve kids on the ice next to their heroes for the pregame intro and anthems.

Cirque de Soleil doing the pregame show, lest we forget we were in Montreal!

Speaking of the Jamboree, they charged admission. It was only $ 10.00 and well worth it. The lesson for other leagues? Put a price on your property and you can invest more to make it awesome.

NHL Network activation where consumers could record their own hockey show at the Lays Jamboree.

All the room keys at the official hotel had been rebranded with the event logo on one side and a Reebok promotion on the other. It’s the first time I can remember stealing my room keys.

Once I got to my room, the TV had a decal on it promoting the NHL Network. So simple… yet brilliant!

A few select sponsors and prospects got to spend thirty minutes with the Stanley Cup, Detroit Coach Mike Babcock, and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Coach Babcock talking about the Red Wings’ success, and commenting that he has never motivated anybody in his career. He chooses self-starters for his team and staff, and then creates demanding standards in a supportive environment. That’s a lesson for all of us.

The gift bag. I will actually use it after the weekend. Well I would, but one of my kids nabbed it.

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It�s a New Day!!

If you know me it’s obvious that I'm not a big fan of jumping on the bandwagon.

Football-wise it’s about the Steelers, Trojans, Gryphons, Panthers (Lawrence Park) and Rough Riders (the Ottawa kind) for me. Music-wise you'll find more Jackie Wilson than Akon on my iPod. Though I love them both. Car-wise, it’s the same brand (brand… not actual car) since 1992.

I even call myself the nickname I was bestowed in 1984. (Even if only two other people - my wife and my best friend - know it).

But it’s hard not to want to dive into the euphoria that President (as of today we drop the elect) Obama has created south and north of the 49th. Truly we are seeing history in the making.

The passion and excitement is remarkable, especially given this was a man few of us had heard of two years ago.

Personally I am pretty sure that during the Democratic nomination I didn't think he could win, let alone be President. Given my physical similarity to BO (colour wise at least), it had nothing to do and everything to do with race.

I felt the American people wouldn’t, couldn't do it. Even on election night I thought there would be a last minute change of heart. Thank God and the enslaved ancestors of my parents, that I was wrong.

It might appear corporate of me to turn this historical moment into a business lesson. But I think there is something to be learned for all of us, on both a personal and professional level.

It’s that during adversity, people are willing to try new things. During tough times people are looking for hope. During tough times people seek leadership. It’s easy to be good when the skies are blue. It’s easy to make profits when nobody questions your fundamentals. It’s easy to be forgiven when you can buy redemption.

Thankfully some bumps in the road might restore our senses. Knock our expectations back in line. Restore our personal compasses back to north. Reflect images of our flawed selves back from the wishing pool. Most importantly, it has opened our minds to accepting new things. Such as an African & American President, and I use that punctuation purposefully.

It has shown us the value of relationships, faith, and vision. It has shown us that these values can triumph over troubles. Look at the hundreds of thousands who are attending the inauguration, and are not worrying about taking time off work or the costs of their trip. People will always find a way to do what is important to them.

I have to confess the gloom of the past few months has gotten to me a bit. The economic challenges have thrown me for a loop. We would all be lying if we didn't admit that sometimes we wonder if we'll have jobs or businesses in six months. It’s scary.

But then I pull on my Nikes for my early morning jog, inhale the glorious headlines of the newspapers this January 20th, and on a day when the name "Obama" is the most angelic in the entire world I realize…

We will overcome.

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What Gets Measured Gets Done

It’s an old saying but a true one.

You want to lose weight, set a goal and hop on the scale everyday. Progress or lack of progress will spur on more activity.

So if you want to ensure your company maintains your sponsorship budget, why aren’t you measuring what is getting done?

There is no better time than now to get started. While 2009 can’t possibly be as bad as the media is predicting (if it was we would all be lining up at soup kitchens), the reality is we all work for organizations that are using the phrase “these economic times” in every second sentence. Have to admit… it’s getting tiresome.

But perception is reality. So how do you deal with it? How do you fight back?

Well I would argue now more then ever it’s time to put energy and resources in place to analyze, measure, and evaluate your sponsorships. You need to gather all of your stakeholders: your staff, your properties, and your agencies… hold hands… sing a few hymns… and then get down to it. Your first task is to bring in the professionals.

At the 2009 Canadian Sponsorship Forum we have a roster of them. Don Mayo of IMI International, (www.imi-research.com/) which is the best company in North America for evaluating the impact of sponsorship and activation on consumer behaviour. In short order, are you driving your business? You don’t have to wait until the Forum to chat with Don. Email him today at dmayo@imi-research.com. At the Forum he will be addressing head-on how you can impact consumers in these tough economic times. Oh, there’s that phrase again!

On a macro level, Norm O’Reilly of the Institute for Sports Marketing (www.ism.laurentian.ca) and Steven Ayer of Imagine Canada (www.imaginecanada.ca) will present our third annual Canadian Sponsorship Landscape study. Norm’s climbing a mountain in Argentina this month (go to www.findinglife.ca for more details), so you wont be able to chat with him… but his study will once again show the trends of where things went in 2008 and more importantly, will let you in on how sponsors see 2009! Talk about timely!

Angus Reid Strategies (www.angusreidstrategies.com) is the leader in evaluating impact on reputation, and you shouldn’t hesitate to connect with Anu Bhalla or Andrew Grenville from Angus Reid. Their work is helping the bluest of blue chips understand what impact their affiliations are having.

So now that you have an expert on your side. What do you do?

Well I would think about approaches to show my organization some major and impactful victories in as short a time frame as possible. Ultimately someone in the equation is going to have to provide more or receive less. But if we work together, we can all survive.

As a property, why not come to your sponsors and offer a 25% reduction in fees. Not in cash, but in incremental value. Pony up more tickets, more activation opportunities, more brand integration, more services. Yes 25% seems steep, but compare that to 100%, because that is the risk you run if the sponsor pulls out.

As for sponsors, try asking for the 25% reduction or offer your properties an extension of 2-3 years with some back loading to the agreement. We all feel pretty strongly that we will get past the tough times. So why not demonstrate to your boss how you generated some short-term relief to your budget.

Let’s go a step further. I keep hearing about all of this unsold inventory. So what to do… what to do? It’s barter time people! That’s right.

Want to attend the Canadian Sponsorship Forum and don’t have the budget, give me a flat screen TV. You know what… we did that last year and I was darn happy about it.

Want to sponsor an event but you don’t have cash. Offer up one of those cars that are sitting on your lot that you’re about to write-off? Let the event have access to the seven-million customers who come through your store every week. Every sponsor out there has a ton of inventory and assets that can be provided.

Yet the properties say, “I don’t want your free car.” You don’t? I know plenty… and I mean plenty of people that would love to raffle it off! Maybe your event doesn’t have a charity angle. So create a foundation and generate raffle proceeds for that. That foundation will generate PR and marketing. Does that pay the bills? Figure out the foundation’s role and it will.

Hmm… here is another idea. Bundle that car into a package for a sponsor that does have cash. Or make it part of a ticket incentive. Driving even more revenue.

Or give to a research firm and ask them to do an analysis of your consumers so you can use that data to reinforce why your sponsors shouldn’t cut your fees.

If reading this blog impacts your business, please send me the data. Thanks.

PS from MH3. And The Winner Is…

One of the most intense competitions of the year is over and its time to declare the winner!

As part of our TrojanOne holiday celebrations, my staff concocted a little competitive fun for all of their teammates. The idea was simple. Everybody was placed in teams of four or five folks and they had to select a charity that was personally relevant to them. They were then provided with a ginger bread house kit and a gift card to buy some accessories.

Their task was to make a house that best visually represented their charity. Well despite several good-natured external and impromptu suggestions… there were five charities that were honoured in our competition. The Daily Bread Food Bank, the Toronto Zoo, Sick Kids Hospital (Toronto), Right to Play, and the Salvation Army.

And the winner? The Salvation Army house created by the team of Candice, Andrew S., Annie, David, Gary, Tim and Ashley. On behalf of our staff, TrojanOne will be making a holiday donation to the winning charity.

Break out the Tye Dye!

Break out the Tye Dye!

On the dawn of Canada’s stunning fifth consecutive world junior hockey championship, we turn our attention to another dustup involving our sacred game. The battle over the jerseys to be worn by our Olympic teams in the 2010 Games.

If you haven’t been following the story it goes something like this.

Years ago Hockey Canada made a brilliant decision (one of the best in Canadian sports marketing history), to create a consistent brand image and icon. Since that decision was made, they utilize the now famous silhouette player against a maple leaf backdrop on all international uniforms and events. The equity they have built in this icon has reaped millions of dollars in merchandising, licensing, and sponsorship revenue. A great move.

However, the International Olympic Committee does not allow national sport federations to wear their own logos at Olympic games. Teams are supposed to compete under the logo of their national Olympic committee. But when the national federation and their national Olympic Committee agree, an exemption can be requested from the IOC. This exemption has been requested and granted by the IOC for Canada’s hockey teams at the last few Olympic games.

Yet for 2010 the COC has decided not to support Hockey Canada’s request for an exemption. Therefore the IOC has ruled Canada must compete under a COC logo. This has Hockey Canada hopping mad. They have waged a battle in the media. They have appealed to the International Ice Hockey Federation; they have attempted to woo the public’s support.

Why all the hubbub? What’s at stake? Well originally Hockey Canada claimed it was about money. They claimed they are losing significant licensing opportunities. But that’s not accurate, because regardless of what is worn, it will be produced by the official IIHF supplier (Nike) and Hockey Canada will receive royalties on sales. Recently Hockey Canada has admitted this.

So is it about the COC building their brand? Certainly the COC is working hard to do so. The good news about holding an Olympic Games in your country is all the attention it brings. The bad news is the organizing committee or OCOG (in our case VANOC) owns all revenue opportunities for multiple years before and after the games. You can’t argue with the COC for wanting to be creative and find ways to build their profile and their brand.

Hockey Canada’s latest argument is that it’s unfair to the players to not wear familiar jerseys during the Olympics. Huh? These are guys who probably wear 15-20 different jerseys in the span of their careers, from tyke to NHL Legends. I’m sure for a chance to skate for Canada at the Olympics, many of them would do it in leftover tie-dye t-shirts.

No, this issue smacks of ego. Not wearing the Hockey Canada logo for one Olympics isn’t going to hurt their brand. In fact I think Hockey Canada and the COC have a groundbreaking opportunity to create some magic here.

This is an unbelievable chance to create a limited edition, once in a lifetime, jersey for the 2010 games. Make them all gold…decorate them with real maple leafs…sew them out of beaver fur…dip them in maple syrup…spell Canada with an “eh”. Whatever you need to do, take the opportunity to create something so smashing and dashing, every red blooded Canadian will want three.

Then charge a super premium for them. That’s right; add $ 50 to the price tag of each and every one of them. Use that $ 50 to build more rinks, refurbish old ones, provide equipment to the needy, create more opportunities for women players, develop special leagues for seniors to play in, research new training techniques for sledge hockey players. Do anything to help keep Canada the #1 hockey nation in the world.

Its fun to be # 1. We produce the best PDA’s in the world (BlackBerry), and the best peacekeepers. Let’s make sure we keep pace with the best hockey players.

In the meantime, please quit squabbling. We’ve got our moronic MP’s to do that for us. Let’s find a solution, and get on to building our gold medal winning teams!

Last time I checked, you don’t shoot the puck with your sweater.

View Mark Harrison's profile on Linkedin.

What to do? What to do?

I missed my flight to Montreal this morning.

Bad on me.

I could have caught the next one, and made my meeting thirty minutes late, but there were three other people already attending on our behalf. Besides my lead on this account is a superstar and she’ll do a better job than I of presenting. I’m also sure she’s much happier being able to get the rightfully deserved credit for the project, since she did all the work!

So instead I find myself at my desk with a “free day”. It’s a bit odd.

For two months I had circled December 11th as OUT OF OFFICE. Now its 7:13 am and I have no meetings booked. What to do?

I toyed with zipping home and walking my kids to school. Or grabbing my running gear for a lunchtime jog. Maybe having lunch with a friend in the hood.

For a moment I daydreamed of working from Starbucks all day, just so I could people watch. Surf the net? Watch CNN and vent more about the US auto bailout?

Get caught up on the 798 emails that accumulated Monday and Tuesday while I was in Vancouver? (Yes I usually get 300-400 a day). Or read all of those trade journals that get piled up high under one of the nine footballs in my office. I gave up and had them passed around the office. (The journals, not the footballs.)

What to do? What to do?

I sort of feel like a bad Steven Covey book. You know with that…what would you do if you had one more day to live, type of questioning coming on?

Well I am pretty sure I am not dying soon. At least not tomorrow. So instead of a bucket list. I am going to write my champagne bucket list because I have a lot to celebrate.

Here is what I am going to do today:

1. I am going to call my Mom. I usually email her to communicate, and the sound of my voice may make her think I am dying, but it would be good to chat with her. We don’t talk enough.

2. I am going to sign some cheques. Yep, even though we have forty plus employees I personally sign every cheque we print. Whether it’s for $ 3.48 or for $ 200,000. But today I am going to inspect each and every one of them. I am going to ask some questions of my finance team. Its not that I don’t trust them, but sometimes I get too busy to pay attention to the important details.

3. I am going to reach out to an employee who needs me. Not one who has a work challenge, but one who I think may be questioning their role in the company. Perhaps feeling I have been placing my attention on others, which does happen here. We just finished announcing our promotions for the year and the one common denominator I would say is that each of those people happen to be those I spend a lot of time with.

4. I am going to reach out to an ex-employee. Two have written me this week about starting their own businesses. One wants a testimonial of support. The other wants my guidance. I am pretty flattered they don’t hate me. (Especially one who I actually fired after listening to her former boss… who turned out to be an idiot. Should have fired the boss. Kept the ex. Now she’s going to be my competitor. Me stupid!)

5. I am going to reach out to a client. Sometimes I am not sure I tell them how much we love them. So today I can have a conversation with just one, and perhaps help them in a way that frankly isn’t related to our work or me sending them an invoice.

6. I am going to stop saying “reach out”, because one of my clients detests that phrase.

7. Next will come a good solid hour with Marketing Magazine. One of the people I adore most in the world, Emily Bain, is on the front cover. She and her business partners at John Street where just named Agency of the Year. I met Emily in 1986 at a roadhouse restaurant called McGinnis Landing, when we were both students at the University of Guelph. She thought she ruled the place, and I thought I would take over. Eventually we became pals. I think she liked the fact I washed my uniform in the glass washer in the bar and dried it in our pizza ovens. Hey we were students; I didn’t have laundry in my apartment!

8. From Marketing, my eyeballs will head over to Inc. Magazine, Harvard Business Review, and Sports Business Journal. I love all of them. Inc. for the Norm Brodsky columns. He’s the best columnist, focused on small business management, in the world. HBR because every page is an MBA on its own. SBJ because the insight and depth they provide is better than any other sports marketing or sponsorship publication.

9. Thoroughly motivated by what I have read I am going to spend some time on my business. Our web site needs updating. Our Forum speaker lineup needs confirming. Copy for our new credentials presentation needs my sign-off. I need to read an email about my judging duties for our staff Christmas event (Apparently we are having a ginger bread house-decorating contest. The designs need to reflect a charity and the winner is going to get some money from us to donate to that charity). Then I am going to walk around the office, as if it was my first time through the doors, and come up with one idea for 2009 to make our environment even more comfortable. This will be a tall order because we have a great office if I say so myself!

10. At some point I am going to put my feet up on my leather pedestal in my office (keeps them off my desk), and take some personal time to stare at the new hockey pictures of my sons Lane and Cole, I have in a black frame in my office, Lane is eight and has hair like Jim Morrison. His happy dark eyes are sparkling because he is the most content person I have ever met. He loves every team and club he is a part of. Cole is five and his hairline is closer to Dad’s. It’s his first year in organized hockey. His jaw is gritted and his teeth bared in his picture, because he likes to add some dramatic flair to everything he does.

I am looking forward to today. Maybe tomorrow, you’ll miss your flight on purpose. Send me your list so we can compare notes!

View Mark Harrison's profile on Linkedin.

Is It Time to Panic?

Announcements across the country seem to have people reeling.

Today’s notice that the Toronto Blue Jays have let go 10% of their non-baseball operations staff, on the heels of the sad passing of businessman, and friend of sponsorship, Ted Rogers, seems to have created an increased level of concern, in the hallways I frequented this morning.

But let’s face it people, when one person loses their job, people talk. And talk. And talk.

In all honesty I doubt there is a corporation, or organization in Canada that couldn’t stand to lose 10 or even 20% of their staff. Many of them will run more profitably and be more effective. It’s the Jack Welch method people. Fire your bottom 10% each year and the other 90% will perform better.

Think about it. Ever been on a team that didn’t have some dead weight? Ever had a circle of friends that included one or two hangers on? Ever rented a house with one roomie too many?

My instincts tell me a whole lot of organizations are using the sign of the times to do some course correcting. Notice how few of these articles state any hard facts. They say advertising or sales are down, but they don’t say by how much!

Canada's economic forecast calls for -0.5% growth in GDP next year. Hey if you can guarantee me my revenues will drop by only half of one percent, right now on December 3rd, I’ll take it. Sign me up.

We aren’t about to line up at soup kitchens or be sharing a bed with our smelly Uncle Harry at a -0.5%.

Call me Mr. Rose Coloured Glasses. Call me Glass Half Full guy. But the only threat to the economy is for it to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Retailers are reducing inventory orders while consumers are still ripping product off the shelves. Talk to any CPG marketer these days. It makes no sense.

So lets all do our part to end this self-fulfilling prophecy. Any day now we will have THREE Prime Ministers we can talk to about this. Now is your chance! With three instead of one I am sure your calls will be answered.

But seriously. Let’s spread some good news. Let’s kick start some growth. Let’s make some deals. If we talk ourselves into a recession, we will have nobody to blame but ourselves.

Thanks.

Oh yeah. Please tell the NBL (New Bloc Liberal) Party to not give ONE PENNY of my money to the big three Automatic Loss Makers. (Isn’t “Automatic Loss” what “Auto” stands for?).

View Mark Harrison's profile on Linkedin.

Jack�s Wish: �For every kid to be healthy and not need needles�

One saying I've used for years in my conference presentations is that "Every great event started as a lemonade stand". Yesterday, when presenting to the Association of Fundraising Professionals Congress, it became more than a pithy bullet point.

Attending the Congress, on a bursary provided by a generous benefactor, was an energetic woman named Jodi Yeilding. She was at the Congress to learn what she could about fundraising. But I think she's doing pretty well already.

Actually the credit belongs to her son Jack (http://www.jackslemonade.com).

You see Jack is a young boy who has intractable epilepsy, which does not respond to medication. From the age of one, he has succumbed to constant seizures, some of them fifteen minutes in duration, until doctors at SickKids found a special type of diet for him. This new diet has helped reduce his seizures substantially.

Jack has spent a lot of time at Sick Children's Hospital. So much so that he felt compelled to do something to help his fellow patients.

A few years ago young Jack started selling lemonade. Now I don't know what he charges, nor do I know what secret recipe he holds. But somehow, someway, Jack has been able to raise over $ 90,000 in the past few years for the hospital.

Unbelievable.

So that brings me back to Jack's mom. She attended my workshop on Sponsorship Activation yesterday. But her real interest lay in how she can help find a sponsor to take Jack's lemonade stand national. I gave her a few ideas of my own and then turned it over to the audience. The ideas came out fast and furious. The group's enthusiasm for the idea was electrifying.

You have to understand there were 200 fundraisers in the room!

In chatting with Jack's mom afterwards, I offered to do what I can to help. It only dawned on me this morning, when I started writing my blog, how I could assist. So for those of you, who wanted to hear some thoughts on this weekend's Grey Cup action in Montreal, email someone else who was there. Today I want to find Jack a sponsor.

Here is what we need to do. My blog is included in an email we send out every week that reaches 6,000 industry stakeholders in Canada. Sponsors. Agencies. Properties.

One of you must be looking for a great idea. A compelling story. If you're a sponsor, this could be the opportunity of the year. If you're a property, what a great charitable partner to adopt. If you're an agency, let's put all of your creativity to use.

I have to imagine there is someone out there… among six thousand people… who wants to help young Jack. Hopefully one of you can step up and make us proud. Or maybe a bunch of people will want to get involved.

For more information go to www.jackslemonade.com.

Or email Jodi at: info@jackslemonade.com.

They are looking for sponsors, partners, donors, volunteers… you name it.

I hope my little plug for Jack helps him make more magic lemonade for a very long time.

Thank-you.

View Mark Harrison's profile on Linkedin.

Awards are Proof of what works

I was honoured to be invited as serve as a judge for the 5th annual SMCC Marketing Awards which will be announced April 6, 2009.

This year’s awards chair is the super smart Rob Assimakopoulos, SVP of the Canadian Football League. I am not saying Rob is super smart because he works in the football business (though that does bias me!). I am not saying he is super smart because he was a rising star at both Procter & Gamble and Molson’s, which are two of the strongest marketing organizations in North America. I am not saying he is super smart because he invited me to be a judge…that just makes him super super duper smart! (jk)

No, I think Rob is pretty damn smart because he crystallized a positioning for the Canadian Football League that I absolutely love. This positioning and the ensuing marketing campaign is entitled This is Our League. If you haven’t seen the anthem video that accompanies it, I encourage you to watch it.

What he did was articulate a position that has really existed for a while within the league, and expressed it better than ever before. No fancy out of reach aspirations, no big ball jokes for the meatheads, no making heroes out of head cases, as some other pro sports leagues and teams have attempted. No, this one is for the fans.

The beauty of it is how it allows marketers and broadcasters to take it and run with it. It provides a platform that can help build the equity of any product trying to increase its share of consumer love!

This type of positioning allows for award winning sponsorship. That takes us back to the reason for today’s story about Rob.

If you’re a property out there looking to increase your profile, a brand that feels your partners deserve some credit for their hard work, an advertiser looking to demonstrate that you understand consumer engagement, or an agency working to get their clients “promoted”… ENTER THE SMCC AWARDS!

The process of developing and submitting the case will help you better understand the pros and cons of your programs. The experience of being judged by your peers will broaden your perspective. The SMCC’s focus on driving business results will ensure your organization understands the power of sponsorship.

Rob has handpicked an all-star cast of judges, who will each contribute tens of hours to evaluate your work. Their time and commitment should be exceeded by the effort you make in developing your submissions.

This year’s judges include:
• Esther Benzie, Associate Director, Corporate Marketing, Media and Marketing Capability, Procter & Gamble
• Sandy Bourne, Vice-President, Advertising Corporate Marketing, Bank of Montreal
• Dana Gladstone, Vice President, MacLaren Momentum
• Dan Hunter, Partner, IMI International
• Lucie Lamoureux, Directrice corporative des commandites et des �v�nements publics, Loto-Qu�bec
• Michael Malone, Business Development Associate, Sponsorship, Harbourfront Centre
• Lori Radke, Director, Corporate Partner Service and Activation, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
• Anne Waring, Account Executive, Print, CTV Olympic Media Consortium

This collective exercise is good for all of us. In good times or bad, we have to prove ourselves as a marketing sector to clients and sponsors.

Some people think awards are frivolous. Not me. Competing for awards is good for industry morale, profile, and development. My company was fortunate enough to be part of a winning entry in 2008.

Take a good long look at each and every one of your projects and campaigns. If you're not confident of their award worthiness.... doesn't that give you pause? There is a powerful message there. Our work needs to stand up to judgment!

Enter early. Enter often. Get involved in the industry and we will all benefit.

Oh yeah, and talk to Rob some day about sponsorship. He’s super smart.

View Mark Harrison's profile on Linkedin.

Sports Leaders Need to Lead!

I spent my weekend at the Petro-Canada Sport Leadership Conference, organized by the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC).

The conference featured the presentation of several coaching awards, and it was great to see my former Nike client, Kevin Tyler, being rewarded for his work with 400m specialist Tyler Christopher. Being an Orillia boy it was also exciting to see figure skating coach Doug Leigh recognized for his forty years of producing champions. Coach Leigh, best known for his work with Olympic legends such as Brian Orser and Elvis Stojko, received the Geoff Cowan award for lifetime contribution to coaching. The rink where I grew up playing house league hockey is now called the Brian Orser Arena. (If you’re an Orillia native… it’s the old Twin Lakes Arena). Maybe its time for Orillia to name a new rink after Coach Leigh.

[BREAK]Personal conference highlights included the announcement of the Campbell’s Chunky Most Valuable Coach property, which we launched in conjunction with their promo agency Accumark and media partner TSN, to activate the brand’s new relationship with the CAC.

I also had the opportunity to conduct a two-hour workshop entitled Bringing Your Activation to Life! Thanks to all of those who attended. It was a packed and attentive room, which as a speaker is always very gratifying. There were some great questions as well!

I am going to use the topic of speaker feedback as my segue to the real subject of today’s entry. As per my title, my call is for Sports Leaders to lead!

One thing about the sport community that has always struck me is the belief among many that all sports are created equal and should be treated as such. This was surprisingly evident at the session I attended on the future of media coverage for sports events.

One of the presenters was from Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium (hopefully got the name correct). He provided a very interesting presentation on how CTV and its eleven networks plan to cover the Vancouver Games. One amazing statistic is that EVERY single event will be available LIVE on a free network. Unbelievable.

However at the conclusion of his presentation several delegates decided to use the Q&A as their opportunity to get on the soapbox and vent.

One person felt that it’s the media’s fault that many lower tier sports were not generating consumer interest.

Another felt that the network should provide a share of the extra profits they generate when Canadian teams win.

Some were concerned about all the emphasis on winter sports versus summer sports.

Another didn’t like the fact that the consortium has a strategy for Paralympic coverage that is founded on featuring two or three key sports.

It wasn’t that the issues they raised were off base. But the tone and attitude was incredibly disrespectful. I mean the Consortium is going to do more for sport in Canada than they have ever seen. Why are we going to fault them for trying to be smart business people?

Hey, Heinz makes mustard too you know. But they don’t spend resources marketing it! It’s not how they make money. Want an example of a company that tries to be all things to all people? It is called General Motors, and has the secret formula on how to lose a billion dollars a month.

I think leaders of smaller sports need to worry a little less about companies that won’t sponsor them, and media who won’t cover them, and develop a plan to compete. I find it amazing that people, who have been in sport all their life, don’t want to compete. Not all athletes, sports, individuals are created equal. Our media doesn’t have to provide every event with their fifteen minutes of coverage. They are going to provide it to those that will help them generate a profit or build their brands.

So get out and lead! Be a competitor. Build a Business Plan to generate commercial opportunity for your organization. Innovate. Expand your purpose for existence. Be self-reliant.

Be a Sports Leader.

View Mark Harrison's profile on Linkedin.

Strength In Numbers

There’s an interesting trend occurring in this gloomy market in which we find ourselves. Now this isn’t scientific research, but it is fact based, albeit on a small sample. Being someone who looks at the glass as half full in any situation, this sample suits my purposes just fine!

Okay, on to my earth-shattering trend. Or maybe I should call it a flash.

It begins in Calgary and ends in Quebec City. This past week the Western Sponsorship Congress held at Cowtown’s Carriage House Inn was Sold Right Out for its promoter, the Partnership Group. Next weekend the Petro-Canada Sport Leadership Conference brings a record setting seven hundred and fifty delegates to the Hyatt Calgary, delighting the Coaching Association of Canada, which organizes and promotes the event.

Fast forward a few months from right now to the event that I chair, Canadian Sponsorship Forum 2009, which will be held in Quebec City in February, in conjunction with Carnaval. The end of October marked the close of our early bird registration period, and our team has been wowed by the interest in this year’s event. Already we have over one hundred delegates, which is unheard of, for being still three months out.

So what is going on here? Shouldn’t travel budgets be under pressure? Isn’t sponsorship or sports marketing a promotional expense that can be easily cut?

I don’t have the answer, and I am sure anything I write might be deemed to be self-promotional. But come on… what blog isn’t? So I am going to go on the stump for conferences and events.

I speak at every event that asks. I once spoke at a conference for community associations that promote breast-feeding. They actually get sponsorships! But there is a reason why I do it. It is all about improving our industry.

Good conferences are not boondoggles. They provide incredible learning, along with personal and professional networking experiences. They help elevate our industry. They provide information you can’t find online or in a journal.

Next week at the Sport Leadership Conference, the CAC has lined up speakers such as Peter (Pekka) Reinebo of the Swedish Olympic Committee and Edward Hector of the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (I hope he brings Usain Bolt with him!) who will talk about their experiences in Beijing. The WSC featured a range of speakers from the high profile Sean Durfy, CEO of WestJet, to talented amateur sport marketers like Bjorn Osieck of the British Columbia Soccer Association.

Where else could you meet these key industry stakeholders? Where else can you talk about real solutions to help you through 2009?

So get out of your office and get immersed in the industry. In the next few weeks the Strategic Sponsorship Summit and the AFP Congress are both happening in Toronto. Next April the SMCC Sponsorship Conference and the CSTA Sports Event Congress are being held as well.

I plan to be at them all! Hopefully we can talk about a few new trends when I see you there!

More Probing!

I've had several thank-you emails from proctologists across the country regarding my last entry (pun intended). I'm glad to have assisted your field!!!

We’ll prod ourselves some more today.

Was just in Calgary delivering a sponsorship-training seminar, and the economic landscape was on the minds of all in attendance. One participant asked an interesting question, inquiring whether we should be replacing the word sponsorship with partnership, given the current climate.

This is the type of question I have heard quite often lately.

It makes me believe that perhaps some of our industry practitioners have lost faith in what they do. That’s too bad…for them!

But it’s not too bad for the organization that truly understands sponsorship. Those that do will recognize the immense opportunities these times present. Here are a few I wish to share with you:

1. Properties that can show actual business returns will thrive in these times. If using the term “Sponsorship Opportunity” prevents you from getting into decision-makers’ heads, then change it to “Revenue Opportunity”. Isn’t that what you are selling? If your property can’t generate business returns for a client, then the property isn’t worth sponsoring…even when times are good.

2. Financially attractive sponsorships can be an excellent alternative to over-priced media or pure brand awareness vehicles. Marketers are going to have to trim their sails. Yet no brand wants (or can afford) to go dark. So if you can position your property as an option to a big media buy, then you’ll have prospects lined up at your door. So if you cant deliver business results as above, let’s hope you can deliver exposure, impressions (hate that word), and consumer contacts. Make sure you have quantifiable data and then start selling. The media agencies will hate you… but you should be able to eat their lunch.

3. Clever sponsorship sales executives will position their properties as platforms for integrated marketing or promotional activation, and attract brands looking for more than just media. Bring in retail partners or promotional channels and you’ll have a robust offering to excite a brand custodian.

Hey none of these are new news. I didn’t invent them. I haven’t even come close to perfecting them. But now is the time, more than ever, to leverage them to your full advantage.

So once again, let’s get off our self-examination zones!

This is the Best of Times

Okay, call me off my rocker, but I really think this is the best of times for our industry.

While I personally don’t want (and frankly don't expect) to suffer the kind of economic meltdown that the fear mongers are predicting, there is something to be said for a nice cold wake up call for everyone.

[BREAK]Let’s face facts. The economy was humming, the Olympics were coming, and in six Canadian cities another quest for the Cup has begun. . It’s pretty easy to do our jobs when times are good.

But how do we do them when things aren't so easy? Do we panic? Do we stop? Do we hide?

No we don’t!!

What we need to do is give ourselves a thorough self-examination, proctologist style.

If you're a brand side sponsor, have you negotiated the best deals you can? Do you have sufficient funding for activation? Have you invested in research and measurement to prove the value of your sponsorship portfolio to your organization? If you haven't, and it gets cut, you have only yourself to blame and not the economy.

On the property side, have you done the same? Have you locked in key partners for multi-year commitments? Have you offered attractive terms for partners to extend them now? Can you get creative about cash flow? Most importantly, have you proven that your property is a business driver? Have you shown that sponsorship isn't a donation, but a needle mover? Have you entrenched your property so deep within your sponsor’s organization, that a few layoffs at their end won’t leave you with a busy signal on the phone or bounce back emails?

When times are good we can all float along like little seagulls on the water, rising and sunning in the tide, swooping past the beach for some leftover food, just waiting for the phone to ring.

Those days are gone. I liken it to the old Blue Jays joke, (sorry Blue Jays) about their marketing and sales department after the 1994 labour stoppage. Upon returning to their offices, they were shocked to see buttons with numbers and letters on their phones. What were they for? Hey people, it’s time to make calls!!! The glory days are over. People aren't going to call you just because you're a world champion, or you have a shiny stadium.

As an industry we must do our part to keep the economic engines running. Create new business building opportunities. Get ruthless on value. Make phone calls. Create partnerships. Get together from the buyer and seller sides of the equation and just BRAINSTORM!

There are opportunities waiting out there. Let’s go get them!

View Mark Harrison's profile on Linkedin.

Who Can Compete With Abu Dhabi?

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This site is temporarily unavailable

These unsettling words sadly now live on www.grandprix.ca. The once glamorous web site of the Canadian Grand Prix.

I guess this is what stands for the official response by Normand Legault’s Grand Prix Management, regarding the cancellation of the Montr�al F1 race for 2009.

[BREAK]Which is almost as eerie as the fact that www.formula1.com, the official web site of Formula 1, has not one mention of their decision to kill off Montr�al. Unless you review the 2009 official schedule, where Canada is conspicuous by its absence.

So what happened?

Some people are blaming Abu Dhabi… who has pledged $ 400 million on a new track to stage the circuit’s season ending event. Others are blaming Legault and issues he has caused with F1 boss Bernie Eccelstone.

Who knows? But the drivers and team owners are upset and protesting the move. Government is pointing to the fact that Legault has three years remaining on his contract with F1 to stage the event. As well they are pointing at one another, claiming each should provide a bailout.

Beyond politicking, this cancellation has profound impact on sponsors. Some of who sponsored the event in Montr�al. Others who took advantage of their corporation’s international F1 partnerships and activated in Canada. Then there are the Canadian auto makers (Honda, BMW, etc.) who leveraged their team’s presence on Canadian soil. In case the car companies haven’t been hit hard enough in the past year, with the triple threat of the US dollar, crazy gas prices, and now the mortgage meltdown… this last body blow should ensure they are staggering.

Looking past the drivers and their girlfriends, the sponsors and their clients, the event managers and their customers… the loss of this event will hit main street Montr�al very hard. Annually this event has generated $ 75 million in economic spin-off for the city. Almost half of the event’s attendees are tourists and they tend to be a well heeled and high heeled group!

Montr�al knows the value of throwing a great party. This is one of those weekends that can make a waiter or bartender’s year… or at least their month. It’s a time when hotels fill up and shops sell out. Retailers get a run on clothing, jewelry, and accessories. Restaurants are rented for swanky events. Bars are overflowing with revelers. And lets not imagine how much extra money Montr�al’s renowned “ballerinas” make.

But It is getting harder every day to compete with Abu Dhabi. Its 420,000 citizens are worth an average of $17 million US each. Each! Yes, I said average! Its ruler Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his family have a sovereign wealth of $875 billion. Apparently they have more dough than Queen Elizabeth and Charles.… and every other royal family in the world. Maybe combined for goodness sake! They are opening a remote campus of New York University in 2010, the first time a major US school has built abroad.

How is one little Quebec town on a river supposed to compete?

One angry former F1 fan wrote the Montreal Gazette and suggested that Montr�al stage a lawn mower race during the F1 weekend. But he also had serious comments and feelings as to why Canadian governments shouldn't subsidize F1 and pour more money into Eccelstone’s pockets. Maybe he his right. Maybe on a relative scale, lawn mower racing is all Canada can afford. In the long run maybe we will be better off to build our own events and races and teams and stars.

Or maybe we should tap into the oil-rich countries and give them an opportunity to own the event? F1 will have zero North American events if Montr�al doesn’t regain its baby. Maybe today our continent isn’t as attractive to European businesses as it once was. But I can’t imagine this will last forever.

So why compete with Abu Dhabi? Ask them to buy the rights to the Montr�al event and use our tax dollars for Canadians.

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The Puck Stops Here

Have to admit I am perplexed.

Is there anybody out there in property land who wouldn’t like to have Research in Motion (RIM) as a sponsor?

Is there anybody out there in agency land who wouldn’t like to have RIM as a client?

Is there anybody out there in sponsor land who wouldn’t like to have RIM as a promotional partner?

Is there anybody out there in sports land who wouldn’t like to have RIM as a team owner?

[BREAK]Apparently there is. We wont mention the little guy by name. But it rhymes with man. He runs our national treasure, professional hockey. But he’s not based in Edmonton or Montreal, let alone Winnipeg. He’s based in New York. That must explain why in the summer of 2007 he was able to convince his league to turn down the opportunity to have one of Canada’s greatest entrepreneurs (Jim Balsillie) as a team owner. All because he was protecting these great hockey fans of Nashville, Tennessee.

Or was he protecting his two current teams who draw from Southern Ontario?

I am not sure what he was protecting. But instead he allowed a fraudster by the name of Boots del Baggio (is this a Sopranos episode?) to invest in the Predators.

Fast forward a year after Balsillie was rebuffed…what about Baggio? He’s now bankrupt. His loan to the team is in default. The team is suing him. And Jim Balsillie is still worth five billion dollars.

Well we’ve seen how much Americans know about money in the past few days, so I can understand how they made this choice. They must have Goldman or Lehman as their advisors.

Even if it’s not for Nashville, do you think there is anyway we can convince pro hockey to invite Mr. Balsillie to the club. I mean look at what he has done in business, creating and marketing one of the greatest inventions of all time.

Wouldn’t you want him in your club?

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Hey Bus Driver!

My wife is constantly giving me work advice. Which is good because I need it. One of her most frequent is to remind me to make sure I have the right people on the bus.

I don’t know whether he coined the phrase but I do know it's a favourite of Good to Great author Jim Collins.

[BREAK]In a nutshell, the expression refers to ensuring you’ve got smart, passionate, talented people on your team. And that smart people are more important than having smart roles. In other words great talent will succeed in any structure. While inferior talent won’t flourish, even in the best environment.

As a volunteer high school football coach I see this first hand every year. Hopefully I have become a better coach over the years. But I can honestly speak to the fact that a team loaded with talent makes a great coach. Not vice versa.

I think there may be a parallel in sponsorship. It only struck me the other day when I was chatting with a senior corporate marketer, who was commenting about a sponsorship proposal from a large organization. One of his concerns about the proposal wasn’t just who it came from organizationally, but it was about who it came from personally. He openly questioned the talent level of the sponsorship representatives from the organization, versus the talent of other properties asking for his money.

I wonder how often we have thought of this when developing sponsorship proposals. Yes we all want to hire great people, and we all believe we have done the best we can. But have we really? More specifically have you examined the impact a poorly perceived account person might be having on your proposal? Have you tried to evaluate the match between your account person and the prospect? Are all of your account people best in class? Do you have some stale moss hanging around you have kept on the payroll because you're too busy to find someone better?

As a property owner or manager, you need to look beyond the assets and benefits you are offering your prospects. Sit on their side of the desk and give your account person a thorough evaluation. Before you ask the prospect to evaluate anything else.

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University Sports Needs An Education In Marketing

I have to admit I was pretty surprised last Saturday when I went to the new Varsity Stadium to watch a U of T Blues football game.

[BREAK]It was actually a mistake I even went. Was inadvertently told Queen’s was in town and I headed down to see a former player of mine, who now toils for the Gaels. But they weren’t anywhere to be found. Instead it was York vs. U of T in something they call the Red & Blue bowl.

Candidly it’s been a long time since I have attended a Canadian university sports event. Which is rather embarrassing given I loved it when I was in school. In fact I was employed as the Marketing Manager for Gryphon sports back in my Moo U days. But that was the 80’s. A few years later when I started my agency, Ontario university sports was one of my first clients. But that experience quite frankly soured me on the whole university sports scene.

Seeing incompetence first hand can do that to a fella.

Fast forward from 1997 to 2008 and picture moi with my 5 & 7 year old in tow as I headed into the Stadium. I was shocked. The entrance wickets featured high tech ticketing machines. There was a tented will call area, and courteous security. A real life souvenir stand and a decently staffed snack bar. At a whopping 10 bucks for me and free for the boys, the $ 3.33 average ticket price has to be the best deal in the Big Smoke.

The entire game presentation was at a whole new level. A decent (not great) game announcer. Mascots. Student band. In-game giveaways. Plus a pretty little stadium made for quite a show. Throw in what has to be one of the few jumbo replayscreens in the country, at the university level, and the game was really well done.

But being me, I can find fault in anything. So let me rev up my Harrisonness. That’s code for being a jerk.

How the heck can the stadium not be full? I don’t get it! What is wrong with this university? They have 50,000 students. The stadium holds what… maybe 9,000? They must have half a million alumni living in Toronto. Then you’ve got all the dudes like me, who just want to spend some time with their kids on a Saturday. I mean you can park, get your tickets, have a hot dog lunch and a ball game for $ 40 bucks.

Unfortunately this part of university sport hasn’t changed. They can’t fill their seats. They don’t have the first clue about marketing. But last I checked U of T has a great business school.

There must be a way. I think its probably pretty basic stuff. Create some booster clubs. Hire some ticket sales people. Educate the students and communicate when the games are. Reach out directly to alumni. Get local businesses to support the team. Blanket the bars and restos and coffee shops with Blues paraphernalia.

Okay I know the team has been horrible forever. And I know it’s supposed to be hard to market a loser. But there is a new exciting team taking the field now. They won the game I attended 58-7.

So it’s time for U of T and all of university athletics to learn how to sell. Because they have a product worth seeing.

I’m off to York Saturday to see them play Western. Result of a promo email to me, since I’m a York MBA alum? Hell no! One of my other former players is a Mustang.

Heaven forbid York invite me to spend my ten bucks with them!

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Lights, Camera, Activation

The Toronto International Film Festival is in full swing.

Can you figure out who the sponsors are? I can’t. *

That’s bad news. Or is it?

I think its actually good news in a twisted sort of way.

[BREAK]There are two types of properties in my mind. The first are the vast majority of properties. This where the entire activity of engaging patrons and delivering value to stakeholders is conducted within the official boundary of the property. Now don’t think of this boundary as just an event site. It could be within a television broadcast, or within a web environment, or even in a direct marketing situ. But of course the vast majority of these happen on some sort of venue. A perfect example would be the an art exhibition or charity banquet or sports event.

Now some of these properties transcend their borders due to the media or marketing channels that are utilized to promote, activate, or report on the event itself. So you may see the music festival spreading into local licensed establishments, via an on-premise activation. Or you may see fans of the home sports team wearing their jerseys at a local restaurant, prior to the game. But this fan avidity or sponsor activation is still in many ways officially sanctioned.

The second type of property is that to which the Film Festival belongs. At least the Toronto International Film Festival. In this case the property transcends the borders of its official domain.

Across the impacted community a series of unofficial and non-sanctioned events, activities and activations occur. Most have no official reason to be, but they have been engineered to take advantage of the excitement and consumer engagement built by the official property.

The Toronto International Film Festival, the Calgary Stampede, the Canadian Sponsorship Forum (okay not yet!), the F1 Grand Prix du Canada in Montr�al, all fit this category. It’s a special club.

These properties take over sections of the community, or in the case of the Stampede, the entire city. Literally dozens of related, but unofficial, events spring up. Businesses create marketing, promotional, and d�cor programs related to the event. Marketers find ways to ensure that they are somehow benefiting from the fun.

Now you might argue that this is too bad for the event organizers. I would actually argue the opposite. While first and foremost each of these properties should get their fair share of corporate support (and I suspect they do), these ancillary events are actually providing marketing and promotion to the property owners for free. They are increasing the hype, taking over the city, and creating impact (I hate the word buzz!) far beyond the official borders. All the while they are glamourizing the property directly to hundreds of corporate marketers.

Now some brands are going to look to these alternatives for involvement. But for a great many more, it provides motivation to be inside the velvet rope. What’s even more exciting, is all of this hype supports the internal sell-in at a prospect’s organization It’s a lot easier to convince your VP to invest, when she cant get away from the fact the entire downtown core is a stargazer’s dream for ten days.

The lesson here for smaller properties and for sponsors, is that more properties need to aspire to achieve this echelon. Its somewhat like open source versus closed source software. Put your property and your sponsorship out there. Encourage groups to get involved. Seed their thinking about creating ancillary events. Critical mass is a powerful force that can’t be stopped.

It’s not ambush… its opportunity.

* Disclaimer: I made this statement for dramatic effect. I actually think TIFF has done a great job of ensuring Bell, Stella Artois, Starbucks, Cadillac, and Rbc are front and center.

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On

I was catching up on my reading the other day and found a compelling article in the IEG Sponsorship Report in the July 14th issue.

The article by Betting Cornwell and some colleagues identified the critical difference between Activation and Leveraging. For those of you who attended my "Activation Challenge" tutorial during the 2008 Canadian Sponsorship Forum (Halifax, May 4-6th), some of the out comes may sound familiar.

[BREAK]My thesis was that Activation wasn't Activation unless the consumer was participating or active. Cornwell et al take it a step further and define Leveraging as the using collateral marketing to communicate the association. While activation as communications that promote engagement. Brilliant!

I have to give them credit. Their specificity has really brought a sharp point to the debate. Further it helps expose those many sponsors who think they are activating when all they are doing is putting up a sign.

What is even more rewarding about the work done by these researchers is the data they have uncovered. They conducted a study using a fictional property and Adidas, to compare Levering vs. Activation. Not only did Leveraging lose out to Activation in terms of impacting a Sponsor's Favourabity Rating (okay, being Americans they spelt it "favorability" which rhymes with "Brett Farve is a hillbilly"). But Leveraging did not have nearly the staying power as Activation when the respondents were surveyed sometime later.

Activation has been touted as being more important for a sponsor than the selection of the property. Having evidence such as this now shows that piling on Leveraging isn't enough.

You need to tell a story and engage consumers.

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Canada Day

It’s Day 7 for me on my stint in Vancouver. Getting ready for the Nike+ Human Race tomorrow (www.nikeplus.com) we are staging here … one of twenty-four other events around the world.

The event will be the first post Games appearance for our silver medal winning triathlon superstar, Simon Whtifield.

While other Canadian athletes won gold in Beijing, Whitfield’s silver medal was one of the epic moments of the Games for our country. His courageous comeback may have fallen a few seconds short of gold, but it actually cemented his legacy for many years. With his 2000 win in Sydney and now this triumph, Simon established himself as one of the greatest athletes we have ever produced.

To think he was the fifth oldest competitor in Beijing and to make up the amount of ground in the last leg of the event?

I cant wait for tomorrow. We had Simon help us at our Hbc Run for Canada in July, and he was magical with the kids, volunteers and all participants. I wasn’t able to be at that event, so am pretty psyched to be involved tomorrow.

To me, Whitfield’s run marks courage, perseverance, and fortitude. The qualities he exudes set a benchmark for all us to aspire to. If he were a citizen of the land south of the border, his face would be on a $ 100 bill.

Thankfully he isn’t an American, he is all ours. We don’t have to share him. So if you’re at the Human Race tomorrow in Vancouver, and you spot Simon. Don’t just say hello. Say thanks. For being what he is.

A true Canadian hero.

Everybody Dance Now!

I read this morning that the leaders of the IOC were upset about Usain Bolt’s theatrics in Beijing.

Somehow the man who has set three world records. Enthralled crowds around the world. Competed at the highest level. Instilled pride in his tiny country. Motivated my kids to get out and run. And so far has done it all without cheating, can’t be allowed a little latitude. Or perhaps more appropriately, a little fun loving attitude?

[BREAK]I mean give me a break. This man. This kid. Is amazing! Let him dance! Let him pull the arrow. Let him do what he does best.

What he does best is humble the mighty Americans, which I am a big fan of. Why was a little hot dogging not a problem when it as Michael Johnson or Carl Lewis, who were showing up the field?

I have to say these Olympics have been amazing. Bolt. The Jamaican women. Eric Lamaze. The Mili Vanili girl at the opening ceremonies.

Yes the IOC may be more powerful than the mayor of Orillia (my home town). But that doesn’t mean I have to listen to them.

Go ahead Lighting Bolt! Cut some rug!

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From Beijing...with love?

Okay so call me lazy but I got this email from a friend at the Games the other day and thought it was much more interesting than anything I could write. Hope you (and he) don’t mind!!!!

Hi Mark

Just thought I’d send you a quick update from the Olympic Games in Beijing. As you know, I’m working – as a volunteer on Mission Staff – with the Canadian Olympic Committee here in China at Canada Olympic House (which we affectionately call “COH”). It has been a tremendous experience and one that is very different from my previous experiences at the Olympic Games and World Championships as an athlete, team manager and team support member. In fact, it is an experience that I think you – as a sport marketing expert – would find most interesting.

[BREAK]

Canada Olympic House is a marketing function of the Canadian Olympic Committee with the objective of making the friends and family of the athletes comfortable and safe by providing a “Canadiana Oasis” in the otherwise high pressure Olympic environment. The COH has evolved considerably from its previous iterations at other Games where it is now a 100% sponsor funded entity that stems from athlete feedback to the Canadian Olympic Committee that concerns about the safety and whereabouts of their friends and family was something that could potentially impact their performance at the Olympic Games. With this in mind, the COC and their sponsors developed the enhanced concept for the COH which in my opinion has been extremely successful. Over 1500 family and friends of Olympians have visited so far, with over 2100 expected before Sunday. The facility is a high class French restaurant with a large terrace, a dining room and a bar-like area with CBC and Radio Canada feeds. There are high-speed internet terminals, catered lunch and dinner service, daily bar service, fully stocked fridges, snacks, coffee, breakfasts, service desk to help family and friends plan their tours and travel around Beijing. Media access to the COH is limited to provide athletes a place to be with their families.

Feedback has been tremendous to date and, although it is hard to specifically attribute an effect, we believe that it has helped make the environment better for Canada’s athletes. The COH also serves two additional functions of important. First, it is home to a variety of special events (over 30) by sponsors and sport organizations. The COH is divided during such events so that our core services remain operational. Second, the COH is home to medal ceremonies where medalists are recognized by their peers and senior Canadian Olympic Committee management for their accomplishments. You’ve likely seen some footage of these on TV. As you can imagine, the success of our athletes over the past 5 days has made the COH a pretty busy and vibrant place recently.

The management of the house demonstrates how extensive of an operation it is. The food is prepared and distributed by a team of chefs, sous-chefs, servers and support staff numbering over 50 people. Our team includes our manager and assistant manager, 8 mission staff (like me) and another 35 volunteers. We work in two shifts daily and put in long hours in a most enjoyable environment.

On my end, I’ve had the chance to take in a few events and some of what Beijing has to offer but in limited doses given the high work requirements of my job at the COH. The highlight was definitely the triathlons, which I was able to attend. To be there in person in Simon Whitfield’s inspiring and magical silver medal performance was a lifetime experience, one which I will never forget. The venue for the triathlon was “mind-boggling” in terms of its beauty, facilities and spectator-friendly design. As a triathlete myself, I am amazed at how far the sport has come over the past 20 years.

A few last words on China, the city of Beijing and its people. This is an extraordinary place. It is so big, you can’t imagine unless you come here. Even after a month, I am still unable to grasp its scope. Within that size, however, the city is alive. Young Chinese are living life to the fullest, the change and growth is amazing and their desire to welcome the world and treat foreigners well is most impressive. I have never felt unsafe at any time. The weather has been hot but tempered by occasional rain which really cools things down. The pollution isn’t bad at all. I’ve run most days. Bottom line, put China on your “to visit” list.

See you soon!

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Replace Ontario Place

You probably expect this blog to be about Beijing. In a way it is.

But it’s actually about a little slice of China, on display right under our noses, if you live in Toronto. I am referring to the Chinese Lantern Festival at Ontario Place, Presented by Rogers. This the second year for the display, and I don’t know whether it’s Rogers attempt to have an Olympic halo, or if its just a shrewd investment to bolster their credentials with a hugely important ethnic market.

[BREAK]

The Lantern Festival is an unbelievably gorgeous display of Chinese artistry and talents. To call them lanterns is to undersell the concept. They really are works of art. Replicas of buildings, animals, and natural landscapes made from cloth, wire, and illuminated at night. Its fantastic.

What is remarkable to me is how little buzz this attraction is receiving. Its truly breathtaking. So I am going to make an unabashed plug that you should take peak.

Believe me, if you were wowed by the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics, you need to head down and get another taste of Asian artistry. With beautiful lakefront views surrounding the creation, the setting couldn’t be better for an exhibit like this.

Okay I lied. It could be a lot better. By dynamiting Ontario Place. That would make it better. This attraction provides great value for visiting families. But unfortunately its tired and battered. Its staff is lazy and lacking passion. Its service is haphazard and confusing.

So while I am plugging the Lantern Festival as a thing of beauty. Do yourself a favour. Ignore the surroundings. Ignore the staff (which is easy because they will ignore you). Ignore the fact that our provincial government is wasting an incredible piece of property.

I don’t know who runs OP. I am sure their job isn’t easy. Nevertheless, somebody needs to give them a budget and a mandate to transform this into the attraction it could be.

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Golden Moments

If you haven’t read the August 18th issue of Canadian Business, you need to.

Columnist Andy Holloway provides one of the best articles this year on sponsorship and specifically the value of equity ("Olympics sponsorship: The value of gold").

He cites the Corporate Reputation and Sponsorship Index from Angus Reid Strategies, an interesting tool that tracks consumers every week to gauge their reaction to major Canadian sponsors.

[BREAK]

Specially illustrated in this article is the impact of major Olympic sponsorships on brands. The key takeaway? The value is not in the short term, but in the long term. Which is an interesting commentary given the inordinate number of Canuck businesses running off after 2010, for a one-night stand with the Olympic goddess!

While the short-term dollars are a bonanza for VANOC, it would appear that firms such as RBC, Coca-Cola, and GM stand to gain much more due to their historical role. Even someone like HBC who is a relatively newbie, but heading into their third games by 2010, will do better than some of the new kids on the podium.

The Angus Reid work is very intriguing as it demonstrates what others have been saying the past few years. It’s not just, what you sponsor, but how you sponsor. Translation? Activation!

Brands like Tim Horton’s do very well in the consumer’s minds because they have mastered the art of telling their sponsorship story.

That said, the article made it clear that beyond image transfer, there are many other ways to evaluate sponsorship. However, it is one important aspect and a lesson you can apply as either a buyer or seller.

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Make It Count

The challenge facing many brands right now brought about by uncertain economic times is an interesting one.

Are we facing a full fledge recession? Or worse? Is this just a down year a la 2001 when the dot com collapse hit. Or are we back to the pain of the early 90's?

For people in boom markets like Alberta it’s even more concerning. A year ago people told me the Cowtown ride would last ten years. Now, despite the fact that wallets are still getting fatter out west, there is widespread fear that the good times could end.

[BREAK]

I remember asking my boss in 1991 what was going to happen to us, at the marketing agency that was my employer. He, also being the agency owner, told me something I will never forget. He felt a little economic instability was good for our industry. He felt it got rid of the crummy agencies. Made clients appreciate results more. And if you can believe it, predicted our revenues would increase due to layoffs and headcount reductions. He was right on all counts!

Is there a lesson here for 2008? I think so.

It means that the powerful and impactful marketing opportunities will do well. Some very well. WEB. PR. EXPERIENTIAL. DIRECT. SPONSORSHIP. All of the marketing avenues that directly engage consumers should benefit.

It also means that the opportunities that don't work will see even tougher times.

So from a property standpoint, if you're not proving ROI and ROO, you had better start learning how to spell those words.

From a client standpoint, you had better ensure your demanding this analysis. Otherwise your boss isn't going to just cut your budget. They’re going to cut you.

It seems it’s taking forever to get some people to embrace the concept of measurement. Shocking.

But a good old-fashioned crisis has historically proven top be a powerful motivator. This one could have a positive impact on how brand activation is planned and assessed.

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Equity is King

I want to spend a little more time on this concept of sponsorship.

To repeat myself (which I love to do!), Sponsorship is the Borrowing of Equity. This is so fundamental to the business, that I could repeat this until I am blue in the face.

For those of you on the client side, this has profound implications regarding how you select your sponsorships. The value of your brand has a direct impact on the market value of your organization. Coca-Cola is the most valuable brand in the world and that icon makes up a significant amount of the company’s value.

[BREAK]

The very first question you need to answer when examining a sponsorship opportunity is whether the property owns an equity that would help build the equity of your brand. If it does not, you should evaluate the property strictly on promotional terms:
1. Can it help me reach a lot of people?
2. Can I sell a significant amount of product on-site?
3. Do I receive substantial marketing exposure?
4. Is it a fun event for VIP hosting?
However, this should not be misconstrued as sponsorship. If you are just buying eyeballs, then do not evaluate the opportunity as a sponsorship. Do not pay the property for any "intangible” values. Treat it like a CPM or a Volume Generator opportunity, and pay accordingly.

Let’s return to the property that has a significant equity. As a brand marketer you should analyze the opportunity, entirely based on the impact of affiliating with the property will have on your business. Park the information regarding number of tickets and signs and banners for a second. Evaluate the prestige of the property, its emotional hook on people, the opportunity for you to use that equity as a story in your marketing.

Decision-makers have a tough time doing this. Yes, the reach the property can bring will ultimately factor into the equation. However, the equity piece is far more valuable.

Think of it this way. Who cares if you reach a lot of people, if the affiliation doesn’t resonate with your consumers? If it does not get them to love your brand more, consider you more often, take more of you home with every trip to the store?

Bad news reaches a lot of people. That does not mean it is helpful. So, start with looking for the good news. The powerful story. The great opportunity to romance your consumer.

In most cases, you as a brand can reach many more people than the property can. In most, but not all.

Nevertheless, what you need from the property is the imagery that you cannot develop on your own, through paid advertisements or spokespersons. That is the priceless value of the right sponsorship for your organization.

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Blue Jays Need to Play Ball!

Okay it’s RANT time today.

I jumped on the Jays bandwagon this weekend. With the big crowds and the Yankees in town, seemed like a perfect time to hang out with the boys and do a little father-sons bonding at the SkyDome/iPhone Centre.

Was hoping to see A-Rod and Madonna pretend she’s still a Virgin. Didn’t see her. Saw him make a mess of our boys though.

But that’s immaterial (girl) to my rant.

My rant is about the Rogers Centre staff. Now I haven’t sat in the 500 Level for a dozen years. Not because I am a snob, but because I am afraid of heights. Honestly, I feel like I am going to fall on the field. Don’t laugh at me. My kids laugh at me. Its true! And my kids are five and seven, so I don’t need your insults!

[BREAK]

Up there, I realized that when you get 40,000+ people to a game, like this weekend, you actually have to sit next to people. Frankly most games even on the 100 or 200 level, you can have a row to yourself. So, it wasn’t surprising that people wanted to fan out and sit all over the 500 level.

This brings me to my rant.

I couldn’t believe how many Rogers Centre employees were sent up to “shoo” people back to their ticketed seats. Dozens of people. Young. Old. Families. Seniors, wanted to stretch out in some less cluttered sections. But for some reason the RC staff made them go back within “county lines” where they were supposed to sit. I guess those sections were closed.

But I don’t get it. People were obviously pissed. They were not doing any harm. They were nice people. Heck, they had even PAID to be in the stadium. So why couldn’t they spread out?

Is it because the Rogers staff doesn’t want to clean up the entire stadium? Oh, that would be a pain in the butt wouldn’t it! Or maybe they have forgotten how, after killing the sport and the franchise over the last 14 years. That's it! Maybe they have forgotten how to clean up after a sold out event. Oh, I understand their fear now.

Hmm… or maybe these ushers are working weekends after spending Monday to Friday tormenting Canadians by posing as Rogers “customer service” representatives. An oxymoron with a capital O.

Whatever the case, it would seem to me that the Blue Jays, the Rogers Centre and Rogers would be much better off sending ticket sellers, mascots, entertainers, former players, or managers up there.

Maybe do a little brand building. Some PR. Some goodwill. Maybe even sell me an iPhone!

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You Are What You Say You Are

Do you have a brand promise?

You individually? Your organization?

Both I would answer. Or argue.

Let us start with your organization. Does it have a clearly articulated brand promise? Is it something that everybody in the organization understands?

Does your organization have proof points of that promise?

If the answer to the above is no, than I whole heartedly encourage you to get OUT of the business of sponsorship. Get away. Get out. Get lost.

Whether you are a sponsor or a sponsee (a fancy word for property), you have no business being in the sponsorship game without a clearly articulated brand promise.

[BREAK]

As you well know, sponsorship is the borrowing of equity. If a sponsor wants to borrow the equity of a property, it should be to reinforced their brand promise. If you don’t have a brand promise, how do you know what equity to seek from the property marketplace?

Similarly, if a property is trying to market themselves to sponsors… but can’t explain their brand promise… they have nothing to sell.

Which brings me to YOU. What is your brand promise? What do your colleagues, clients, customers, complainants get out of their relationship with you?

Don’t have one? I am not going to sponsor you.

Good-bye.

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Calgary Stampede - Opening Day

(Originally written July 4th, 2008)

Ahhh. Opening day of The Calgary Stampede.

Well that’s if you don’t count last night’s Coors Light Bash at Ruth Chris’.

Or Rogers Chomp’n Stomp on Wednesday night.

Or Sneak-a-Peek on the grounds yesterday.

No its time for the official sponsors to open up Nashville North for a Budweiser or the Bell tent for a rodeoX show.

Or the dozens of parade breakfasts that were held this morning. One part OJ, two parts Vodka.

As legendary as the Stampede party is, this is really a property making an interesting transition. Never one to sit on its heels and let the competition nip away, the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth is endlessly retooling.

[BREAK]

In both subtle and not so subtle ways, the Stampede has been polishing up its Western heritage. As the City of Calgary positions itself as the Heart of the New West, I see the Stampede as the “heartbeat”. This city may be run by Oil & Gas, but list fuelled by Cowboy.

Today Cowboy means respecting the heritage of Western roots, combined with the wildcat ways of the early claim stakers, and capped off with a self-reliance of a settler. Yes Calgary is entrepreneurial, fun, big hearted, and wily. So is the Stampede.

As a property, this venerable combination translates into an exceptional brand, a powerful community force, and an event of icon status. Stampede is both a noun and a verb. It is also synonymous with sponsorship excellence

I have said it before and I will say it again. This is the best sponsorship property in Canada. Certainly among events anyway.

The sponsorship team here is world class. The entire organization from the board directors to the first time volunteer, embrace sponsors. The partnership portfolio is active and invested beyond any other.

They also have the benefit of a prosperous and proud populace who embrace the “10 Day Cowboy” atmosphere as if it is a religious holiday.

Stampeding is religion. It is for me. It is for my clients. Your property needs to find the faith!

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Hbc Run for Canada - Edmonton

The sun shone almost as brightly as our international athletes did yesterday, at the Hbc Run for Canada in Edmonton.

The Alberta capital was a new market for the fifth year event, as Hbc and 21,000 Canadians helped raise $ 2 million for Canadian athletes. Our participants were thrilled to receive their medals from some great Canadian athletes such as Marina Radu, Brian Barnett and Shauna Maria Whyte.

[BREAK]

However, the real heroes for the day were our volunteers. As the 5:00 am sun gave us a wink and a nod, our first straggle of volunteers trudged across the wet grass. Eight hours later, in 30� heat, they were still at it. Packing boxes, counting unused supplies, and recycling waste materials.

One of them told me how she had done this event the year before, in another city and had so much fun she recruited many of her work associates to come out this year.

We all live and die, by the volunteer. I think the one thing sometimes event organizers forget is that these folks volunteered for a reason. These people want to contribute! They want to be put to work. They want their ideas heard. They want the resources they need to do a good job. They want one set of instructions. They want to be thanked.

While they are not paid staff, it seems that their needs are similar. But the balancing act are the few volunteers who come for the shirt, free coffee and good bags, and do nothing!

We had a few of those hanging around in the morning, and just when I questioned whether I should throw stale bagels at them, I was saved by some of our stronger vols. They quickly spotted the weak pups, and a pack mentality took over. The hard working volunteers grabbed their lazy cousins and put them onto the assembly line in no time. Great! My (volunteer) HR crisis was averted.

So today, I salute the volunteers. Good and bad. We had more good than bad in Edmonton. Thanks for your help.

Without you working free, I would not have a job!

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Together, we win.

Going to switch topics on you today. Hope you don't mind. We'll get back to the ins and outs of proposals in a couple of days. Not sure how long it will be, as I've just landed in the City of Champions for the start of a weeklong run of events in Alberta.

It all begins on Canada Day with the Hbc Run for Canada.

The Hbc Run for Canada is a big part of Hbc's Olympic program and features events in 15 cities and bursaries for some 200 athletes.

[BREAK]

Each athlete receives a $ 5,000 bursary and if you do not think that's significant, check out the profile by Jason McBride in the July/August issue of Report on Business Magazine.

McBride profiles taekwondo master Karine Sergerie. Who isn't an Hbc athlete, but has received funding from several other organizations both Olympic sponsors and wanna-be sponsors. In a given year, Karine would chew up five grand on massage, physio and sports psychology alone.

Her annual travel budget is over twenty-three thousand. That doesn’t include a whopping $ 17,000 to go to Beijing if she qualifies. While the Canadian Olympic Committee covers the latter, they need to generate the money from somewhere!

Are athletes need us. It’s not to late to support them. Whether it is through Hbc Run for Canada or directly through the COC, or another program.

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No Gold/Silver/Bronze!

Last week, at our Proposal Magic! Workshop, my opening slide carried this important message for our participants.

It’s a simple message. Yet an important one for our industry. The message is to move away from the cookie cutter packaging of sponsorship, and to recognize that one size fits all is not breakthrough.

I hear dozens and dozens of properties tell me they are customizing their proposals based on sponsors needs and objectives. Have to admit I am not buying it.

[BREAK]

Because when you scratch beneath the surface, very few of them are practicing what they preach. What many properties call customization I would call shuffling the deck chairs.

Oh they might include an extra ad here, or a branded on-site area there. They might offer one company a sampling venue, while another increased web presence. But is that really customization? I don’t think so.

The path to customization is not as simple throwing around benefits like pieces on a Monopoly board. It starts with a fundamental understanding of what sponsorship is all about. It ends with a proposal that is validated through metrics and data. In between there is a significant amount of work and analysis. to truly understand a prospect’s pain, issues, and needs.

More properties need to understand that they are not sellers, but savers. They are not to pitch. But to propose. Their role is beyond signage, its solutions.

That’s the path to true gold.

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Making Magic!

Last Monday, we held our first ever Canadian Sponsorship Forum Workshop in Toronto. The debut effort, entitled Proposal Magic!, attracted over forty industry professionals form a wide range of properties such as the Toronto Board of Trade to the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

Special thanks to Greg Wood of Tennis Canada, our luncheon keynote, and the Institute for Sports Marketing’s Norm O’Reilly who delivered to worthy sessions.

The approach for our workshop was to look at building proposals from a new approach that moves beyond the traditional Gold • Silver • Bronze sponsorship deck.

Over the next few entries I will share with you some of thoughts and material we presented.

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Burst My Bubble

(originally written June 15, 2008)

My blind admiration for Luminato unexpectedly burst all over me today. It was going to be the perfect combo day for me…spend some quality family time while checking out some events and sponsorships! (Sick I know). But Father’s Day with my boys at the Distillery and Harbourfront set up perfectly to cover off both mandates.

[BREAK]Well the Father’s Day part was fine. But the work part was disheartening. The Luminato I saw was a big bust at both locations. Truth be told it was the first time I had attended and maybe I believed the hype. Yes, there was some great signage and pretty brochures. But scratch beneath the surface and this event starts to look like a Dove Real Beauty ad. Maybe some retouching has happened!

Okay I am not saying the whole event was smoke and mirrors. But I was pretty under whelmed. At the Distillery, there was limited entertainment, confused volunteers, and spotty information. It felt like a regular Sunday in the District, with the addition of a large stage and some musical performances. I was looking for more magic. For the entire District to be transformed. Not just visually but attitudinally.

Over at Harbourfront, sunny weather and some awesome activation by key sponsors brightened my mood. (Hats off to the Garnier team… pretty amazing). But again, it felt like Luminato was nothing more than an extra sign out front of some already existing events. I guess the Festival feel is something that will build, but not sure its there yet.

I understand the strategy of leveraging existing events and helping them get more patrons. But the Luminato team needs to work harder in the areas of pageantry, communications, and buzz to ensure it has a strong festival feel. Downtown Calgary during Stampede puts Luminato to shame.

While I’m at it. Did you see the “stuffed BlackBerry’s” running around downtown Toronto? I kid you not, M&M like characters posing as my favourite device! The first time I saw it, I actually thought it was just some university kids filming something for YouTube. Oh was I wrong. Please somebody help BlackBerry before their brand is destroyed by…them!

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Luminato - Milles Femmes

I love the BCE Place. Of course it’s now called Brookfield Place, but it’s my favourite building in Toronto. The six-storey glass galleria is as calming and peaceful indoors you will find anywhere.

[BREAK]

Call me goofy but I also love the BCE/Brookfield Place for its parking lot. Yes it costs and arm and a leg and an arm. However, it has more services than you could imagine. Valet Parking. Customer Appreciation days in the winter (free wiper fluid). DVD rentals from your drivers seat. Gate attendants when it’s busy. Car detailing. You name it.

But it’s also the cleanest and airiest underground you’ll find.

So parking fetish aside, my trek through the glass temple led me to another surprise today. The Pierre Maraval exhibition Milles Femmes that is a part of the Luminato festival. Unbelievable. I mean freaking unbelievable.

You must see it. Over 1,000 Toronto women; some 500 achievers who also selected a peer or rising star in their field. Beautifully photographed and displayed with a single word that defines their portrait.

Then these photos have been stung elegantly overhead in the galleria in a wave like fashion that had me mesmerized. My head was tilted so far up I looked like a little geek from Orillia who had just moved to Toronto. Oh yeah… that was me in 1987!

You have to see this. It’s funded by L’Oreal’s Lanc�me brand and they deserve all the credit in the world for what they have created.

Now after looking at one thousand of Toronto’s most inspirational women…I am left with one simple question. Where did I park my car?

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The Un-Brief

I am probably going to lose a few clients for this, but I have to let it out.

Marketers need to write better briefs. Especially when it comes to developing a major program involving a sponsorship property or other consumer engagement strategy. We are not talking about just running a contest, or creating a TV ad. No, when it comes to a major sponsorship you have communications, PR, channel programs, employee involvement, licensing, product sales, presence marketing, etc.

[BREAK]Not only are we taking about highly complex programs. These initiatives have exposure to management, board members, industry experts, and political stakeholders. Concurrently the degree of awareness among consumers is higher than a traditional one-way advertising campaign, so your exposure on that side is equally magnified.

So with all of this at stake. Huge opportunity for reward. Similar high stakes for risk. So with all of this at stake, why do marketers write briefs that resemble directions on how to get to a friend's cottage?

Think about your standard brief:

Our product is #3 in the market

We don’t know why but it might have something to do with other guys having 10X the marketing budget

Oh by the way we aren’t listed at Wal-Mart

Last year we launched a new kids line with Extra Nuts. We didn’t know kids can't take peanuts into schools

Here is some money

Go out and create something that will solve all of our marketing problems

We will select the idea that best meets our rigorous criteria

The criteria will be developed after we see the ideas

Turn left at the dirt road, we are the last cottage on the left

All right so I got a little carried away. However, it’s true. These briefs say nothing. They provide reams of data, but no insights. They talk endlessly about the need to sell more product, but don’t communicate how much product that is. They declare the category has many successful competitors, yet there is no information or analysis about what has truly made them more successful. They provide information about a mythical target market (only spanning 29 years), but no data on who actually buys how much or when. Every store with a cash register is listed as a trade priority, but with no weighting, incidence of purchase, or basket size indicators. Section 7 demands alignment with the client’s new advertising campaign, but they don’t know what that is going to be. The final disclaimer is to advise you that if it works this year, they may commit long term, but wont pay you for a five-year plan that truly indicates how the initiative could grow.

Lastly, the brief tells you to measure everything that is executed, but no measurements are suggested. No historical data provided. No benchmarks for comparison.

So, what’s the point of writing three pages of meaningless gunk? How can you possibly create a magical proposal from this pile of sand? Is the client secretly wishing you’ll recommend Buy One Get One Free coupons as opposed to an affiliation with a great cause?

I am not sure.

I am no mind reader.

Maybe I forgot to mention that.

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Three Men in a Tub

I saw the coolest little activation yesterday. So this will be a little entry to match.

The sponsor was The Little Paper (detect a theme so far?) and they were at the Evergreen Brick Works Farmers Market. Instead of the classic activation you see by weekly papers – handing out their paper – The Little Paper had a little table, to attract little kids, and show them how to make little paper Sailboats… out of their newspaper.

Brilliant! My little guys spent a little over ten minutes on their shipbuilding… a lot more than if we had just been thrown this week’s issue…and when they were done, they were ready to give little Curious George a run for his money.

Needless to say last nights bath was a little messy, as the ink ran in their little tub, but their little smiles made it all worthwhile.

Can’t I get a little chuckle from you?

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SCENE it

One of the most intriguing presentations at this year’s Forum was from Jim Tobin of Scotiabank.

As you many of you have observed, Scotia was barely on the Canadian sponsorship scene ten years ago. But today they have an incredible portfolio, ranging from NHL to CFL to Nuit Blanche.

[BREAK]One property that has generated incredible results for them is the SCENE card program, with Cineplex. This in fact is a joint venture rather than a sponsorship, but that in itself is part of the story.

The reason this program is a hit really is the joint venture philosophy. Because the two organizations set out to build a business proposition to become partners that can measure their success or failure on a P&L basis, their decision-making is clearly focused on results. Neither party can hide behind qualitative feedback, or whether or not the executives had a “good time” at the event. No this venture extends beyond marketing to retailing.

The results that Tobin showed at the Forum are staggering. Buckets of new accounts. Barrels of dollars in transactions. Boundless percentage points ahead of plan. An incredible story.

Beyond the numbers is the lesson. A lesson that says to sponsors they should get in business partnerships with their properties. They should look beyond signage and spots to build a valued consumer offering. I believe that a great activation is one that a consumer would pay for. Would your consumers pay for your activation? Would they sign up for it?

Get into business with your properties. Sell clothing. Sell training programs. Sell tours. Sell hotel rooms. Sell tickets.

Sponsorship needs to lead to sales.

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Brand Leaders, World Leaders

Ron Gerlsbeck has written an excellent article that puts the smack down on marketers that are choosing to manage their Beijing Olympic involvement as a PR disaster instead of the less palatable human rights disaster they are. Take a moment to read the article here and maybe the world's leading brands will actually lead the way towards change.

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Sponsorship Forum 08: Thanks Everyone

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Sponsorship Forum 08: The Hangover

I figured you hear from me enough… so instead thought I would share some emails sent to me form this year’s Forum attendees and colleagues of attendees!

[BREAK]

“I met some great people and from what I heard from … and others, the conference was a good success. Shawn and your staff did an excellent job in staying on top of things and making sure people’s needs were dealt with.”

“Hey buddy,
Just got the condensed version of conference happenings from my colleague …. He was pretty impressed by your ability to party and still function as host/mc/schmooze king etc. Great feedback, of course, on the social events and the fantastic networking. He’s made some good contacts. He also dropped in for about an hour today and then went home…looking pretty green I might add!”

“Forum kicked ass! Thanks boss.”

“Mark,
Just wanted to send you a quick note to say that it was a great conference and thank you to you and your team for hosting such a fantastic industry event.”

“Hey Mark,
Congrats! I had a terrific time. Good balance of speakers and well spread out. Looking forward to getting the [ ] deal done in the coming week or two. Sorry I couldn't stay for the game. Go Canada go!”

“Mark
Thanks for the conference – another superb effort! I would’ve loved to stay, but have to get back for a [ ] dinner tonight celebrating our renewal.”

“Hi all – just a quick note to let you know that my contact from [ ] attended yesterday and thought it was great – and heard a lot of other people say the same thing.

Keep up the good work!”

“Mark,
Congratulations on a great conference. I am disappointed that I won't be there tomorrow but we have a meeting tomorrow that we couldn’t reschedule and based on my flight time I would have had to leave by 10:30am anyway.

The speakers were all top notch and some great information and contacts for us to consider.

Once again thank you and your team for a great event.”

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Sponsorship Forum 08: Be the Difference

Pierre Lafontaine closed this year's Forum with a bang. Swim Canada's CEO and National Coach inspired the audience with a motivational script. Candidly, it left me feeling in adequate.

His central thesis is that all of us are responsible for making Canada the best country in the world. Yet we are 31st in health care and lagging in so many othert categories. Why?

Lafontaine believes, as well he should, that if each and every one of us can do more than we are doing. That each of us can do one small thing, that each of us that can do something to help a child, that each of us can save a life, make a better leader, clean up a river, help a neighbour, create community...

Pierre's simple message is go to bed with your running shoes. The better to get up in the morning and hit the ground running.

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Sponsorship Forum 08: One X One

Day Two of the Forum got off to an amazing start thanks to Joey Adler, Founder of the One X One Foundation.

Adler, also the head of fashion powerhouse, Diesel Jeans, founded One X One in 2005. The foundation sponsors Child Find, Millenium Promise, and War Child.

Her presentation clearly articulated how an organization can engage sponsors who are willling to be authentic. By guidng her partners to focus on the cause verus product sales. In the end, the sponsors win as the foundation thrives.

Additionally she demonstrated clearly how Diesel could integrate socially responsible messages into their advertising – without comprimising creativity.

Joey received a resounding ovation for her presentation. It was well deserved.

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Sponsorship Forum 08: Day 1 Recap

Well Day One of the Canadian Sponsorship Forum is in the books. Sort of.

The official sessions and presentations are over, so now the gang is going to head out to Keith’s Brewery for a tour, some drinks and food. Not to mention cheering on Team Canada as we battle (toy with?) Latvia, in tonight’s game.

[BREAK]

Today’s opening sessions were highlighted by Kerry Munro of Yahoo! Demonstrating to the audience the incredible activation opportunities available online, Yahoo! has some great case studies that demonstrate unbelievable UGC programs, generating the type of viral and word of mouth activity levels that Canadian companies are seeking.

Another highlight of the day was the 2008 Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study by Norm O’Reilly and Beno�t S�guin. They reported an increase in sponsorship spending of nearly 10% to a total market size of $ 1.22 billion in 2007.

Our Hockey Canada sponsor panel was also well received with representatives from RBC, McDonald’s (via Stellick Marketing), Hockey Canada, GM, and Konica Minolta detailing the ins and outs of their sponsorship secrets.

This year’s Forum has approximately two 230 delegates from the Yukon to Dartmouth. But they are still outnumbered by the 5,000 crazy Latvian hockey fans in town!

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Sponsorship Forum 08: Fashion Crimes

First installment:

Dear Forum attendees, Please do ot follow Peter Widdis' lead when it comes to apparel.

If you're near the Nova Scotia Ballroom, you'll see why.

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Sponsorship Forum 08: Padding the Score

I wish I knew the name of the Slovenian goaltender. He was the star of the game yesterday facing a 62 shot barrage from the Canadians, and only yielding five goals. What a performance.

During one second period power play he stopped eight howitzers at close range before letting a little wrister slip past.

[BREAK]He did all this while operating behind a pair of pads that looked my street hockey stuff from Collegiate Drive in Orillia. And I played street hockey in the 70's. These babies were thin, dirty, and held together with stick tape. What was amazing was EVERYBODY in the rink was talking about them. The guys in front turned around to blab about them. Little kids were joking. I think even the referee asked if he could shove some paper towel in to give them some ballast.

I think if we are going to be proper hosts, somebody has to run this cat over to Canadian Tire and get him something decent. Its not right we've got eight year old house leaguers in better gear.

How many shots is he going to face next game? 70? Let's help him out. Email me your donations! I'll do the good deed myself.

Go Slovenia Go!

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Sponsorship Forum 08: Breaking the Ice

Well its Day 1 of my 2008 Sponsorship Forum journey.

Awakening in a cloudy Halifax hasn't dampened my spirits. Hopefully the bad weather will leave before all of you arrive.

[BREAK]Forum attendees were signing up as late as last night. A couple, who will go nameless, were scrambling for hotel rooms. Why nameless? Well one is a speaker and he's known for three months he is attending! Hopefully he will bring his speech.

Speaking of speaking. I'm preparing for a little keynote myself at the Association of Fundraising Professionals Atlantic Chapter conference. Their event runs today and when approached it was an easy decision for me to add a day to my trip.

My topic centers on the evolution of Cause Marketing to Sponsorship. As I say in my speech, the good news for charities in 2008 is that Corporate Canada understands the power of cause marketing. But the bad news for charities in 2008 is that Corporate Canada understands the power of cause marketing.

In short, companies are now demanding sponsorship type benefits for what used to be purely "cents with purchase" donations.

This theme will also be prevalent throughout the Forum. You'll hear from both properties and sponsors the power of cause. The power of meaning. The power of being relevant.

Hope you'll be hear to participate in the conversation.

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No Wooden Paneling

One of the highlights of our Forum every year is the “Sponsor Panel” and this year’s promises to be no exception.

We have rounded up a star-studded panel including Scott Farley of Hockey Canada; Josh Epstein from RBC Financial Group; Fred Lautenschlager of General Motors Canada; Bob Stellick of the aptly named Stellick Marketing & Communications representing McDonald’s; and Lucy Railton from Konica Minolta Business Solutions.

[BREAK]The idea behind the panel is to provide all of our delegates with an insiders look at how our host property works with their partners. The ironic thing about this year’s panel is that while Hockey Canada is the host of the World’s, none of these organizations will be partners with the actual tournament. This is due to the huge rights fees that the IIHF and their marketing agency wanted for the event. These are fees they are able to command in Europe, which is why the only brand you will see on the promotional material is Skoda.

You know Skoda right? Dealerships from Cornerbrook to Nanaimo…Thousands of Canadians telling JD Power how much they love their new “Octavia” or “Fabia”…Auto critics writing rave reviews about this year’s product line up in the Daily Paper.

No not at all! Despite the fact that Skoda will be the primary brand we all see at this year’s event, you can’t actually buy one in Canada. In fact, there will be some forty-five Skoda cars racing around Halifax and Quebec City ferrying dignitaries to and fro, but you can’t buy one in Canada. So, no matter how impressed you are with Skoda you can’t buy one in Canada.

That’s right the brand with the most presence at this year’s event isn’t for sale in Canada. I understand its all about the TV exposure for Skoda. But if I told you they are owned by Volkswagen, wouldn’t you expect they would have allocated the local marketing activation to a brand Canadians can buy. Hope you're as confused as I am!

So, we wont get too distracted about that issue (case my little rant here has probably already been too excessive) during our panel. Instead, we will talk about RBC and Local Hockey heroes; General Motors and Safe & Fun Hockey, and loads of other great stuff.

So if you’re coming to the Forum ( Even if you’re coming by Skoda) don’t miss this panel!

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Early Launch

Was in Calgary today, meeting with one of your hard working speakers appearing at the Forum and she had the question of the week!

"What's the plan for Saturday night?"

Spoken like a true Forum veteran, three nights of organized fun aren't enough when there is a Saturday night in Halifax to kick things off.

So I will put it out to you as a group to provide some suggestions and next week we'll email everybody with a destination.

See you in 9 days!

Show Him the Money

Well it seems that Toronto Life could not let MacLean’s have all the fun with this Leafs thing. Turns out they too have a prescription for what ails the buds… albeit a lot more single minded. That prescription would come in the way of hockey super agent Don Meehan.

[BREAK]Now I am not sure if Toronto Life decided they needed a reason to write about Mr. Meehan, one of the most powerful men in the sport. Or rather a reason beyond the fact that he is one of the most powerful men in the sport. However, I was not quite sure why they wanted us readers to believe in this fairy tale, that Mr. Meehan would actually want to become GM of the Leafs.

I can’t imagine why a man who dominates his industry, has the respect of executives around the world, and virtually wins the Stanley Cup every year, would want to go and work at the ACC as a GM? Maybe President? Maybe Hockey Lord? Maybe 10% owner, but as GM. Doesn’t add up to me.

So I guess I was a victim of sensational journalism. Hey, it’s an interesting article if you want to know more about hockey’s super agent. It probably could have gone even deeper into his Jerry Maguire-esque lifestyle. But printing it under the guise of the Leafs potential saviour?

Not so sure.

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Fashionably Late

Today’s blog is coming from my bed where I have been spending the weekend due to the flu.

One final entry today about the SMCC Annual Conference, and this time it relates to the “Best in Show” winner of the annual SMCC Awards. L’Oreal won for their L’Oreal Fashion Week sponsorship and activation.

[BREAK]In a market where sponsorship has been dominated by sports and charity events, the L’Oreal win is a well deserved breakthrough. Past winners have included Kraft Hockeyville, Purolator's Tackle Hunger program with the CFL, and the CIBC Run for the Cure.

I didn’t make it to Fashion Week but a few of my colleagues did and I knew something was up when they were texting me at home. When event people are marveling at the impact and quality of another event, you know something is good.

The event has done a great job of attracting sponsors that a first blush (no pun intended) may seem odd…but are a great ft. Para Paints for example. Their tag line is “What Walls Will be Wearing” and you can quickly see the fit for them with Fashion.

L’Oreal Brand Communications Manager, Anik Gagnon mentioned that over seventy-five people in her organization work on this sponsorship. When you see all the events and activities they do right down to a final day “Survival Brunch” at the Drake Hotel you can understand the need for such resources.

What is interesting to me is the growth of the industry. The success of events such as Fashion Week and the Junos have resulted from a realization by industry bodies to open their formerly BIO (By-Invitation-Only) events to a public audience. By doing so they have actually increased the prestige and the buzz. As well for major sponsors it has allowed them to engage with not just a few sector insiders, but rather activate with consumer opinion leaders and high value prospects.

There is a powerful lesson here for other industry councils and bodies. Similarly for their sponsors. An easy example would be the opportunity for more sports leagues to create more of a consumer hook for their award shoes. Recently I was at a coach of the year luncheon in Calgary. I am sure selling a couple hundred tickets at a premium price to avid fans, hungry for the opportunity to have an “insiders” moment, could have enhanced that event.

666 Days to Go

One of the highlights of this week’s SMCC conference was the keynote speech of VANOC CEO, John Furlong.

I find it interesting, that as the Games draw nearer VANOC seems to be making more of an effort to embrace the rest of Canada, and even being more engaged with corporate Canada. Perhaps there is a method to all of this, where they have clearly planned their effort allocation. In the early stages, they seemed pretty committed to the local BC market from a PR standpoint and to the major sponsor opportunities from a corporate standpoint.

[BREAK]Today ambassadors from VANOC are able to reach out to audiences across Canada and spout some very impressive accomplishments. This fall they will have all of their competitive sports venues completed. They will be the first games, at least in modern times, to be able to proclaim this construction milestone.

On the business front, they have generated the highest sponsorship on a per capita basis of any Olympic games. Again, another outstanding accomplishment.

And on a broader COC front, we should all be proud that our Winter Olympic athletes are now propelling us to new heights. At last count, we achieved being the #2 country in Winter Olympic sports. Unbelievable! That is what really makes me proud.

Mr. Furlong’s main theme centered on the proclamation that he and his band of merry women and men have done all of this, for Canada. That the reason to host these games is so other countries will point at our accomplishments and have a new found respect for us. He also spoke about creating jobs and opportunity for the lost souls of East Vancouver. That too is a reason to hold these Olympics.

I agree with all that and more. But I cant help but think, as I watch my friends get all riled up over the NHL playoffs, that these games are going to boil down to something much more simplistic than creating jobs, pride, and economic benefits.

No, the 2010 Games will boil down to a couple of simple moments in time for most Canadians. Did we win gold in hockey?

I don’t care what else we accomplish. Rightly or wrongly. These games will be defined by our success on the ice. Women’s. Men’s. Sledge.

In case you don’t know, we are the only country in the world to host a Games and not win a Gold medal. And we’ve done it twice.

So, as much as I think Mr. Furlong has already earned many many gold medals. More Canadians will be worried about whether Katie and Jennifer or Jarome and Sidney can get our anthem cued up at the final whistle.

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Back Patting

Well the fifth annual Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada conference was held today in Toronto. By my guestimation a good turnout of about 175 delegates or so.

Ego aside… a personal highlight for me was our sharing in the winning of a Gold Award for best sports sponsorship with Accumark Communications. Dave Sharp, Accumark’s President, invited us to work with his firm on a project for Campbell’s Chunky and their Grey Cup sponsorship. We collaboratively created a program called Tailgate with the Pros, along with the OMD, RDS, the CFL and the CBC…where the net’s Paul Abrams steered the way on many an issue. It was a lot of fun and a great promo.

The winning consumers, who had to submit videos as to how they would Tailgate with the Pros spent the weekend at the Grey Cup in Toronto attending a myriad of VIP events escorted by CFL players.

Special thanks to the clients, David Allard and Elaine Dawson who created an easy environment for so many of us to work together. From a TrojanOne end Melissa Watson and now former Trojanite, Tamara Jackson, great work ensuring the prize weekend was a success!

Blue With Envy

I am sure by now you have seen the April 14th cover of MACLEAN's magazine. The cover screams out the title of the issue’s feature story – “WHY THE LEAFS STINK”.

Now that is a title that is bound to generate record sales in Toronto, as equally as it will in any other Canadian city that despises the “center of the universe”. This would be EVERY Canadian city, town, village…

The crux of the article is to enlighten us all on way the Leafs are chronic losers. The article was written from a “Business” perspective, and fittingly its central thesis is based in management theory. The argument for the Leafs ineffectiveness as a team, is apparently all rooted in the laws of economics!

In short, because the team generates so much money and profit, it lacks the business incentives to win. Research, according to the article, suggests that revenue-generation is usually tied to winning in pro sports. I am so glad they told me that. I wonder if they can uncover some other puzzles for me. Like you need to outscore the opponent to win the game.

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So, give the article a read. Then come up with your own insights as to why the Leafs suck. (On the ice).

But if the editors at MACLEAN's were truly doing their job… shouldn’t they uncover the story for us as to why MLSE does so well as a corporation?

What other group in Canada has been able to field both an NHL and NBA franchise? Olympic-cocky Vancouver has not been able to do it.

Who else has an MLS franchise that has twice the season ticket base of any of its American competitors? Oil-rich Alberta (Calgary and Edmonton) does not.

Who has a gorgeous facility at the doorstep of the best restaurants and biggest offices in the city? Not geographically challenged Ottawa, who actually play in some place called Kanata (Population 54,659!)

Okay, recent ticket scandal aside, it's hard to argue with a sports enterprise that Forbes values at over $1.5 billion in both Canadian and American dollars.

I don’t know why the Leafs suck. I can speculate over a pint of sponsored Molson product and probably sound pretty insightful. I can point to championship efforts that have been built by the Blue Jays and Argos and Rock. Heck, I can even point to the blueprint the MLSE has crafted with their own Raptors, starting with dialing 1-800-C-O-L-A-N-G-E-L-O!

But isn’t a business about making money. If your customers don’t value your offering, they will stop buying tickets, sponsorships, and jerseys. Clearly, the Toronto customers, fans, and business see a lot of value in the Leafs. Therefore, as a business I would suggest the Leafs to be a dynasty.

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Corporate Leadership

This is no joke. The Olympic Torch Relay has been reduced to an elaborate game of hide and seek. Athletes around the world are questioning whether they will get to pursue their dream. Apparently, millions of Chinese citizens are being misled. Then again, maybe we are the ones being misled! Why do we always believe it’s the other countries’ citizens who are subject to extreme propaganda? The entire thing is sad.

People are getting hurt. Property is being damaged. Ideals are being bashed. Why? Why? Why?

Many pundits blame the IOC. Would not be the first time. Others blame the protestors. Charging them with grandstanding. Many others look at the monks and blame them for inciting protests.

I don’t know whom to blame. However, I do think there is a voice out there that needs to be heard, and that is the corporate voice. The sponsors.

We all know how hungry they are to break into the gynormous market these Games represent. But is that opportunity for profit really more important than doing what’s right?

Not to me it isn’t. I know brands want to stay out of politics. But if you sponsor the Olympics. Especially these Olympics, you are right in the middle of it.

So, make up your mind Corporate Land. Either you’re in or you’re out. And if you’re in… I want to see, hear, and feel you do the right thing

More on this later!

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Man Down

I could not blog yesterday. You would not have believed a word I said.

But today I am blogging about something that is not funny.

Today I am blogging about the loss of an extremely talented employee who has put in years of service for me. His name is Jake and he is an artist. A creative. A prodigy.

He is selfless. Tireless. Committed. Dedicated. He is a wonder.

I did what I thought was everything to keep him happy. But at his core, he is a creative guy who loves to create. He is passionate for music, design, and doing great things. But really is not into marketing and sports. Boy, he fooled me.

He brought a commitment and accountability to his work that was unbelievable. And he did it every day. Now? He will flutter off to the land of freelancing or maybe something different altogether. He has made noises of moving north. Whoever ends up being the recipient of his work is better off for it.

What could I have done? Paid him better? I think he was paid fairly. Made it easier to work here? That’s for sure… we never seem to be as organized as we should. Loved him more? How many times do you have the quiet engine in your operation that sometimes gets less attention because he’s doing his job? Versus the problem children, the squeaky wheels, that end up sucking you dry.

I have to figure out this people thing. Great people make great companies. Great people make great clients. Great people make a great industry. Mediocre people can sink the best systems. The best brand. The best processes.

Today is a sad day. I am mourning. Thanks for letting me do it publicly.

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Capital Idea

I was born in Ottawa.

JC Watts is my all-time favourite CFL player.

Just edges out Conredge Harrison… err Holloway.

The offensive pass interference penalty on Tony Gabriel was the worst call in officiating history.

So I am as excited as the next guy the Riders/Renegades are coming back. Not just because it will mean that Winnipeg will be back in the West where they belong. But because the CFL never should have failed in Ottawa. Great fans. Great North side – South side rivalry. Great legends. Russ Jackson. Ron Stewart. Watts. Gabriel. Brancato. Those were my guys.

But for some reason this league allowed the misfits to come in and mess things up. Horny Chen. Hornie Lornie Gliberman. (Yes I know his name is Lonnie… but my twist is funnier). What a mess.

So where am I going with this? Am I telling you anything new. Nope I'm not but I will try.

So first off, congrats to Commissioner Cohon for getting the Ottawa team on track. I know there is lots of work to do but a $ 7 mil franchise fee and respected owners is a great start.

But don’t stop there. Go to Quebec City. The entire belle provence is on fire when it comes to football. Look at CGEP and CIS football in that province. Laval has pro team support because there is no pro team.

Keep going! Go to Halifax. Build a stadium. With a HUGE beer garden! Host CFL games there… host the AUS games there…host concerts…host the Canadian Sponsorship Forum if you have to…bid for the Vanier Cup and put it there for five years to replace the loss of the CIS basketball championships.

Then come back to Ontario and put a team in Windsor. Piss the NFL off by luring disgruntled Lions fans across the border to support a good team. Pray to God, Matt Millen never gets fired.

By then you’ll have an eleven team league and need to add one more team in the West. Saskatoon? Wow… the province would be split but what a rivalry! Victoria? Lots of money out there. Whitehorse? The government funding alone would be enough to make the team profitable.

I was born in Ottawa in 1965. I want to go back on my 50th birthday and see the Riders play the Quebec Football Nordiques in front of 35,000 fans for the Eastern Conference Championship.

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What a waste

I have been having a spirited debate with some people in my organization. Even more spirited with those who represent my Vancouver-based operations. You will understand shortly why the Left Coast is so on my case.

The debate is around this GREEN thing. Yes, I am calling it a thing now. Call it a fad. Call it a social movement. Call it a revolution. Call it a cause. Call it a trend. Call it whatever you want. I call it a disaster.

Lets set the facts first. I am more “green” than most people give me credit for. As a kid, we turned out every light every time we left a room. We used every last spec of cereal, in the box. We walked or rode our bikes when we could. My Dad built canoes and I helped him. We would always row versus motor. Our cottages have never had big fancy ski boats. Of course, Kimball Lake did not have many speedboats period. But it certainly was not going to have one in McHartom Bay (named after our families and those of our cousins/friends we shared the cottage with).

In the office I am a tyrant against overprinting, excess binding, unused supplies. It drives me crazy we even have a photocopier. Why does everyone need his or her own deck?

And being a cottage guy and a ski guy… I love the outdoors and cringe over losing play spaces to global warming. The fact I now can only use half of Sherwood Park to walk my dogs and kids, due to erosion drives me nuts.

So, don’t tell me I am an enviro basher.

What I am is a fad basher. This enviro marketing stuff is over the top and is only going to get worse. The other week I saw an ad for an ORGANIC TV. An ORGANIC TV! Gimme a break. They even had the screen and guts of the TV highlighted in green. Oh yeah right. Tell me in ten years that this TV wont be a piece of junk, being stripped down by some poor kid in a third world country trying to earn his $2 a week, selling copper wire.

You can officially declare me “not buying” all this crap. Way too many marketers are jumping on the bandwagon, because of fear of losing consumers and share. I want to see a marketer who is doing something real about it, and then letting their deeds speak for themselves. Even if they profit from it. Think of recycling and beer cans. Every big American brewer is on a huge recycling kick, because used cans lower their manufacturing costs! Hey they make more money and Americans get cleaner parks! Makes sense to me.

Therefore, I beg you to start calling out some of these green fakers. Its only going to get more pronounced. Some of you will soon be launching green agencies and green events. Hey I just got a green brief!

Call me biased but I think we should all stick to that great marketing colour of “beige”. If you’ve met me in person, you’ll understand my bias!

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Long Weekend Shout Outs

Good morning everybody. I hope you are all enjoying your long weekend. And if you celebrate Easter, or just like chocolate… enjoy the holidays.

A quick shout out to Brian Levine of the Canadian Football League. He is getting married today, right around the corner from my house at the Capitol Event Theatre. I did not get an invite but I am thinking of crashing after I go to an Easter brunch event.

Another quick hello to my Laurentian students over in London, England. Yesterday, one of the groups from my class presented to Coventry Blaze Hockey Club and received an overwhelming response from their President. Well done Jean-Marc and crew! Canadian kids impressing on the sports marketing world stage. I love it!

Speaking of Laurentian and SPAD, don’t forget to support Norm O’Reilly and the Institute for Sport Marketing’s efforts in conducting the 2008 Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Survey. You can submit your data securely online and all participants will receive the summary data from the survey. Once again, all Forum delegates will hear the report live from Drs’ O’Reilly and Seguin… as well as receive the full research analysis in early summer.

If you’re heading to our Forum in Halifax I want to encourage you to book your hotel rooms sooner than later, as the city is filling up. We have a block of rooms at the Marriott available at a preferred rate of $159 a night. Click here to learn more about how to book your rooms.

Speaking of Halifax, please email Happy Birthday wishes to Tasha Richard. She is my one woman Halifax office and turned 30-something on the weekend!

Last hello is to Bernie Colterman of the Colterman Group. If you don’t read his blog, check out the February 22nd entry. He has some great advice in there for selling the experience of a sponsorship versus the numbers.

Okay… I have to run and get ready to crash Brian’s wedding.

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IEG 2008: Notes from the Windy City, Part X

Well I have been a little remiss in filing my reports, but the day finished strong yesterday with Alison Gordon of Rethink Breast Cancer once again wowing the crowd with her energy, insights, and passions.

Alison’s presentation, How Small Can be Big, really demonstrated how a smaller organization can succeed in attracting major sponsorships. Her most recent example is the Telus Pink Pearl Blackberry which started as a straight cause marketing campaign and evolved into a full blown activation. Rethink did a great job of responding to the client's inquires about a cause program with a request to think bigger.

Boy did this program get big. Telus blew it out into advertising, product seeding, and out of home. In addition to producing a highly attractive product.

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Last night’s annual gathering of Canadians started strong at Sushi Samba and then headed down the well-worn path of Buddy Guy's and Kitty O’Shea's with a late night trip to George’s. This little hole in the ground behind the Hilton is a dual threat cash & carry liquor, store and bar. I say dual threat in more ways than two, as the place doesn’t close until the last person leaves or someone gets shot. Okay I made that up.

Unfortunately, the posse was not as big as usual for this year’s trek to George’s so I am now on the hunt, for as many immature Canadians as I can find for 2009. Immature because you need to be a dummy like me and not want to head to bed!

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For the first time in years, I attended the Wednesday sessions and I have to admire those presenters who are brave enough to face rooms half-filled with exhausted attendees. However, kudos to those who lead sessions today.

Universal Studios shared a compelling presentation regarding the power of entertainment marketing. While it started like a sales pitch, it really did a good job of educating the audience on the ins and outs of entertainment marketing, and how to make it work for your brand.

In the U.S., movie theatres attract 2 billion attendees in a year and all major league sports in a year draw 900 million combined. It is easy to see why entertainment marketers could feel they are getting the short shrift from the sponsorship world.

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IEG 2008: Notes from the Windy City, Part IX

Paul Hawken. Environmentallist. Author. Keynote speaker.

Hawken shook IEG up yesterday when he punctuated his keynote with a compelling quote.

"If you don't feel what's going on inside your body, wait till you feel the difference when you're dead. "

Hawken's primary message was engaging the corporate audience to understand that the enviro movement is the largest Social Movement in history.

It was a pitch to intellectual reaches I can't say I possess. But compelling, albeit not entirely logical. His thesis was that despite the fact there is no "IOC" for the environmental movement, it's still a huge movement.

I get the size and scope. And it's hard to escape the power of green everywhere, despite the abesence of a major global player. National Geographic? World Wildlife? Jane Goodall? David Suzuki?

But I wasn't quite sure why he felt the need to defend the lack of an international player. By Hawken's count there are are 2 million NGO's dealing with the issue.

That said, it's good for a conference like this to have somebody who isn't Mr. or Mrs. Big Brand Marketer and provide some thinking from the other side.

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IEG 2008: Notes from the Windy City, Part VIII

The greatest sponsorship sales person of all time returned to the IEG stage this morning.

Now for those of you who have seen Rob Prazmark you may think I'm exaggerating, but every time I see this guy on stage, I come away convinced.
His shtick hasn't changed in years but he has some great lessons for all of us in this business or any business.

Let me pass a couple along:
1. Don't think outside the box. Believe there is no box. Rob's lesson for thinking big.

2. They don't mean no until they say it 4 times. The four stages of No?
No # 1 - They didn't understand your pitch.
No # 2 - They want more information.
No # 3 - They are negotiating.
No # 4 - They are completely incompetent!!!

3. Don't give up. Prazmark shared the Republic of China's resilience to win the Olympic Games as an example.

4. Get paid up front. Boy, I wish I could follow that one.

5. Lead, Follow, or Get out of my way. Prazmark told a hilarious story of how he pitched a $5 million sponsorship for the Salt Lake games where the CMO turned it down because she thought it would generate TOO MUCH new business! In his disgust Prazmark wrote the Chairman of the company and said "As a small shareholder of the company (which he was, to the tune of a few public shares), I didn't receive the memo where we announced becoming a not for profit." That day he received a call back and did the deal with the company. The aforementioned CMO was never heard from again!

Okay, off to lunch and Paul Hawken.

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IEG 2008: Notes from the Windy City, Part VII

Well I'm becoming a big fan of researchers!

Just saw Bill Doyle and Jed Pearsall of Performance Research who gave a great talk entitled "Love Is....Never Having to Count Impressions".

The key takeaway of their speech was in the name. They position the value of sponsorship to be entirely found in how much love it creates. Have to say I love them for it.

Using two Pedigree TV ads as examples they showed how one ad with 12 logo hits had a low consumer response. Another ad, featuring their sponsorship of dog shelters, had but one logo hit yet tremendously greater consumer reponse.
Yes Bill and Ted I agree. Our business is about creating love and meaning.

Another great case they shared was with a Scottish telcom who sponsors both the Rangers and Celtic. Fearful the opposing fans would be angry with them for sponsoring the other side, the client engaged in research. Their discussions with consumers uncovered that while opposing fans hated each other, they actually LOVED the rivalry. So the sponsor refocussed their efforts on promoting the rivalry in Fair and Fun ways. The result was incredible support for the sponsor and their involvement.

One tool Performance Research talked about a lot was video diaries. Providing cameras to consumers to record events from their eyes. The results are very intriguing and I for one am going to use this as soon as possible.

Okay off to see Rob Prazmark now.

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IEG 2008: Notes from the Windy City, Part VI

Decided to hold off going public again until I sobered up.

The SMCC Canadian Delegate Reception was the kickoff to our Monday evening.

This year's event was well attended with Canadians from far away paces as Tourism Whistler and Bell Aliant in St. John's NL. Organizations as diverese as the Perimeter Institute, NASCAR Canada, and Science North.

There is always something comforting for a band of foreigners on American soil to find one another. Kudos to the SMCC for putting this on. Many of the reception goers had never attended IEG before so it was comforting to them to make new contacts.

I couldn't help to be proud that a lot of the chat at the event was about the Forum. My primitive market research is that our awareness levels are at about 66%, although not everybody understands how we move it around year to year.

So give an entrepreneur a hand and explain to somebody in the industry today what we're all about!

Cheers

Mh3

PS. If you're organization hasn't done this year's Landscape Survey yet please go to the site and help out ISM today!

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IEG 2008: Notes from the Windy City, Part V

Wow.

Just enjoyed a great presentation from Ann Green of research firm Millward Brown and have to say it was spot on.

Her topic was "Determining the Image You Are Buying or Selling". Really it could have been titled "Making Decisions based on Consumer Passions".

Ms. Green did a fantastic job of demonstrating how a brand can find alignment between its values and that of a property.

As well, she shared some neat analysis of the personalities of major events such as The Masters and the Super Bowl.

This type of research can be done for properties and I would encourage you to connect with a group like Millward Brown or IMI International to get the data you need to sell more effectively.

Glad I got to see this presentation as it made my trip a valuable one.

Now I'm off to back to back receptions. First the Canadian Delegate reception put on by the SMCC and then the conference's major reception at the Four Seasons.

Oh yeah everybody's drinking green beer so I'm sure we'll be back here for a little SPD cheer!

Blog you later if I'm able to type.

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IEG 2008: Notes from the Windy City, Part IV

Honest Tea

Have to say, I was disappointed.

Our lunchtime keynote started off brilliantly with a folksy story of how he built his business from literally five themorses into a $30 million enterprise.

Lots of great vibes about organic ingredients, saving the earth, and an amazing workplace culture. That was the first ten minutes.

The next fifty turned into a d�ja vu of Snapple. As the Honest Tea founder tried to marvel us with his fabulous breakthrough marketing, heads in the crowd began to nod off. No wonder as some of his breakthrough ideas included giving away bikes on an end aisle display, sampling at the beach, and holding signs behind celebrities on the red carpet.

Sorry Honest Tea, but I wasn't impressed. I mean they have a nice business and a tasty product. But their story is hardly worth of an IEG keynote.

Interestingly enough Honest Tea has now been acquired by Coke through their new ventures group.

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IEG 2008: Notes from the Windy City, Part III

Well this morning's keynote was outstanding.

Scott McCune of Coca-Cola talked about the new marketing model at Coke. The keys to this new model include:
1. Use of an Intergrated Marketing Communications planning process
2. Focus on "outcomes" not "output"...this means measuring results not number of logos
3. Fixation on consumer passions and developing ideas around that. A great example is the ownership of the "goal hug" after a teammate scores in football (soccer)

Coke's new model of sponsorship has evolved from Presence to Activation to Engagement.

Stay tuned for my report from the lunchtime keynote, Seth Goldman of Honest Tea.

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IEG 2008: Notes from the Windy City, Part II

Well IEG is off and running with their 25th Sponsorship Conference.

The opening reception was noticeably quieter this year. For some reason Howard Freeman, the balloon king of New Jersey, was absent. I'm not sure I can attend this conference without him!

After the reception we headed to a cool club, Park West, in Lincoln Park. MAC Presents of Nashville put on a party to profile three of their up and coming artists. It was too bad the party wasn't well attended because the acts were all fantastic. Note to the Calgary Stampede, contact "MAC Presents" for some great acts to appear at Nashville North this year.

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IEG 2008: Notes from the Windy City, Part I

Dateline Chicago

Well I am off to the annual IEG Sponsorship Conference. In fact I'm 30,000 feet above sea level and enduring a little turbulence!

My plane has a who's who of Canadian sponsorship marketers on it including Kelly Alguire of BMO, Brenna Kay of Tennis Canada and Mark Soder of NFL Canada on it. If your bosses didn't know you were heading to the Windy City, sorry I blew your cover. Good news for Mark is that his boss, Dan Quinn is on-board so I will assume he knows!

My blog over the next few days will provide some realtime conference reports.

Tonight's the opening reception and given my tendency to bend the elbow I may not send a post. Or if I do my trusty "gatekeeper", Bobby Arthur of TrojanOne, may have to do some editing!

I'm looking forward to this year's conference. I always come away inspired and with one new idea. Plus it's fun not have to be running (well I don't actually run the Canadian Sponsorship Forum but I like to pretend I do) the conference. No, for me this one is sit back, drink, and enjoy the ride!

My hope is to hear a life changing speaker. Over the past 15 years (yes that's how long I have been attending this conference) I have heard some outstanding speeches from Chris Whittle, Rob Prazmark, and Jane Goodall (twice). I need one of those speeches this year.

I need to feel like I am not just doing a groundhog day (the movie, not the tradition) thing here. With all due respect to Bill Murray, if my life isn't moving forward I feel it's moving back.

Some people (like my CFO) may be skeptical of my annual pilgrimage to Chicago. It does appear to be a booze up and schmooze fest. But I honestly love attending conference-type events to meet new people and discover new ideas.
So stay tuned over the next few days and I will keep you up to date!

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Pond Hopping, Pt. 2

Professor Mark’s Students in Action

I thought I’d follow-up on Mark’s blog about the students' field trip since I – as Director of the School of Sports Administration at Laurentian – have the privilege of being on the actual trip with the students here in the United Kingdom.

[BREAK]I also have the less enjoyable privilege of sitting on a broken-down train (thankfully with wireless internet!) somewhere between Edinburgh, Scotland (where a group of students presented their work on tickets, brand, promotions and sponsorship to the Edinburgh Capitals today) and London, England (where the rest of our team of 30 are staying awaiting their various presentations around the UK). In fact, we leave with another group first thing in the morning to Belfast to present to the Giants’ (another British Elite League ice hockey franchise) management.

Later in the week, presentations will be made to another Elite League Club, a Soccer Club and a Research Institute at the University of London. On top of these intense, pressure-packed presentations to senior management (which follow weeks of hard work), this experience also represents the cap-stone of the program where a life experience and opportunity to really bond one last time with their classmates are paramount. We’ve been doing Field Trips for over 30 years and they have taken us all over the world (New York, Lausanne, London, Miami, LA, Vancouver, Montreal, etc.).

So, today, the group of 5 lived up to Professor Mark’s expectations. In fact, they exceeded them. The General Manager and Coach of the Capitals were overwhelmed by the quality of the presentation and the volume of creative strategic tools provided. The value of the work and its level of quality were akin to a consulting report by a professional agency (in my opinion!). Some of this, certainly, is due in part to Professor Harrison’s Entrepreneurship Course that they are all in currently.

One last thing – a little blurb on the Halifax Forum: we at the ISM (SPAD’s research centre) will be presenting the results of the second annual Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Seport – something on which 10 of our students have worked on…both to make a little money, gain valuable research experience and to learn more about the promotional tool we call sponsorship. If you are or know anyone who is a sponsor, sponsee or agency in Canada, please complete and pass the word about the study – all at www.sponsorshiplandscape.ca

Thanks

Norm O’Reilly
Director School of Sports Administration
Faculty of Management
Laurentian University

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Pond Hopping

At class last night I had a chance to talk with my Laurentian Sports Administration students, who are heading over to England this week for their class trip. This is an annual tradition for the fourth year SPAD kids. What an adventure, and one I wish I had the chance to do, when I was 21/22.

The trip is a pretty unique feature about the SPAD program. Every year the students pick a destination and then work with the school's professors to line up some cool projects. Last year the kids went to Los Angeles, and met with the Kings and the Staples Center. One youngster even got offered a job!

To fund the trip the kids run a series of events all year long. The infamous SPAD hockey tournament is the biggest fundraiser, but they have gone so far as to pull off a country & western concert at a Sudbury performing arts theatre.

One of this year's projects is with the Ipswich Town Football Club. Five of my students have been researching former season ticket holders to help the club understand why so many of their fans have gone from multi-game to single game attendees. From the research it's clear that massive ticket price hikes, without any increased value in stadium amenities, on-field performance, or calibre of league qualifying, has left many fans a little miffed.

The challenge for these kids, a continent away, is to convince five “directors” from the Club that they have insights that are worth acting upon. Last night, I pushed the kids to dial up their passion for their presentation. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, to go in and deal with a professional sports franchise at this age. This is the most important presentation they will have made in their 7700 days of existence. Its time to lay it on strong.

One of the books I use in my class is Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki. If you want a great resource on pitching and presenting I recommend this! Kawasaki’s thesis on the use of font size is not only smart… its pretty funny as well.

Hopefully my students will knock them dead in the UK. And they better read Kawasaki’s book on the plane!

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Designer Guy

If you’ve never been to the Interior Design Show you have to check it out.

Embarrassingly I had never been before I went to the gala opening last night, but it's a fantastic event that must attract a ton of well-heeled consumers based on the incredible displays and brands that were on site.

(Let me sidebar for a second and gripe about the BRUTAL lines for coat check and food and booze… why do people put on galas and make people wait 10 minutes for 1.5 oz of wine?)

Anyway the show is sexy, fun, inspiring, and clearly well funded. But they do something very simple in their show guide that I love! Their sponsor pages at the back included a 50 word write up about each supporting brand. Not just a logo or a web url but a nicely written editorial style advertorial of their partners.

Not sure if the show promoter wrote it or the sponsors wrote it, but you know what, it was very well done. Simple yet effective.

They copy the same approach on their web site , but it's really impactful in the program because SO FEW PROPERTIES DO IT.

So that’s my tip for you for a Friday…do something simple yet powerful for your sponsors!

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Let�s Play in the Snow!

How cold is too cold before you say: “I am not going out there in my bathing suit!”? You might want to address this question to the 75 brave individuals who took part in the Hbc Snow Bath at the Winter Carnaval in Quebec City. For the last 14 years the Snow Bath or “Bain de Neige” has been a main event at the Carnaval de Quebec to be endured by few and applauded by many. It is an event filled with energy and courage to face the elements in a fun and crazy way. “It makes me feel alive!” said Genevieve as she was covered in snow wearing nothing but her bikini and shoes under a freezing -32�c mark. At first I thought they were insane to do this! But later I understood that there is a whole winter culture in Quebec City beyond rolling in the snow with barely any clothes on.

Let’s face it; if you live in the great north and no matter how many times you go to Florida, you will have to face the winter. The truth of the matter is that most of us, who live in urban centers, will do everything to avoid winter. Our streets need to be cleared of snow at all times, we drive more everywhere, we heat our house so we can comfortably walk around in summer like clothes and yes, we stop going outside to play. Have we forgotten how to play in the snow? It seems like everyone around me dreads the mere idea of a snowfall and a dozen Celsius below zero… Quebec City has a lesson to teach on how we, as inhabitants of this Nordic Land we call Canada, should learn to embrace Mother Nature and her beautiful crisp white winter.

In Quebec City I learnt that, you do not complain about how cold it gets or how much snow you’ve had so far, ah non monsieur! You deal with it, and Quebec City seems be doing a pretty good job at it. Carnaval, in its 54th edition, is the largest winter Carnival and third largest Carnival in the world after Rio’s and Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It’s an international event that gathers more than a million people to see and experience the beauty of winter, generating hundreds of jobs and significant revenue to the tourism sector of the region. It is no mystery as to why big names such as Mr. Christie, Hbc, Telus and Kraft along with regional giants, Hydro Quebec, Metro and Caisse Des Jardins have claimed ownership of this event. The Carnaval de Quebec brings joy too many, it exploits all the marvelous activities winter has offer and most importantly, it reminds us how to play in the snow!

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Family Daze

My body wants to go to work. My head wants to go to work. My car even wants to go to work.

But I am not allowed to. It's Family Day in Ontario and while many of you who live in Alberta and Saskatchewan know what I am talking about, the rest of the country is probably at a loss. A holiday in February? A stat holiday?

Yes its true, our government has decided that we need a holiday to spend more time with our families. Brilliant! Just what I need, the Premier of Ontario telling me how to live my life. Telling me I don’t spend enough time with my Family. Thank God for politicians, without them I would have forgotten to brush my teeth this morning.

Consider me bitter? Well I am because the problem with our society is that the majority of people in politics have great intentions and huge ambitions but the results are failing us. Living in Toronto right now we have a bankrupt city that cant find twelve million dollars to keep 78 school pools open.

Are you kidding me? How many kids and adults do you think 78 pools service? How many lives would they save providing a place for kids to learn to swim? How many visits to the hospital will they save keeping thousands of adults fit and trim?

So here it is, Family Day, and I bet thousands of people would love to have gone for a Family Swim today? But the pools are closed.

If our governments are not going to support our schools, our community centres, our infrastructure, we might as well rename this holiday “Fatty Day” instead of Family Day, Wendy’s Day vs. Victoria Day, Candy Day vs. Canada Day…

All the time off in the world isn't going to help our society become fit and trim if we don’t have places and venues to do so.

So I have a suggestion for McGuinty and his speech writers. Let’s have a Fitness Day holiday every month. Open up arenas, gyms, community centres, soccer domes, rinks, pools, tracks, parks, etc and program them with fun physical activity all day long. Get public and private business working together. Cut the fat in our bureaucracy to find the $12 million to save our pools.

Me and my family will thank you.

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xoxoxo

Happy Valentines Day everybody.

I am dragging out my poor wife to a client event tonight. You may suspect she hates me for that but you have to know I am the guy who once booked her birthday dinner for 5:30 so we could be done by 7 to watch the Leafs in the playoffs. Alas that was 1993!

Spent the day at the Toronto Auto Show today. Okay so its actually named the Canadian International Auto Show because everything we do in Toronto has to be bigger than Canada otherwise it belongs somewhere else. Or so we are conditioned to think. Funny how we can be so arrogant living in a bankrupt city that hasn’t plowed my street in six days with a waterfront that looks worse than the reflection in the hole of an outhouse. But arrogant we Torontonians are.

Okay back to said Auto Show.

I came to the conclusion walking past car after car, display after display, and exhibit after exhibit today that this car stuff is really a weird business. For one thing, how many industries can charge consumers to be targets of their marketing? Outside of kids books and movies, the consumer usually expects the marketer to incentivize them to participate in a marketing experience. Quite the contrary in the car world. Bizarre. All these guys have to do is rent a big room, shine up their best wares and call it an event and tens of thousands of consumers are willing to drop twenty bucks for the right to be assaulted. Clever.

The next thing I don’t understand is why these guys can’t make money. If people don’t want to pay enough money for you to make a profit on the car… why make it? Oh yes I understand unions and production guarantee and capital investment and on and on, but GM is losing tens of billions of dollars selling their cars. Why not shut the plant down for a month, give everybody some extra vacation and invite them back in April when you have some orders. If they produced one million less cars on which they would lose ten billion less dollars wouldn’t they be ahead? That’s only ten grand per car and that’s about what they lose right now! Or do some sub-contracting work making toasters or private label cars or bicycles?!

The last thing that strikes me as odd is the sameness. Every booth has an environmental display. Every manufacturer has cute hostesses. Every display has a disco ball. Hmm… there used to be a thing in Atlanta called the Super Show. It was beyond big. It was the sporting goods industry’s annual prom week! Until some marketers realized they spent millions and millions and received no value out of it. Might just be the auto show is the same thing? I am not saying for sure, but it sure would be interesting to evaluate.

Well, have to run. On my way to see April Wine!!!

Hug the one you love. Or the one you’re with.

Mh3

PS. I also noticed you can't drive any cars at the auto show… maybe its just me, but!

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Starstruck

I don’t know why I am such a weenie around greatness. Nervous. Insecure. Jittery.

Case in point was when we launched a cool new program for Nike at the beautiful Extreme Fitness on Richmond Street. When I arrived to lend my support and watched the PR folks work their magic I said hello to all the usual suspects who I work with every day. Adub. Amos. Jane. MikeB. All better known as my “clients”.

Sitting among them was the celebrity, reading her paper, not complaining at all about being on set for a 5:30 PR appearance. A true professional. So what did I do? Nothing. Ignored her. I was too nervous to say hello. What a wimp.

I mean I have met her before. Even spent a full day doing a PR event, including four hours in a chartered plane. With only five of us. Plus I am buddies with the client's sport marketing rep who knows her real well.

So the man everybody thinks is Mr. Outgoing got all bashful. It was almost as bad when I met Paul Giamatti in October through my sister-in-law in Brooklyn. Beer in hand, in a comfortable townhouse kitchen I went to say “hi” or “nice to meet you”, and NOTHING came out. It was like I was talking over a jet engine. MMMM.NNNNNN.MMMM. Thankfully his sarcastic "pardon" snapped me to my senses. A couple of beers later I was back to the old “Hairyman” (yes, one of two hundred nicknames my friends used to call me).

Fast forward back to the fitness club and there was our celebrity, on the treadmill, jogging for Breakfast Television. It all went well. Our hero is as smooth as silk on and off the cameras.

As she walked out of the spotlight right past me, she made my week. She gave me a friendly but very sincere, “Hi Mark”, to which I replied “Hi Perdita.”

I couldn't believe it! Perdita Felicien. World Champion. Great competitor. Olympic hopeful. She knows my name!

I bet she wondered what type of wimp is this dude? We’ve met before. Get over it. Say hello.

I spent my week wishing I had provided Perdita with some comments of good luck in her Olympic preparations. Or maybe told her how proud we Canadians are that she’s back to her high flying, world beating self. I missed my chance in person, so I will say it here.

Good Luck getting ready for Beijing… Perdita you’re going to bring home the gold!

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Miracle on Turf

I think what happened last night in Super Bowl XLII was the biggest upset on American soil since the Miracle on Ice.

In addition to my personal glee as an ardent Steelers fan watching the Pats go down, it was great to see an unbelievable contest of wills. However, my conversation with you today isn't about X's and O's. Rather after I got home from the Brazen Head (pub at which I watched the game with a "three-time" former employee and a business friend), I reflected on the storylines of the game.

And for me they had some real lessons for business. So let me try three on you.

Lesson #1: DON'T LET THE INMATES RUN THE ASYLUM.
All last year all we heard from the Giants players was what a beast their coach (Tom Coughlin) is and how he doesn't know how to coach professionals. Tiki Barber gave up on the team mid-season by announcing his retirement. Management almost fired the guy despite his track record at Boston College (once upending a #1 ranked Notre Dame team) and after leading the expansion Jaguars to some early success. But Coughlin proved in the end that his tough no-nonsense approach was what's needed to win. Let's face it. Even professional athletes want to face as little pain as possible. But employees at successful companies are pushed to their limits and the resultant successes are shared by all.

Lesson # 2: DON'T LET PAST SUCCESS MAKE YOU ARROGANT
Hey Patriots. 4th and 13? On the 48? Okay so you've been able to do it all season long. But not a shrewd move in the SB. In fact an arrogant move. The moral of the story is I am all for confidence and going for it. But arrogance leads to bad decisions.

Lesson # 3: DON'T EAT YOUR YOUNG.
Wow. You would have thought Eli Manning was the second coming of Ryan Leaf the way the media has treated him. Of course having Johnny Unitas as an older brother doesn't help. But we are talking about a third year QB from a mid-level university being dumped into the media capital of the world that is such a big city it has two of everything (football, baseball, hockey, basketball) teams. Eli manning wasn't as bad as they said and he's not as good as they are going to proclaim after yesterday. But look around your office. Do you have anybody who is three years out of school that endures more pressure.

Hey boss people. Let's train our employees. Groom them. support them. Yes, challenge them but don't expect them to be like your veteran staff or big brother Peyton on Day One.

Lesson #4: STAND BY YOUR MEN
I thought Belcihik's running off the field before the final kneel down was classless. Yet more importantly what message did it send to his defence who had to stay on the field for one agonizing second?

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We have liftoff Pt.2

Exciting day yesterday as we launched the 2008 Canadian Sponsorship Forum in Halifax. We were joined by 45 people from the Halifax (actually Atlantic Canada as we had some folks form New Brunswick there) marketing and sponsorship community.

I hope we didn’t disappoint them in providing a taste of what the Forum’s all about. We introduced our theme for this year which is The Power of Events. I consider this our call to arms for the Sponsorship community to stand up and let marketers/bosses/clients/sponsors know that the whole world isn't about facebook! Yes people use the internet to talk and post pictures and schedule with their friends. But what are they talking about? What videos are they posting? What activities are they scheduling?

Events! Experiences! Emotions! Without the emotions and memories people in our industry create every day, there would be nothing to talk about on the Internet! Yet we are allowing the interactive marketing folks to grow their share of the pie and we are looking old fashioned. Enough I say!

Embrace the internet in your events and sponsorships but remember it's just another channel to drive registration… create affinity… conduct fundraising… disseminate information… recruit volunteers. The Magic is in the Magic Kingdom not on “disney.com.”

The highlight of our launch was the presentation given by ParticipACTION’s CEO Kelly Murumets who spoke about a “Brand in Motion.” She chronicled the return of ParticipACTION and the approach the private not for profit is taking with corporate supporters. The highlight of her speech was the detailing of ParticipACTION’s landmark five year $5 million agreement with Coca-Cola Canada around the Torch Leadership Program. This program was launched on Tuesday in Halifax with executives from VANOC and Coca-Cola joining Kelly on stage.

As well, we were joined Ben Macaskill from the Halifax Mooseheads who gave our crowd a taste of what it's like to represent Canada on an international stage as he discussed his participation in the World U17 Championships a couple of years ago. Ben brought down the house comparing playing in front of a big crowd versus his home town rink that was a “fire hazard” whenever it held more than two hundred people.

So now in my mind we are officially off and running towards May 4th and I hope to see you all in Halifax!

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Pass The Torch

Bouncing along the airways to Halifax today I am pretty excited about the announcement being made this afternoon between two of my clients, Coca-Cola Canada and ParticipACTION.

Yesterday Coca-Cola was announced as one of the co-presenters of the 2010 Torch relay along with RBC. Congrats to both! (how's that for client love?)

Today, Coca-Cola and ParticipACTION will unveil a major initiative related to engaging Canadian youth who wish to be Torch Bearers. This initiative, under the working title of the Torch Leadership Program, will encourage active youth to motivate their peers to embrace physical fitness and activity. In essence, to get moving. The ultimate reward for doing so will be an opportunity to carry the Torch.

This will be a national program that has been pioneered by ParticipACTION and will truly be coast to coast to coast.

The 2010 Games might be based in Vancouver and Whistler but the Torch is a unique opportunity for all Canadians to enjoy their own moment in the Games spotlight in their own backyards. I get giddy just thinking about it.

I don’t know the route yet but if it goes through my home town of Orillia I plan on taking my kids up and sharing the sidewalk with their grandparents to witness a dream come true.

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Service with a Smile

This week marked my return to teaching at Laurentian University in the SPAD program.

I deliver a special topics course called “Entrepreneurship in Sport” to the 4th year class. These kids are one semester away from graduating and are the cream of the crop. They are the thirty or so survivors from an entry class of fifty that was selected out of three hundred plus applicants from across Canada. Most of them have finished a pretty significant eight month internship with the most prestigious agencies in the country (IMG), or top sports franchises (Ottawa Senators) or an NGO (Athletics Canada). I was really looking forward to teaching this year because frankly I think last year I was a bit of a rookie “bust,” but I must have fooled somebody because they invited me back.

Spent a great deal of my six hours of class time getting to know the kids. Frankly I could have sat back and listened to their experiences, except for the fact I am paid to be the professor or at least the catalyst to learning. One of our discussion areas was talking about the extraordinary customer focus an entrepreneur must have. In a company like mine, I am the only person who is 100% on commission. Think about it. Everybody else draws a salary and has potential for a bonus. My compensation is what's left over. If anything. So when I say it's all about the client… it really is. Because they pay my bills.

To illustrate the point, I had the class relay to their mates an example of extraordinary customer focus they might have witnessed while working for one of the above organizations. Which by the way aren't just the few examples I provided in parenthesis. What I heard could have been the basis for a business management best seller on the topic. In many, many instances these students had an opportunity to be involved in some significant yet powerful customer service situations. They were quick to point out that there were many flaws with where they worked, but I wanted the exercise to highlight the strengths… because whether these students become entrepreneurs or not, it is my commitment to make each and every one of them more “entrepreneurial” so when they join you in the workforce they will benefit as much you will as the employer.

Let me share a few of their great customer focus stories. If you think about it… a small act of customer service goes a long way. Personally I loath the Starbucks barista who doesn't put a sleeve on my Venti Cappuccino. I glare at them the entire time I squeeze open the allegedly recycled cardboard and slide it up the cup. In my mind, my hand is slowing reaching for Howard Schultz’s neck… okay bad daydream. But you get the point. A little service means a lot.

So here are a few snippets… hopefully they will inspire us all to do something for our clients or customers tomorrow!

One student worked at a property where the sponsor's agency inexplicably bailed on them a week before the event. So the sponsorship coordinators jumped in and executed the activation on behalf of their sponsor.

Another student helped coordinate an on-ice promotion involving kids at intermission. Instead of forcing the parents to miss the game while they lugged equipment to the car, the team provided a secure lockup for the gear until after the game.

A patient young man climbed a tree to fetch an expensive driver after a member at the private golf club where he worked said it “slipped” out of his hands.

A pair of students working at a sports research firm witnessed their employer offer a make good event to a client that wasn’t satisfied with the work that was done.

We have liftoff

If you're in Halifax on January 30th, hopefully you can join me and the rest of the Forum team for breakfast.

Something new for this year's Forum is that we have decided to hold a launch event or kickoff or whatever you want to call it. And since there are some BIG BIG BIG VANOC related announcements happening that week in Halifax, we felt the timing was perfect. Our thinking was to provide people with a taste of Forum if they have never been or a chance to reconnect if they have been one of the five-hundred people who have attended our past events.

Attendees will get a chance to hear in detail about this year’s forum, networking with other members of the Atlantic Canada sponsorship community and hear from our guest speaker; Kelly Murumets, CEO of ParticipACTION. There might even be a few guests of the hockey playing variety!

While I know many of you won't be in the area, perhaps you have some colleagues, clients, or staff based in the market. I would be eternally grateful if you let them know about our little reception. Okay, maybe not eternally but at least until May 4th! Have them send me an email (mark.harrison@trojanone.com) if they (or you!) want more information.

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Growth

Just flying home from Vancouver after two days of meeting and wondering why I am heading back out on Monday.

Actually I love Vancouver and reconnected with the Granville Island area this week.

The excitement and energy around the Games keeps heating up as we near the two years to go milestone.

With lots of things shaking out in the market we've gone out and built up our presence by adding a new Vice-President in the Vancouver market, Cathy Tostenson.

Cathy's a teen rugby club manager, distinguished marketer, wife of a man who sports two Nike brand tattos, has two sons, one aptly named Jordan and is a ball of energy. I sat with her today, day 8 of her tenure with us, for four hours and it felt like she had been part of the team for years.

So allow me to publicly welcome Cathy to the TrojanOne team. She is as excited as I am about the possibilities in Vancouver over the next two years!

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Smoke this Bowl

Once in a while a little sizzle is needed with the steak. Or in the case of Saturday’s International Toilet Bowl at Roger’s Centre… a little flavour with my hot dog.

The International Bowl is the brainchild of the Motor City Bowl organizers to bring two mediocre NCAA football teams to Canada and pretend that being an hour from Buffalo somehow constitutes an exotic learning experience for their alleged student athletes. Sarcasm aside, the Big East and Mac conferences who supply the teams to the event have some pretty good schools. But the International Bowl doesn’t get their best, although on Saturday the event benefited from a highly respectable Rutgers squad facing off against David Letterman U (he’s an alumnus) also known as Ball State. Rutgers was the Cinderella of NCAA Football in 2006 and they had a decent year, though not as magical, in 2007. They boast some quality players including a sure fire first round NFL pick in running back Ray Rice. I personally think their QB (Mike Teel) has a chance of playing on Sundays as well. Last year the Scarlet Knights star fullback went on to the St. Louis Rams and had a pretty decent rookie year.

I expected with Rutgers in the game for there to be a pretty good crowd. New Jersey isn’t that far away and with the natives' habit of always having one guy ride in the trunk Tony Soprano style, I expected carloads of fans. Truth be told there was a pretty decent Rutgers contingent, but not huge. The announced crowd was a joke I think they said 31,000 (you can check that)… but it was closer to 22 or 23 thousand. In the midst of either teams' supporters it felt as exciting as a Premier League soccer match, but unfortunately a half full dome is still a half full dome.

The quality of football was of course quite high and the talent disparity produced a wide-open game. Rice put on a heroic show and Ball State fought back in the second half to make it interesting. 'Cause in the second quarter it was close to a blowout.

Overall the event was a big disappointment; if this were supposed to be an NCAA bowl game…then I would have no interest in going to a bigger bowl. This felt like an exhibition game. The staging was poor. The related events, almost non-existent. The street atmosphere, pathetic. It seemed like the organizers rented the stadium, gave out some freebies and begged the schools to do all their work. I mean their in-game announcer was using a clipboard with a big Argo A on the bottom. Could they have not afforded to get her a new clipboard?

I don’t really get the strategy of flooding the market with comp tickets that wind up in the hands of scalpers. Giving something away in Toronto is a life sentence against ever making a cash sale. Then again the sponsorship and promotion seems non-existent.

I am sure the TV exposure is good for Toronto but the American sports press has basically declared we don’t care about college football. So why would a tourist want to come up here if the expected experience is going to suck. Is this the type of exposure we want?

I don’t know whether any levels of Canadian government supported this game but I suggest if they are, they dictate all their dollars go into marketing and creating experiences. That’s what this game needs.

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Good Game, Good Game, Good Game

By all accounts the NHL’s Winter Classic was a big success yesterday!

An NHL record crowd.
The best US TV numbers since 1996.
A shootout winner by the league’s biggest star.

Between skiing in Vermont and cruising NCAA bowl games I will admit I didn’t watch the entire game. But I did tune in for probably the same reason most of the American fans did – curiosity. It was a spectacle. And I don’t mean just because there was a game being held in January at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

What in the name of JP Losman was going on? No it wasn’t playoff football… little chance of that. But it was a playoff atmosphere. Imagine tailgating in a parking lot four hours before the opening face-off!

As great as the event was, it had one moment that stood out to me. It was the post-game salute by the players to the fans. It was great to see all the combatants recognize that as much as it was a great experience for them… they were only able to make history due to the 71,000 people who braved the elements and their hangovers.

As both teams raised their sticks in adoration to the masses, it was clear they knew who had made the experience for them. It’s a message that more pro athletes should understand. Lord knows we saw enough boneheads in 2007.

So hats and toques off to the Sabres and Pens for starting 2008 off right on behalf of pro athletes everywhere!

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Ratings

Interesting to see that the most powerful professional sports league in the world hasn’t forgotten what made them. Television. I can’t say it with the New Yorker twang of Rob Morrow in the movie Quiz Show. But “television” has proven today it's as powerful as ever.

As the the New England “Pirates” (stealers of signals and harbourers of selfish wide receivers) steamroll towards an unprecedented 16th regular season victory the National Football League has abruptly bowed to the powers of network television. The Patriots/Pirates last stand this Sunday night was to be aired only on the NFL Network. That fact has no consequence for us Canadians, but south of the border it meant 60% of US households could NOT see the game! A last minute deal has been made to tricast the game also on NBC and CBS so all of the land can watch the Pats run up the score one more time.

It has long been said that Major League Baseball is a ticket league… the NBA is a T-shirt league and the NFL is a television league. But three years ago when the NFL started their own TV network I wasn't sure whether the concept was to create an Apple Store type of experience to showcase football in a better way or whether it was to be more ubiquitous in a Wal-Mart sort of way. I think the NFL Network has done a great job of complementing live action with their various shows and features. I for one love the fact that 24/7 I can find NFL content. But their game coverage stinks.

The NFL Network has been trying to use their live game package to drive cable operator acceptance.

So here is a unique opportunity to force cable operators to start carrying the NFL Network and when push came to shove the league blinked. Yes it would be a great distribution driver. But really is it worth pissing off $ 8 billion a year in rights fees?

More importantly the NFL knows something the CFL didn’t in the 80’s – That TV is their greatest marketing asset. They have a unique opportunity to take a game that is meaningless in the standings (the Giants can't move up in their playoff seedlings and the Patriots could only move ahead if they hired Conrad Black to do their books)… and have it become one of the highest rated regular season games ever.

Sunday night history will be made. If the Pats win I hope they get Belichick a new cut-off sweatshirt for a bonus. After all he’s got $500,000 in fines to pay the league still.

Who needs TV rights fees?

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Feedback Loop

I recently received a letter that preoccupied me for most of my afternoon.

It was several pages of feedback from a major conference where I had recently spoken. This conference was not a marketing one… but was in the area of sport development, so my audience ranged from coaches to executive directors to development managers.

Every time I receive one of these clutches of feedback I think back to the days of university and even high school. Makes me wonder how any young adult can deal with constantly receiving feedback. I mean I even obsessed over the good feedback. By and large the feedback I received on this speech was excellent. (Excuse me while I rub my sore arm). But there were a few comments in there I couldn’t let go.

The most negative comment was that I was “flippant and abrupt.” Okay, I didn’t know my wife was allowed to provide feedback… but I have to disagree with this one. My style is in your face. But flippant… that to me implies that I don’t care about my topic or my audience. If you have spent five minutes with me you’ll know that’s not the case.

The same commentator also stated I dwelled on the pretty picture pages and skipped over the fact-filled pages. Which is interesting because there were a ton of comments that said they wished I had even more time (it was a two hour speech!) because of all the information I provided.

Oh well.

But the most interesting comment is that my speech was aimed too much at big events and not enough at seasonal events. This is where I would love to talk with this individual first hand. Because the learning's I provided are form work we have done with properties that have ranged from ZERO sponsorship dollars to TWENTY million and the principles work across the entire spectrum.

Even more importantly there are some key lessons for every event in every presentation ever made. Even if it's an international event you can learn key things about how to make your events more successful. Look, for example at the World Juniors. The formula for success has been that the property (Hockey Canada) found a media partner (TSN) who desperately required tons of content and they mixed that with an organizational commitment to succeed wildly at this event. I don’t care if your event cant find a TV partner. Find an organization that has a strategic need for your initiative… whether it's a sponsor… a licensor… a volunteer group… a charity… a municipality… a politician… whatever. Hitch your wagon onto somebody else's train and you will succeed. That’s an old “Mark McCormack” axiom that I have borrowed today. And it's a good one.

Well I start teaching at Laurentian again in two weeks, so perhaps I will apply some of these learning's to how I provide feedback to my students.

Happy Boxing Day!

PS. To the Gretzky fans I insulted on Christmas Eve… keep the emails coming!

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Wishful Thinking

I am probably too late but I need to let Santa know what I want for Christmas… so if you see him please ensure he looks over my list!

1. For an end to the senseless violence in our urban centers.
2. For the New England Patriots to lose... in the playoffs.
3. A white Christmas. What is with this rain?
4. For the Canadian government to start supporting sport from the grassroots to the podium.
5. For the organizers to the International Bowl to spell the name of their marquee team properly (see the ad in the Toronto Star 12/24/07)
6. For Wayne Gretzky to get out of coaching.
7. For the Buffalo Bills to not move to Toronto. Let's get our own franchise and create a great rivalry with the Bills.
8. For peace and rest for my staff. So they can work twice as hard in 2008!
9. For corporate sponsors to look beyond pro hockey for opportunities.
10. For the Canadian Soccer Association to hire me to fix their problems.
11. For a nasty linebacker for my high school football team.

Love and Cookies,

Mark

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Cheetah all the time

Well I guess I really shouldn’t but I have to “pile on” this Steelback thing.

Is there anybody out there who is surprised that this company was built on a house of cards? I mean who would really be interested in supporting a brand whose sole purpose it seemed was to allow its CEO to show off. The dressing room spots with ex NHL players. The Cheetah spots with Ben Johnson. The racing spots with Paul Newman.

I mean what were Paul Newman’s’ handlers thinking allowing him to appear in those ads? Talk about tarnishing a legacy.

I had an opportunity to work with these characters. We received a call about doing an event, but we had to have a meeting in five minutes and a plan in three hours. Or so it seemed… as they called on the Friday of a long weekend, with an idea that was ridiculous.

Thankfully we turned it down. I guess if I hadn’t we would we paying the bills off ourselves.

But I do feel very badly for the numerous organizations large and small that are stuck without their money. Especially the charities.

Seems to me that we will see this CEO character again. I would just ask that if he tries to sponsor your event… you tell him no.

Imagine how the CFL would have felt if they had allowed these characters to buy the Ottawa franchise. Just what bytown would have needed, yet another deadbeat owner.

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Civic Leaders

I love this time of year. The snow is white and the tempeartures aren't too too bad.

It's also snowing in the sponsorship industry. If it was summer I could say it was pouring. As in lots going on.

There has been plenty of chatter about banks spending like crazy and VANOC generating huge numbers in the industry, but what's next?

Well many of my industry colleagues have one word for me. "Municipalities."

Over the next twelve to twenty-four months you are about to see a titanic move in this country by municipal government. Many of them are preparing to reach out to corporate Canada and attempt to tap their wallets.

Civic leaders are waking up to the fact that not only are events good for a city, so are sponsors. Whether they be sponsors that come with events or sponsors who get involved with 365 day/year programs or facilities.

As a sponsor this will present some interesting new options. You may be flinching about possible red tape or beauracratic hassles and delays.

But consider the positives. Sponsoring municipal properties will bring important community support credentials. It will probably be good value for money. And you know the "city" isn't going to go bankrupt or run out of town in the middle of the night.

Consider this an early pick for "what's hot" in sponsorship for 2008!

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Gold Rush

I have been tooling around Vancouver all week and the energy for 2010 is really hitting the sponsorship community.

RFP’s… agency hiring's… client hiring's… new consultants popping up from all over the world. Clearly the monetization of the games coming to Canada is about to hit.

In the midst of all this excitement and expansion and launching of new entities, I hope that some of the existing programs and properties that exist in this country and more specifically in Vancouver do not get overlooked. What I mean is that it seems there are countless new program development groups, governing bodies, granting agencies and initiatives opening, I wonder about the groups that have been on the ground doing great work for years.

Often when a gold rush of opportunity such as a major national or international event hits town, the existing little guys aren't viewed as attractive enough to support. But instead of rushing out to create new opportunities I would encourage all of those with investment dollars to spend, to take the time to research some of the existing groups. While on the surface they may not seem to offer much sponsor value, dig a little deeper. Realize these people understand the market, the consumer need, and have the infrastructure designed to deliver. What what they don’t have is an understanding of how to deliver corporate needs, how to amplify a program, or how to replicate their delivery structure to go provincially, regionally, nationally in a cohesive manner. But you do.

You have the skills, the experience, the expertise and the passion. So bring that along with your money and get married to one of the existing programs that are out there.

Want to help lower income kids play sports? The delivery agency for that exists.

Want to help Canadians get more active? That exists too.

Want to help improve air quality? There are people to help you there

As I look at the excitement I hope we don’t have a gold rush effect where the town and the taverns are filled with prosperous drunks for a short while but come spring of 2010 the saloons are left empty save for the original townsfolk left with warm beer.

I have said it before and I will say it again. "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other gold” is my favourite saying. I heard a rumour it was written as part of a Girl scout song. Well I think it applies to Vancouver and 2010

Spinning Yarn

I have long been a proponent of story telling and its role in business. In our business it plays an even greater role.

Companies and brands need to tell stories to engage their consumers. That's why I love working with organizations such as Nike.

Nike isn't in the business of making shoes. They are in the business of telling stories.

Often when I talk about what sponsors want I highlight this storytelling desire. It's profitable for a brand to have a story.

But how do you learn this craft?

In the class I taught at Laurentian University I asked my kids to read "Story" by Robert McKee, the guru of script writing. Unfortunately it's a long, big, and pricey book. But for those who have waded through it, it's worth the read. Understanding the process required to develop a great story can be very beneficial in developing any marketing campaign.

The good news is I just read an article that does an amazing job of explaining the importance of storytelling and secrets of success.

Peter Guber, CEO of Mandalay Entertainment, penned "The Four Truths of the Storyteller" in the December issue of Harvard Business Review. In just eight pages (vs the hundreds penned by McKee) you'll learn everything you need to know about telling great stories in a business setting.

One of the things I often advise my staff is to be themeselves in meetings and presentation settings. Guber talks about "Truth to the Teller" where he addresses authenticity. This is the most important part of the article in my mind because no story can be well told unless the presenter is authentic.

Take a read, send Guber a thank-you note. He just saved you a lot of time and money.

View Mark Harrison's profile on Linkedin.

ISM Sponsorship Research Study

The Institute for Sport Marketing has just completed their impressive report based on the Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Survey they conducted and I plan to spend the weekend reading mine.

For those of you who attended the Forum, you will recall the presentation by Doctors O’Reilly and S�guin that identified the Canadian sponsorship pie to be over $1.1 billion dollars annually. Even more exciting is the fact this pie is growing in Canada as reported by both by sponsor and properties.

Beyond their presentation, the researchers have developed a 130 plus page document filled with statistics, trends, and analysis. All of our full Forum delegates received one as part of their package, but if you want to purchase your own they are now available. Contact the Forum staff at info@canadiansponsorshipforum.com or call 1-888-400-2228 to order. It’s only $895.00 per copy and research like this is worth every penny.

The 2007 survey will be presented at the 2008 Canadian Sponsorship Forum, May 4-6 in Halifax. If you participate in the survey you will receive a free copy of the summary data. Attendees of the Forum also receive the complete report. If you are unable to participate in either manner, you will again be able to purchase the document next summer.

I am a proud father to help get this little baby born and out there. Apologize for the blunt sales pitch of today’s blog. I prefer for you to think of it as information. Information that will help us all do our jobs better.

View Mark Harrison's profile on Linkedin.

Where's the Magic?

A lot has been written about how amazing the weekend football festivities were here in Toronto. I too have to admit that they were better than I expected.

Like a lot of the “backseat drivers” on this topic, I too had witnessed the disaster of a Grey Cup held in Ottawa three years ago, led by the very same chief organizer for this year’s event. That Ottawa Grey Cup was one of the worst events I have been too, period. I include on that list any lemonade sale conducted by my 8-year-old neighbour. Her events are far better.

But to their credit the many people involved in this year's event pulled off a fantastic Grey Cup ... as far as Grey Cups go.

They had multiple parties and events happening. Lots of star power. A kicking lineup of bands. The halftime show by Lenny Kravitz was of unreal production values. There appeared to be a lot of sponsors. There were certainly lots of signs! All in all, it seemed fantastic.

Now don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t on par with a Film Festival or a Just for Laughs or how the Indy used to be in this city, but for a Grey Cup it was great.

But I have to rant about something. It happens all the time at events and it drives me crazy. My staff has heard this one a thousand times.

Why do event organizers tear down while paying customers are still in the house? Don’t they understand that an event experience isn’t complete for the consumer until they are tucked into bed? Why in the middle of the massive celebration of Rider Pride does the cleanup crew have to come out and start taking down signs and materials, and event infrastructure? It wasn’t like it was going to get damaged. It wasn’t like it was in the way. Stand back and allow the experience to unfold. Maybe even take the spare resources and allocate them to tasks that make the experience better.

Could you imagine the staff at Disney taking down pieces of the ride as you and your child walked off the attraction? It’s a show… people!

Similarly I don’t think the organizers fully embraced the opportunity to do something post-game. In fact, of the ten Cups I have attended, nobody seems willing to take a risk on a post-game event. Granted there is a risk, but imagine how many fans would head to Destination X if the winning team were heading there with the Cup?

Call me picky. Call me looking for a crack in the armour. I am the first, not the latter. But I can’t help but question the eagerness of event organizers to tear down the Magic Kingdom before the guests have disappeared!

Foreign Policy

NFLrush.ca

Hanging out at the Vanier Cup and the jumbotron just promoted "NFLrush.ca".

I haven't heard such booing since the CFL expanded to the US.

Patriotism lives!

View Mark Harrison's profile on Linkedin.

Loose Lips

This blog is protected by a non-disclosure agreement.

I may or may not have gone out to a professional or amateur sporting event last night as either a paying spectator or guest of a corporate sponsorship relationship manager.

We may or may not have discussed many issues in sponsorship. Potentially, actually probably, our conversation focused on hard to manage sponsors, or easy to manage sponsors, or sponsors who come up with crazy last minute ideas, or sponsors who plan everything a year in advance and are so detailed they make you embarrassed to show up at a meeting without a 3” binder, or sponsors who are only there for the annual road trip with the team, or sponsors who are involved to build their company’s business and profitability, or sponsors who just like the VIP lounge, or sponsors who prefer dressing room access, or sponsors who never use their tickets because they would rather be at home with their kids. Or working.

At certain points before, during, or after the game we may have counted up the total amount of rights fees paid every sponsor, official supplier, minor sponsors, major sponsors, platinum sponsor, title sponsors, season sponsor, game night sponsor, rink board advertiser, box suite holder, licensee, broadcast partner, broadcast sponsor, pouring rights supplier, food vendor licensee, concessionaire, league sponsor, and the visiting team sponsor. Or perhaps we just counted goals, assists, three pointers, foul shots or touchdowns.

I am unsure as to whether it was during the actual event or when we were planning to get together for the event that we discussed how no other property in Toronto or Ontario or Canada or North America or the world or the planet comes close to the value this property offers clients who want to generate trial with customers, reward their top customers, attract new customers, retain old customers, switch back lapsed customers, increase volume from small customers, sell new products to large customers, create a VIP experience for important customers, offer contest prizes for sometimes customers, excite the sales force that sells to the retailers who sell to those customers, schmooze the retailers that sell to these customers, build credibility with the top retailers who sell to your customers, or likes to entertain his friends but tells his boss they are actually important customers.

This closes today’s installment of this blog. Although you never read this blog because the person in this important position from whom I gleaned these sponsorship insights made me swear not to include them in my blog.

So Seamus… did I get you in trouble?

The Argos' Prairie Oyster

Well it's been written to death in the newspapers about how the Argos laid an egg in Sunday's East Final so you don't really need to hear from this amateur coach about it.

That said I have to admit it was a particularly horrible display of effort by the Argos and their coaches. Perhaps the Grey Cup Committee or the team marketing department forgot to issue the "memo".

Act like you care!
Entertain people!
Pull the slumping quarterback!

Losing is okay, but not losing like you don't give two craps.

The good news for football fans is two teams who do care will be competing in the Grey Cup. Rider Pride will be all over this city in a manner that few CFL fans have ever experienced. The contingent from Saskatchewan is absolutely delirious at the thought of denying their arch rivals from the 'Peg a Grey Cup victory.

The Manitoba Men have a double whammy of energy with the Bisons headlining the Vanier Cup versus St. Mary's on Friday night. If you're hanging out at the Forks in Winnipeg this weekend instead of Front Street you are either not a fan or you're a highly jealous one!

Winnipeg threw a great Grey Cup last year. One of the best I have attended and I hope my fellow Torontonians turn it on for them.

Unfortunately this weekend will go unnoticed by Toronto media, sport snobs, and corporations. Its too bad. It will be a great party.

Let's just hope the "Bay Street" ticket prices of the events don't offend the real Canadian football fans in attendance.

View Mark Harrison's profile on Linkedin.

Gridiron Gripe

Football fever is alive and kicking across Canada, with the Uteck and Mitchell Bowls happening in the CIS along with East and West CFL finals. Not to mention some great high school action.

It’s exciting to see big crowds out for university games in Halifax and Guelph over the past few weeks. Hopefully the momentum will continue for this Friday’s Vanier Cup (Desjardins Vanier Cup) at the SkyDome (Rogers Centre).

I don’t actually know where ticket sales are at but I was imagining organizers today speaking a familiar refrain. They were probably hoping Western would upset Manitoba and bring legions of local fans to the game. After watching the Bisons stomp the Stangs I can assure you the better team is coming to Toronto. Whether or not they have lots of fans, I don’t know.

That said, it would be nice to see university sport in this country move beyond the need to a have a “home” team in order to draw a crowd. I did a ton of work for university sport in the early to mid 90’s. It was a labour of love.

Canadian university athletes have to deal with books, money, and practice in order to compete. Unless they play football there is very little chance of a future for them in professional sports. But they put on a pretty good show and the quality of entertainment is top notch.

Unfortunately too many of the people in university sport administration don’t understand what’s needed to build a loyal following. Rather they focus on a bit of promotion for championships and the hope that sponsors will magically show up. Some schools like Western have done some unique things and have built improved crowds for football, hockey and basketball. But the vast majority doesn’t work the week, in week out regular season game to build a following with their community, students, and alumni.

American universities appear to have all the glitz and glamour but trust me they work at it. I have been involved with some top NCAA schools and they invest in marketing campaigns and ticket sales resources. They devote year round attention to sponsors, corporate ticket holders, and donors. Rarely do they let up.

I love university sport and believe strongly that if a national coast to coats plan was put in place to focus on priority sports and engage elementary school children, families, community businesses, and alumni to build a base of fans who support the teams year in and year out. Then students can be engaged for their tenure while a strong base is in place.

But it won’t happen. Misguided beliefs about equity. Lack of focus. Childish bickering. Under-funded departments. Inexperienced staff. It all contributes to the problem.

But the biggest problem is just an inability to do the basics. Like understanding whom their top prospects are and just asking the question if they will buy tickets, attend an event, support the cause.

I did my undergrad and MBA at two Ontario universities. Today I work in the sponsorship marketing industry. I have only heard a few times officially from my undergrad athletic department to help support them. I have never heard from the school where I did my MBA fifteen years ago.

I guess they have enough fans and sponsors.

View Mark Harrison's profile on Linkedin.

Charge It

I was in San Diego for a Chargers game yesterday courtesy of Ken Derret. Ken is one of three Canadians who I have heard of that currently serves as CMO of an NFL team. That’s a pretty cool stat.

Most of my NFL exposure has been as a Bills (six years until this season) ticket holder, plus a Super Bowl in 97 and a trip to Heinz field to see my beloved Steelers. Needless to say the contrast between tailgating at a Bills game and tailgating a Chargers game is like night and day. Or more appropriately the difference between fine dining and take out. Or eating with cutlery versus eating with your hands. There that’s probably the best analogy I can make.

But you have to hand it to the Americans, when it comes to making sport a part of their culture… whether it’s bare knuckled or white gloves… they do it well.

Part of the reason for the success of tailgating as a cultural institution is there are only eight home games in football and as any fan can tell you every game matters. My Steelers missed the playoffs by one game last year. I can think of three they should have won!

But the beautiful thing about only eight home games is that each and every one of these games becomes an event. A happening. A moment in time.

I know they are different sports but I really think hockey, basketball and baseball could learn a lesson from this. Maybe the economics wouldn’t work but it boggles my mind how you can make 40 or 80 home games “special.”

Is there a financially feasible way to reduce the season? Is it viable for the sport? I don’t know but it would seem to me to be worth a try.

Limiting supply can increase value and perhaps there is an opportunity here.

Traveller's Checked

Customs Officer: Where are you going and why?

MH3: To San Diego…to watch a football game.

Customs Officer: Where?

MH3: Umm…San Diego.

Customs Officer: Where?

MH3: Ohh…Qualcomm Stadium.

Customs Officer: Qualcomm?

MH3: Qualcomm.

Customs Officer: Where are you staying?

MH3: Paradise something… wrote it down on the form.

Customs Officer: What does it say?

MH3: Oh, Paradise Point, I screwed it up when I wrote it down.

Customs Officer: Why did you write Pacific Place?

MH3: Wrong trip.

Customs Officer: What do you do for a living?

MH3: Sports Marketing.

Customs Officer: Enjoy your trip.

After all that it turns out the ticket I showed him wasn't even for me and when I got to the gate they had to reprocess my tickets and my luggage. How is that possible that the US Customs guy let me through with the wrong ticket. I thought security was supposed to be air tight now?! Yikes.

But at least he knows where the Chargers are playing on Sunday night.

Game On!

Our 2008 Canadian Sponsorship Forum is heading in a new direction and not just because we are going east!

This will be the first time the Forum is affiliated with an international event making a Canadian stop. In Fact the IIHF World Championship of Hockey has NEVER been to Canada despite the fact the Federation will be celebrating their 100th anniversary next year!

I was meeting with Hockey Canada yesterday in Calgary and just hearing about all the activities and special events has me tingling with excitement. Hotel rooms are nearly all sold out in Halifax and the room requirements for Quebec City have already been exceeded. Huge quantities of crazy Latvian and excitable Finnish hockey fans have booked tours en masse. I am not talking hundreds here, I am talking thousands. Everybody in hockey will be there. NHL General Manage, junior hockey executives, broadcasters, all the major sponsors.

Hockey Canada is also pulling together some exciting ancillary events involving youth and old-timers from around the world. But I will wait until they make the official announcements to tell you more.

This event will truly be unique on Canadian soil and an exciting precursor to the on-ice action we can expect in 2010!

A Nerve is Touched

I attended an industry event yesterday and overheard a rather disturbing comment.

One of the attendees, who will go namless except for the fact they were a client side presenter, was expressing to a colleague how unsophisticated the Canadian sponsorship industry is versus other markets.

Frankly I take serious offence to this comment.

The work this client does is intersting but hardly groundbreaking. They crowed about a deal they had done where they reduced the rights fee with a property by promising a media buy. Pardon the pun...but STOP THE PRESSES! What a revolutionary approach!

Now this client has a point that most proposals that come to them provide very little differentiation in their value proposition. Their argument was that many of these proposals offer logo placment and little else. However the client is wrong to assume the strategic approach is to negotiate down the rights fee because of leveraging dollars.

The rights fee should be based on the value of affiliation and nothing more or less. What is it worth to the sponsor to share in the equity of the property?

Secondly this client felt they were doing breakthrough work because their advertising was focused and a lot of properties couldn't offer that. What a shock. Properties don't have consumer marketing professionals and agencies with unbelievable talent. Well some do, but not all.

But that doesn't mean these properties are unsophisticated. Each and every one has its own niche and area of expertise.

Finally I wasn't sure if this clients comments were really about bashing other sponsor clients.

If that's the case then wow. This sponsor has one major property and in comparison to the dozens of other biggies out there they are a minor league player. Take a look at any of the banks, telcos, or car companies in this country and you'll see some magnificenlty leveraged portfolios.

Sorry bud, but Canadian marketers do a pretty good job of this sponsorship thing.

Since this was supposed to be the anti-bashing blog and I just bashed this sponsor perhaps I am just a hypocrite.

Here's the line ...

Okay I am from Orillia, but I didn’t get to Casino Rama along with the 5,000 gambling pugilist lovers to watch Steve Molitor retain his IBF super bantamweight belt last week.

But I thought about going only to see the oddest situation in sponsorship. Molitor's opponent, from Bangkok has adopted the name of his sponsor and now goes by Fashun 3K Battery.

I have officially decided that’s going too far!

Higher, Faster, Stronger

It has been widely reported how VANOC has exceeded their sponsorship targets for 2007 and are steamrolling toward their overall 2010 goal…presently reaching 88% of target. That’s great news for the organizing committee and quite frankly for Canada’s place on the world stage.

But what impact does it have on you on a daily basis? Well if you make your living in any sector of sponsorship marketing I think it has a significant impact. My take on the upcoming Games is that it has been very profitable for all of us. There seems to be a surge in sponsorship spending (as confirmed by the Institute for Sport Marketing’s landscape survey), and there certainly seems to be a heightened corporate awareness around the power of sponsorship.

Clearly, for any competitor in a category with a games sponsor, there is going to be a strong desire to ensure you don’t get rendered irrelevant during the next three years. That means you have to fight back and launch your own sponsorship relationships and event properties.

If you’re a property it’s probably convenient to blame any sluggishness in sales on VANOC. That’s weak if you are. The types of dollars and levels of investment VANOC is seeking are way beyond what most Canadian properties would ever attract.

Skip the excuses and take advantage of one of the most amazing times in Canadian sponsorship history!

If you can't beat 'em ...

I am not sure if 40,000 fans showed up at the Rogers Centre yesterday because of the fact it was a battle for first in the east, to pay tribute to the greatest Argos ever, or to show their support for the CFL.

With all this talk of the Buffalo Bills coming north for more than just exhibition games and the implications for the Argos , I am sure everybody involved with the league was ecstatic with the turnout.

But one game isn’t going to save the league if the NFL decides to come. While this year’s Grey Cup is a big test for the league, the real question is whether or not it will translate into success in the boardrooms of Toronto.

Over the past several years I think the league has done an amazing job of rebranding itself, building institutions like Friday Night Football, stabilizing its teams and improving its on-field product. The events have come a long way. If I compare the 2005 Grey Cup in Vancouver to the 1999 game in the same city it was night and day. Former CFL marketing execs like Brent Scrimshaw and past commissioner Tom Wright deserve a lot of credit for the turnaround (and don’t always receive their due).

But the league is still not in a position to do battle with the best-run sports enterprise in North America. The NFL is on par with F1, FIFA, and maybe even the Olympics for its commercial clout. Its TV contracts, merchandising, and league-wide solidarity make it unstoppable. It harnesses nearly three-dozen extremely rich owners with powerful egos and has them towing the line in a unique fashion. When the search for a new commissioner was being held, the job was deemed as second most important in the United Sates to that of President. (And not “President” as defined by the current office holder!)

Let me throw one stat at you. In 1997 when we did the marketing for the last NFL American Bowl in Canada, that game generated over one million dollars in a single day sponsorship. I wonder how many CFL clubs reach that for an entire season?

There isn’t a plan in the world that will allow the Argos to do battle with the NFL. So perhaps the CFL should try this on for size. Stop being the Canadian Football League and become the Canadian Football Company. Own football! From peewee to CIS to pro. Manage and market every aspect of it. Build the game from the ground up. Create a portfolio of product offerings for participants, fans, media, sponsors, licensees, TV networks, etc.. Included in the company would be the crown jewel, the Toronto NFL franchise. Maybe some day our other elite cities (Montreal and Vancouver) will have their own NFL franchises. But regardless of where they are in Canada, they need to be owned and run by the CFC.

Candidly, this isn’t that original of an idea…it’s the MLSE of football!

I sit back in admiration and watch MLSE operate buildings, teams, media outlets, and events across multiple sports and realize they have it figured out. Their core competency is to deliver the entertainment consumers want based on their passions and interest and monetizing the crap out of it. That focus on marketplace results, coupled with what I have to believe are tremendous efficiencies of unduplicated resources results in a 22% EBIT so I read. Wow!

The CFL should readily borrow ideas form anybody who can make twenty-two points in sports. Which by the way seems to be more than the Argos can score these days.

It's Time for Action!

A week ago a Canadian institution returned. Amid a growing obesity crisis in this country, ParticipACTION returned to life.

In the world of full disclosure they are a client. But along the lines of verifying truths and dispelling myths here are a few other things you should know:

1. ParticipACTION is not a government institution. Yes it receives fantastic government support but its a not for profit with a private sector board of experts!

2. ParticipACTION are not the people behind the Canada Fitness Awards so you can put away your silver badges and your great story about gripping the hanging bar for five minutes.

3. Hal & Joanne have not been attending any of the meetings I've been in.

More importanly you need to know that our children have a shorter life expectancy than we do, due to lack of physical activity. That for me is a crisis.

As it is for ParticipACTION CEO Kelly Murmurets.

A great many talented individuals are tackling this crisis and shamelessly I will let you know that corporate Canada can help.

Just give Kelly a call or an email.

Win, Place or Show

Interesting article today in the Wall Street Journal about Bank of America’s choice to go with low profile athletes in their 2008 Beijing Olympics advertising campaign.

In the wake of Michael Vick, Marion Jones, even Michelle Wie… marketers are starting to realize that for all the hype the big-name athletes can provide, there is a huge downside with them.

In Canada, while we haven’t seen the same sort of blowups recently… our Canadian Olympic history will always be a shadow over what can happen when a big star thinks they are bigger than the system.

Do I think the Bank of America approach can work for a Canadian company? To me it depends. If the athlete has a story that will resonate with consumers and can be told in real-time fashion then I would say yes. I don’t think the athlete has to breakthrough as a medalist or set records. But they have to achieve beyond expectation.

More importantly, given the ban on utilizing current athletes in ads during the games the sponsor needs to have worked to death the media outlets to ensure their pony gets more than his/her fair share of exposure.

Betting on an unknown horse has less risk but unknown reward.

Special Teams

In case I haven’t bored you in person at one of my conference presentations abut my football team… I will abuse your readership right now and let you in on the story.

Okay, for background sake I have coached high school football in Toronto since 1995 when I started at Emery Collegiate before moving over to Lawrence Park CI in 1998. We’ve had some success…most notably a Tier II City Championship in 2005 along with some tough years... 18-19 players. No wins. Administrators trying to shut us down. Things like that.

This year we are 2-2 but probably have more talent than any team I have ever coached. On our 29-man roster we have at least six players with superstar qualities. Our challenge so far has been twofold. We’re small on the line and we haven’t fielded a healthy team all season. Our two starting running backs will probably miss at least 75% of our games this October. Hopefully we’ll be ready for the playoffs.

So what’s the point of today’s story? It’s funny, but when I was asked the other day about how the season was going my answers focused on what a nice group of players these guys are. They are dedicated, come to practice, respond to coaching…

Yep its nice to win and I hate losing, but it’s even nicer to win with some kids you enjoy helping.

Attract More With Honey

Just flying back from Halifax where over the weekend I attended the Petro-Canada Sport Leadership Conference put on by the Coaching Association of Canada. This was a little different crowd for me as the majority of the 550 delegates were in sport development, coaching, managing, etc. and not sponsorship or marketing.

The conference boasts an incredible collection of the top sports people from across Canada, but what struck me most is that sport is stuck in a bit of a time warp. I used to attend such events 10-15 years ago when I was heavily involved in university sport. The common grumblings about lack of support and sponsorship were no different today than they were then.

Which is sad because underneath that grumbling there are some incredible developments happening, where sport leaders are generating economic support for their initiatives. I heard many stories of people working away at programs with sponsors, governments, foundations, and individual benefactors to help them build their kayaking courses, soccer facilities, and mentorship programs.

I gave a little presentation about sponsorship and discussed the desire for companies to tell “Stories.” Well these Sport Leadership delegates have some incredible stories. Stories that represent amazing opportunities for marketers to utilize when engaging consumers.

However the script of many of these stories was muffled by the soundtrack of moaning…over lack of support.

Sport would do itself a favour to moan less and brag more. Skip the complaining about funding and start driving home the opportunities. Look beyond corporate handouts and turn your dream into a BUSINESS that funds itself.

This weekend has me personally charged to try to find a way to help Canada’s sport leaders get on the path to success. Self-serving given the business I am in? Sure is. Because I love what I do. And I love sport. I love athletes. I love the sports culture.

Focus

What makes a great speaker?

I was thinking about this over the weekend as I was responding to a few emails inquiring about presenting at the Canadian Sponsorship Forum 2008.

Sometimes I think we over-value the charismatic chatty person who we all believe would be a great speaker. Simultaneously we undervalue the solid, organized, and dedicated individual who knows their program, their event, and their activity like a second skin.

The first and foremost consideration for what makes a great speaker is what makes a great story. No matter how charismatic or persuasive an individual may be, a weak story will always prove fatal for a presenter. However a strong story can enable anybody, even the person who believes they are shy and dry, to become a powerful presenter.

A great story in my mind is something that educates the audience and provides learning, perspective, and key lessons. Great stories can emerge from anywhere in the industry. Whether it be a big city event in Vancouver or a local event in Timmins. Whether it be a blue chip corporate sponsor from Calgary or a regional supporter from Mount Pearl. The key isn’t the size or scale or scope, it is the differentiators of the story that provides its uniqueness.

That brings me to my second attribute of a great speaker. Focus. Too many speakers attempt to cover every issue, every trend, and every facet of the industry in general. However that provides little to no value for the audience, because typically at most industry conferences you are not dealing with rookies but rather seasoned industry professionals. The amount of the time and money most attendees contribute to being a conference delegate should make it apparent these are not industry neophytes.

Lack of focus also causes significant angst among your audience who came specifically to hear the speaker deal with a certain topic as described in the conference agenda. Spending ten minutes in a crowded breakout room praying for the speaker to get “on topic” is not exactly helping the audience enjoy your spiel. Nor as the speaker, is providing your personal rant on all things good or evil in the industry, the best approach to establishing speaker credibility. Many conferences have dozens of speakers. Each of them reciting the 101 of their industry doesn’t do anybody any good.

The third aspect of being a great speaker is preparation. Canvas your prospective audience ahead of time and understand what they wish to examine. Even if it’s an opening question to ensure you cover topics of interest, you can engender yourself with your new fans right at the beginning of the session. Between your own ideas and those of the audience, you then need to contribute through research on your topic. Don’t just apply your own learning to the topic but spend time understanding other thinkers and determine where your POV fits positionally. This is not to suggest this is to be done in an adversarial manner, but rather an intellectual one.

The final component of preparation is rehearsal. I can tell immediately what presenters have rehearsed and those who haven’t. Recently I saw a senior marketing executive bumble his way through a critical keynote, despite the fact he had Teleprompters. It was embarrassing. I firmly believe anybody; absolutely anybody can do a decent job with a presentation if they rehearse enough times. Use your mirror; use your commute, your cubicle, your office, your shower, your dog, your boss, or your sister. Pick the place. Pick the sample audience. Pick the feedback mechanism. Videotape yourself with a tripod! Wow that will teach you a few things about your presentation style!

So if you know anybody out there with a story who will exhibit Focus and Preparation…send him or her my way. I would like to invite them to Halifax for next May!

By Popular Demand

Here is a clip of the most talked about moment from Day 3 of the Canadian Sponsorship Forum and a taste of the fully integrated experience that our delegates get.

Thanks to Jenny Miller of the Steve Nash Foundation for her heroics, It's good to know that if something really had gone wrong, Jenny, who is also an Emergency Medical Technician would be there.

And thanks to Kevin Rushton of Kevin Rushton Stunts for putting his body on the line to bring us a touch of Hollywood during the Film Festival. Kevin can be seen in Clive Owen's new action flick, Shoot 'Em Up and George Romero's latest zombie romp, Diary of the Dead and watch for him in the upcoming Incredible Hulk movie starring Edward Norton and Liv Tyler.

Logo Soup

I read with interest recently that new commissioner of the CFL plans to reduce the sideline clutter created by the gazillion on-field ads . Link.

I love it!

This has long been one of my biggest beefs of this industry. Endless logos on rink boards and tennis courts and football fields. I don’t know why it works for me on racecars… but maybe that’s because I don’t consider driving a sport (ouch!)

Racecars should take the Calgary Stampede Chuckwagon model. One tarp…one sponsor. One car…one sponsor.

Do we really think that static boards on hockey rinks or fields equals sponsorship? No. It’s advertising. I know it’s a part of the sponsorship mix, but honestly is the most creative thing we can do in this business is great creative for a field ad?

I think the NFL is the business model of all business models. Turn the game on right now! Name the two advertisers at the 35-yard line? Name them! Okay there aren’t any. Yet the NFL has a ton of sponsorship, licensing, and TV revenue. Why? The product is great.

The CFL product is also great. In fact, one could argue it’s never been greater. Even though the teams in the west are far superior talent wise to those in the quasi-east (any conference with Winnipeg in it can’t be called East). But the franchises in the East are very well run businesses. In fact, I am not sure from a business standpoint if any CFL franchise isn’t a B+ or better.

Now is the time to take the next step. To drive even more value into the league sponsorships and get rid of just doing field boards. Now is the time to extend the CFL brand into the workplace, schools, bars, minor football leagues, etc. Because it’s that powerful!

Hey, I have friends who sell for the CFL and they are about as dedicated and talented a group as you will ever see. Their passion and commitment to their craft is unbelievable.

In a million years would I tell them how to do their jobs? No way. But as a football fan and a sponsorship marketer, I want to encourage them to take the next step. Because they have the opportunity to. Right now!

View Mark Harrison's profile on Linkedin.

Exhale

Not sure why I am not in bed after three jam packed days and nights that represented our Forum, but maybe it’s withdrawal and I am waiting for somebody to suggest we go to a hip party or that it’s time for another great speaker!

The feedback we received from our delegates and speakers was so overwhelming I can tell you I feel great and maybe the extra energy and enthusiasm is keeping me awake.

The one thing about this year’s Forum that jazzed me was the enthusiasm of our delegates.

I am not just talking about those of you who were fooled by our “electrician” / stunt man when he crashed into a folding table on Saturday.

Nor am I singling out the Forum sponsor who was seen cajoling her colleagues to stay out a bit longer, at 3:36 in the morning.

I won’t even mention the real life social networking that occurred as packs of individuals whether they were from the same province or industry or sector formed easily and were not broken throughout the weekend.

When delegates who were going to skip Saturday decided to show up because they didn’t want to miss one drop of content I knew the DNA of this year’s delegates was all sponsorship all the time!

The defining moment was certainly achieved when the room was filled with the sounds of bagpipes and heads adorning sou’westers for the announcement of next year’s event!

So thanks to all of you who attended. We can’t wait to host you at Canadian Sponsorship Forum 2008 in Halifax, in conjunction with the IIHF World Hockey Championships!

Beyond the Norm

My EA looked like a university librarian yesterday when she stumbled into my office with two huge bound tomes that resembled those god-awful journals we used to have for university back in the day. (I never use that expression and now I know why. “Back in the day.” What am I…85?)

I was about to give her the “don’t leave those with me” look when I read the three simple lines on the cover:

SPONSORSHIP EVALUATION
NORMAN O’REILLY
2007

Cool! Norm has sent me a copy of his thesis. Okay so I am really excited about reading 381 pages of stats, charts and pie graphs? Actually I am. For two reasons:

First, there is a ton of great learning and insights in here. But more importantly this masterpiece is a symbol of a remarkable man and somebody you have to meet. He of course is the aforementioned author, Norm O’Reilly.

I met Norm when he was with Sport Canada years ago and I heckled him at a conference. He made a claim during his speech that Canadian companies did not support sport in the same manner that Australian companies do. My question (or challenge) was simple. Prove it mister! That callout led to Norm chasing me down before I could escape, applying a chokehold on me, finally letting go and then introducing himself. A great friendship was born and now I am one of the lucky ones to count Norm as a personal and professional buddy.

So why am I telling you all this? First off I want to publicly congratulate Norm on completing his thesis. It is amazing! I had a chance to be an interview subject and help him find some properties for his work. In the end, he met his thesis subject (corporate) at our first Sponsorship Forum in Vancouver so I feel I played some hand in that. Subconsciously as it may be!

More importantly I want you to meet Norm.

Father. Triathlete (said he once beat Simon Whitfield). Marketer. Director of the Sport Admin program at Laurentian. Mentor. Head of the Institute for Sports Marketing. Author…working on a cool new book with Benoit Seguin about sports marketing. Researcher. Workaholic. Small town boy. World traveler.

I went to Norm’s wedding and almost got punched out over a screw top bottle of wine. I teach with Norm in Sudbury and almost froze walking back to my hotel (prison). I work with Norm and never feel like I get my share done on time. I read Norm’s work and I realize how little I know about sponsorship marketing.

Meet Norm at this year’s Forum and you’ll feel the same.

On-Site Registration

Just a note, we have had several inquiries into on-site registration. I am happy to tell you that we will be able to process your walk up registration at the information desk starting Wednesday night. We will honour your registration and bill you at a later date, so do not worry about payment methods this week.

Please see the agenda for the registration table hours of operation.

We've all seen the media's perspective on the Festival and Hollywood's perspective on the Festival and even Corporate Canada's persective on the Festival. One of the most fascinating angles however remains the public's perspective. The public engagement with TIFF is one of the biggest points of difference with other Film Festivals.

Flickr is a website that allows users to post and share photographs with each other. Click here to see the Festival from the eyes of the consumer over the years.

View Mark Harrison's profile on Linkedin.

And so it begins...

Made it to my first movie last night and saw Rendition. Wow. Director Gavin Hood has made a great movie! You have to see it. Very timely. Very scary

But for me, a great movie at a TIFF event is icing on the cake. I am the event junkie who always gets psyched when masses of people wait forever to scream and photograph their favourite star. I like walking around the venues and examining all of the sponsor activations. For me, the buzz of the event will never leave me. Even when it’s not my event I just love watching people get together en masse for something they love.

Maybe for me, TIFF brings a shot of glamour to our city that I often feel is missing. That may be a slanted viewpoint, but the searchlights and red carpet are what Toronto deserves.

At the same time I love living in our city. Imagine at any other Festival being able to park in the first level of an underground and take one escalator to the theatre doors for EIGHT BUCKS like you can at Roy Thomson Hall! Ha!

I have to point something else out that caught my eye and that of my movie companion. Bell has done an absolutely hilarious ad they are running at Festival screenings, about a mysterious scriptwriter pitching Robert Lantos. It’s a great ad and I won’t ruin it for you. (Can you believe it? I will tell you the end of the movie if you want…email me… but I won’t tell you the end of an ad.) What was interesting is two advertisements later another brand (and I don’t want to insult them so you can go investigate for yourself) ran a very similar ad… same premise (wow you mean two different ad agencies had the same idea? What a shock!) and same approach. Unfortunately the second ad wasn’t very well written, was very poorly shot and most unfortunately was immediately being compared against the Bell ad, so it could not have been in a worse position. Kinda scary when two sponsors create the same plot line for their leveraging ads.

One pre-movie ad I have always loved is the sponsor recognition of the TIFF Volunteers! Well-done TIFF! Well-done NBC Universal! Well-done volunteers. I have to say the TIFF volunteers always seem to me to be the happiest and most helpful volunteers that I run into in the event world.

Enjoy the Festival!

Dealers' Incentives

Just heading home from a meeting at one of our featured speakers houses and I have to comment on the work people are putting forth to make this a great conference.

The aforementioned speaker is moderating a panel and his commitment is extraordinary. Today he has had meetings and emails and calls with each of his panelists. Tomorrow he's sitting down with two colleagues for an hour to get their Top 5 questions concerning his topic. Tonight he spent ninety minutes with me reviewing the story behind his panel.

What excites me about this effort is how it reflects so well on the nature of the Forum. This is not so much a conference but an opportunity for sponsorship marketers to get together and dialogue about the industry. To make lifelong and career-long connections that will help you make more money for your organization. It's not about the deals as it's about the dealers.

So clear your plate for three days and get ready to dive into an agenda chock full of information, education and conversation!

How Can You Miss This?

Okay, excuse me but I have to toot the horn of my team a bit here because they have put together an absolutely incredible conference for those of you attending this year’s Canadian Sponsorship Forum .

First off, the mere fact that we are partnered with the Toronto International Film Festival should give you some idea of how high profile the event will be!

Where to begin? I am actually going to start with our delegates. Over 200 Sponsorship Marketers from across Canada and almost every province and territory will be descending on Toronto for the Forum. It will be one of the best networking events for sponsorship marketers ever to be held. Want to meet somebody from a bank? They will be here. From a charity? We have a ton of those. From pro sports? Pick hockey, golf, football or basketball. Got ‘em. Got ‘em. Got ‘em. Got ‘em

Getting to know people will never be easier than at the incredible events we have cooked up. Every day we have a blockbuster-networking opportunity!

Thursday is a delegates-only reception at the ET! Canada Festival Lounge at Casa Loma. Friday morning we have a private breakfast reception at the Elgin Theatre. Friday evening we have an exclusive screening of Michael Clayton starring George Clooney, with a beer and popcorn reception prior. Then Saturday all three-day delegates will be attending the closing night TIFF gala presentation of Emotional Arithmetic and the after party at Harbourfront Centre.

Beyond the networking and the parties, our content lineup is truly unbelievable. You will be hearing from Royal Bank, HSBC Festival of Light, Starbucks, VISA, Desperado, United Way, and CanWest Global to name a few. Headliners will include Noah Cowan from TIFF talking about programming the Festival and Tom Laurie from General Motors talking Olympic Strategy.

From futbol to films this forum will have it all covered. Our feature panel of Dave Hopkinson from MLSE, along with Paul Beirne of the Toronto FC and Preben Ganzhorn of Carlsberg Canada will show you how a smaller player in a big category can create incredible business results! Not to mention three dynamic and results-focused sponsorship tutorials from TrojanOne and the eagerly anticipated Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Survey results produced by the Institute for Sport Marketing.

Yes, I apologize for the bravado… but I am not sure if you’re in this business in Canada you would want to miss this extraordinary opportunity. If you want to attend the Forum but haven’t registered yet, I will personally take your information! Email me at mark.harrison@trojanone.com.

Be Counted

As this year's Canadian Sponsorship Forum draws closer I want to draw your attention to some very important work being conducted by the Insitute for Sport Marketing (ISM).

Headed up by Dr. Norm O'Reilly, the only Canadian I know of with a PhD in Sponsorship Evaluation, ISM is a unique national collective of academics and professionals to fund research in sports marketing. Originally founded by legendary academic Dr. Robert Wanzel, ISM has produced over eighty case studies on Canadian sponsorships.

This past winter, through discussions with several parties it was determined that there is a tremendous need for accurate information regarding the size of the Canadian sponsorship landscape. How much money is spent on arts vs sports vs cause vs entertainment. What is spent on activation? What is generated by different properties.

Norm's team has had tremendous early success in getting survey participants from the property, sponsor, and agency perspectives. The survey will continue to be live until September 8th and can be accessed at www.sponsorshiplandscape.ca.

Take the time to participate and also to tell your colleagues about it. The participants will receive a summary of the results for their own usage. Fully registered delegates of the Canadian Sponsorship Forum will hear Dr. O'Reilly and Dr. Benoit Seguin present the findings at the Forum and then receive a complete analytical report in November.

This survey will become an annual initiative, with far reaching benefits for all of us in the industry.

Beyond the Green

I have to admit up front that Nike is a client, so when I read recently that the German soccer federation had declined their sponsorship bid in favour of the incumbent bid worth half the price I was intrigued.

Was this decision a definitive act of loyalty by the federation in support of a sponsor who had been with them forever? Could this be a sign that money isn’t everything in the world of sponsorship, was there a romantic message here for all of us in the industry?

Perhaps. Perhaps the deep seeded roots of being a long-time supporter were stronger than the green of new cash. Perhaps the personal and professional relationships built over time were stronger than a few more dollars. Although in this case it was more than a few! The incumbent’s bid worked out to an average of $30 million (US) versus the $80 million of the challenger! Who knows, perhaps perceived product superiority and/or service levels and/or technical support from the incumbent won out. All of which are important considerations in any sponsorship that involves product, equipment or other technical infrastructure.

On the other hand perhaps Nike had little interest in acquiring the rights to the federation. Perhaps it was a bold offensive message to go into the heart of the Bundesliga and let the home company know that even their own turf isn’t safe. Perhaps it was the classical tactic of ratcheting up the expense, and in this case the performance pressure, on a rival with a property you know they cannot stomach losing.

I have been a part of many major sponsorship decisions that were made not just based on the numbers. Often the decision between competing sponsors comes down to who is going to utilize the property best. This is a tricky consideration, as some sponsors don’t necessarily back up their talk of activation with proof points or a history of delivering. However there are a great many who do. Further, many sponsors can bring more than just money to the table. Volunteers, fundraising, access to the sponsors distribution networks and promotional vehicles are all powerful factors that need to be assessed.

Make new friends but keep the old; one is silver the other gold. I didn’t write that. But it appears to be a maxim followed by at least one giant sponsorship property.

Tough Questions

Yesterday I participated in a study by a Canadian property looking to improve their sponsorship offering.

It held a certain amount of interest to me as we often do the same sort of exercise. More importantly, I like to talk about this topic anytime.

The young consultant for this project did a great job. It was clear this was an interesting and important assignment for him, and a few of his questions I thought would make great fodder for a broader discussion.

Some of the best include:
1. Why do I think there is a perception among marketers that sponsorship provides more value today than in the past? My answer to that is, "The key word there is perception. Sponsorship has always provided great value."

2. What do I think is the most important asset a property can offer a sponsor? Hosting? Tickets? Signage? Media? Exhibiting? For me, "The only answer is the opportunity for a sponsor to be recognized for delivering something to the audience (live, web, PR, WOM) that would NOT have been possible without the sponsor's participation."

3. What characteristics do the BEST IN CLASS properties share in delivering sponsorship? To that I say, "1. Their property is part of the cultural fabric of the community. Think Stampede, Grey Cup, Canada Day in Ottawa. 2. The organization is fully behind sponsorship, and understands the financial, promotional, and psychological value of affiliation with blue chip companies. It’s vital the operations, programming, marketing and personnel departments care about sponsors. 3. The engagement of a sufficient number of dedicated and professional sponsorship marketers. This may seem like a no-brainer, but many, many properties are under-resourced in terms quantity and quality of talent.

4. What do I think properties do wrong in selling that prevent them from landing major sponsors? I responded, "First is they have account people who don't know how to listen. They spend so much time selling their wares, they don't listen to a sponsors’ marketing needs. Second, they do a poor job of proving the value of their property. Especially in comparison to the many other opportunities their prospects are considering. Don't just tell a prospect you have high net worth attendees, prove you have more of them or better access to them or they are more engaged with you than the event down the street. Without being negative of course. "

The one question he didn't ask was for me to "define sponsorship". When prompted, the interviewer wanted sponsorship to be any arrangement involving selling signage/tickets/display to a client.

This I categorically disagree with. That's not sponsorship. That's advertising. No different than buying a billboard.

But aside from that I applaud this property's efforts to improve their sponsorship marketing proficiency!

The same, yet different

I am more than a bit stumped as to what to write today. No that’s not a clever pun for the fact that I drove past a couple of small town county fairs in upstate New York this past weekend. All of which featured the nearly Olympian sport of a tractor pull.

Maybe it was because I was off at a family event celebrating the life of my wife’s Great Aunt who passed in January, just a few months shy of her 100th birthday. Wow, to think of living to one hundred! This woman lived ten lives on her way to ninety-nine, including saving the lives of two of the weekend’s attendees who she helped smuggle out of Germany in 1939. Those three and four year old boys grew into men who saved and changed lives through their professional careers as a doctor and therapist.

Maybe it was because I was deep in the heart of America yet so close to the Canadian border. In a time when many Canadians support our troops oversees but aren’t clear why they are there, our southerly neighbours fly their flags and dress their cars with alarming solidarity. At the B&B we stayed at, the co-owner was a pilot. On Sunday two friends dropped in (literally from their planes) to talk about a young relative just back from fighting the Taliban. This fella was wounded and chased for five days in Afghanistan before being saved by Navy SEALS. The drama of the story exceeds even my imagination.

Maybe it was because when I look at Hurricanes in the Caribbean and earthquakes in South America do I realize even more how lucky I am to live in a country where there will never be a Holocaust, there is not an Iraqi war, less threat of terrorism, and a generally stable weather system.

People often ask me why I don’t take our business south of the border. Frankly that does not define success for me. I have had American clients and am happy to have more. But success for me is making a contribution to Canadian society and to Canadian business. I feel very fortunate to be in a position to do so.

Storytime

I have always been puzzled about the practice of paying sponsorship commissions.

Now I understand it’s common practice in real estate and in media and in many other forms of transactional sales. But I don’t view sponsorship as a four-bedroom semi or a weekly ROP insert and neither should you.

I have always viewed sponsorship as a “story teller” and that seems like an odd thing to slice up into a commission. What I mean by storyteller is sponsorship for me is an opportunity for the sponsor to borrow some equity from the property or sponsee. The primary purpose for this borrowed equity is to tell a story. For example, an affiliation with a community festival for a local car dealer could be about the service the dealer provides, which is a boring story. Or it could be about positioning the dealerships owner as a fine citizen in the community. A guy you can trust. Which is a more engaging story.

However if the sole reason to be at the local festival is to gather names to blast consumers with an email, then you’re not really interested in sponsorship. You’re interested in a transaction, the acquisition of names. That sort of business exchange makes sense to apply to a commission. The more names, the higher the price, the more commission. But that’s not sponsorship.

Bringing it back to my commission issue will allow us to debate the absurdity of commission sponsorship sales. Properties contact agencies every week and say I have the greatest thing in the world to sell, it’s so easy and you’re going to get so rich and your going to do it on COMMISSION. No retainer, no base, just commission. I don’t understand why any sales agent or agency would ever accept those terms. I further don’t understand why a property thinks it’s smart business to pay somebody on a success fee basis exclusively to find corporations who want to be able to tell a story.

To go back again, selling sponsorship is not selling a tangible asset. You can’t carry it in your briefcase. You cant time travel me to the event. You can barely demo it but only through another sponsor’s eyes.

However, you can sell sponsorship by describing the possibilities of what stories that property can tell for sponsors. You can talk to sponsors about how they can weave that story into the consumer or business brand messaging. You can talk to sponsors about how they can utilize this story to achieve their business metrics. This is not a transaction. It’s consulting. Consultants get paid for the time and their expertise. So should sponsorship sales people.

Hiring people on a pure commission simply encourages them to find the highest bidder as opposed to finding the best partner who will use your property to help tell their stories thereby helping tell your story and build your brand.

You need people who are paid appropriately to market your property to sponsors, who have the compensation structure that allows them to be consultative to potential sponsors and have the ability to do what's right for all parties.

Further, in the course of a sales effort that required a certain block of time and energy, why should the agency make “double” because the fee doubled.

Unfortunately the commission structure is here to stay. That’s too bad because it’s a bad story.

Countdown to 2010

It’s one year today to the opening of the 2008 Summer Games and while that sounds incredible consider this: In just 2.5 years, the Vancouver Games will be happening! That to me is truly amazing, it felt like yesterday we huddled around our TV’s (well in my office anyway), awaiting the outcome of the bid announcement.

Now my sources tell me Vancouver is on fire.

Sponsors, associations, governments, businesses, everybody is all lined up to get their share of the excitement.

I was reminded of such the other day talking to one of my colleagues from the West. Yet in Toronto and across Canada I feel it’s still strangely quiet. Now my question to you is whether I am alone in that feeling. Is Canada excited about the Games? Or is it just a few in the marketing community? If Canada isn’t excited about the Games (which we should be!), what needs to be done to get the flame roaring from coast to coast?

Let me know your thoughts!

Kicking himself

I hope everyone had a chance to read Mark Harrison's interview in Sport Decision last week. If you missed it you can check it out online by clicking here.

Mark managed to highlight many of the great speakers we have that are coming from Canada's rich sports tapestry. He also showcased the Sponsorship Landscape Study currently being conducted by Professor Norm O'Reilly of Laurentian University's Institute for Sport Marketing, which will make its debut at this year's Canadian Sponsorship Forum. Then he went ahead and forgot to tell everyone where they could go to participate in the study.

So, if you haven't filled out the survey, please visit sponsorshiplandscape.ca to participate. And don't let the pedigree fool you, this study is open to arts, culture, sports, cause properties as well as agencies and of course, corporate Canada.