SASKATCHEWAN CREDIT UNIONS REVISE POLICY AND MEASUREMENT

October 2008 October Congress Dates Set!

CANADIAN CANCER SOCIETY HAS INVENTORY VALUED

Robin Hood Association Looks to Building Naming

Municipal Governments Forging Ahead With Sponsorship Reviews

The time has come for Canadian municipalities to review their own sponsorship opportunities. With tax rates escalating and local businesses and land owners continuing to cry foul, municipalities large and small, are seeking alternate revenue sources.

 

Over three years ago, mandated by City Council, the City of Oshawa developed a professional sponsorship program as an alternate revenue base. From park namings to access, from logo inclusions to intangible opportunities, from key marketing and branding benefits to business opportunities, sponsorship is ripe within municipalities. Oshawa has lead this route and done very well at it.

 

It is encouraging to see other municipalities follow the same route. The City of Edmonton recently engaged Judy Haber and her company Performance Sponsorship Group, to undertake the audit and valuation of a single property for sponsorship opportunities. The City of Calgary is on its second rounds of RFPs to find the right organizations to assist them in their sponsorship audit and sales. And even as this newsletter goes to publication, the City of Winnipeg is entertaining submissions for assistance.

 

Sponsorship is big business. Municipalities have the inventory of benefits and assets at their fingertips. Most though are not in the "sponsorship business" nor do they have the capacity to deliver such extensive and thorough audits, valuations, package development and in some cases sales. The Partnership Group is one of Canada's leading suppliers of such services and a provider of such services to projects in the City of Leduc, the 2005 Canada Summer Games in the City of Regina, Calgary Tourism and others, is excited about the growth of sponsorship to those municipalities who have begun to see the revenue growth opportunities.

GRANT MACEWAN COLLEGE HIRES SPONSORSHIP MANAGER

Red Cross Western Zone Seeks Sponsorship Coordinator

 

As reported in the last edition of The Sponsorship Update, the Canadian Red Cross - Western Zone along with the Alberta Division has partnered with the Partnership Group to build inventory, deliver valuation and package development for these two properties.

  

In addition, the Canadian Red Cross Southern Alberta Region is seeking to fill a new position entitled Sponsorship and Corporate Relations Coordinator. This role is specifically associated to Red Cross Southern Alberta Region's new sponsorship program. Deadline date: March 3, 2008.

 

For more information on this position please either contact Ami at Ami.Chokshi@redcross.ca, or visit the web site by clicking on the emblem above.

CITY OF LEDUC READY TO BUILD

 The City of Leduc is bursting at the seams. On the heels of a very successful hosting of the 2008 Alberta Winter Games earlier this month, Leduc is ready to grow their landmark recreational facility, The Black and Gold Centre.

 

Through both a philanthropic capital campaign (assisted by Ross W. Marsh & Associates) and an ongoing sponsorship revenue based program, the City of Leduc is ready to "do business." The Partnership Group was engaged to work with the City to prepare a comprehensive list of assets associated with the existing property and future development including field houses, additional ice rinks and more. In addition to the inventory of assets development the Partnership Group has developed real market marketing values for each benefit and prepared proposal templates for sponsor customization on everything from overall naming rights to single area naming rights and other levels of sponsorship. The sales and fulfillment of the sponsorship program will be headed up by Roger Smolnicky should include his title here.

 

For more information on this exciting sponsorship opportunity be sure to visit the City of Leduc website by clicking on the logo above or contact Roger at RSmolnicky@leduc.ca, the Project Construction Manager.

MS Society of Canada - Calgary Chapter To Hold First Sponsor Summit

Congratulations to the MS Society of Canada - Calgary Chapter and their undertaking of a "first ever" sponsor summit.

INDUSTRY NOTES AND UPDATES

• The "underdog" sponsorship by small "Steelback Breweries" of the Toronto Grand Prix has gone flat. As reported in MARKETING, this sponsorship acquisiton takeover from Molson's was too much for the small brewery. The brewery is now under court protection with a mounting debt of over $120 million.

• The Nationwide Tour has announced that the Wayne Gretzky Foundation will host a new tournament in Canada beginning in 2008. The Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic will be held June 23 to 29 at Georgian Bay Golf Club and the Raven Golf Club at Lora Bay, located on the shores of expansive Georgian Bay, 150 km northwest of Toronto. This will be the first foray back to the Great White North for the Nationwide Tour since the 2005 Alberta Classic, a three-year event that was won once, appropriately, by Canadian David Hearn. "I have always had tremendous respect for the Nationwide Tour and the platform it provides for aspiring golfers," explains Gretzky. "I am thrilled to host an event that will recognize the hard work and dedication these players put in week after week on Tour." Ford of Canada, a long-time supporter of the Wayne Gretzky Foundation, has signed a three-year agreement to be the title sponsor of the event through 2010. Samsung Electronics Canada, also a long-time supporter of the Wayne Gretzky Foundation, will be the presenting sponsor. "Ford of Canada has a long-standing commitment to hockey. Through our relationship with Wayne Gretzky, we are proud to support his foundation to help bring Canada's sport to kids who may not otherwise get the chance to play," says David Greenberg, Vice President, General Marketing, Ford of Canada.

• Alpine Canada has renewed  its sponsorship with Bombarier through 2011 to ensure its association through the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. The renewal includes the title Bombardier Lake Louise Winterstart World Cup.

• Alpine Canada also signs Finning Canada as the official heavy equipment official sponsor and supplier for a term of three years and $600,000 in cash and value in kind.

• Alpine Canada has also signed a three year deal with ATCO for exclusive supplier of modular structures, Panasonic is the exclusive sponsor in the consumer electronics category and General Motors has confirmed their $1 million per year committment as a Platinum Partner of Alpine Canada.

• While we are on the Alpine Canada track, they also announced late last quarter a four year partnership worth $4 million with President's Choice. President's Choice will become the Official Wholesome Foods Partner and title of the Canadian Championships for K2.

• TD Canadian Children's Book Week celebrated its 30th Anniversary late last year. TD Canada trust has been involved with this 30 year event since 2000 and enhances their committment to the yout literacy issues in Canada. Each year during this week, TD Canada Trust presents every Canadian Grade One student with a free book.

• Women's Professional Soccer (WPS)announced that two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash and former Yahoo !President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Mallett will become investors and part-owners of the new league. While Nash and Mallett will not operate a team, their investment will fund the ongoing development of WPS, and is specifically earmarked for new media ventures and initiatives. Nash comes from a soccer family. His father, John, played professionally in South Africa, and his sister, Joann, was the captain of the University of Victoria soccer team. His brother, Martin, plays professionally for the USL First Division's Vancouver Whitecaps. Nash, in his own right, was on the Mount Douglas Secondary School soccer team that won the provincial championship, leading him to be named B.C.'s Most Valuable Player. The WPS plans to debut in spring 2009 with teams expected in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New Jersey/New York, St. Louis and Washington. The league is looking to add an eighth team before the launch, with possibilities including the San Francisco Bay area, Cary (N.C.), Philadelphia and Vancouver

• Scotiabank has worked very hard to forge their alliance with hockey in Canada. IN addition to their naming of the Senator's arena as ScotiaBank Place, combined with their committment to a sponsorship with Hockey Night in Canada they have also inked deals with the the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers. And to top it off, they announced late last year of a 5 year deal with both the NHL and the NHLPA.

• More on the ScotiaBank front as it announced a new partnership with hockey champion Cassie Campbell, who becomes the bank's special advisor on hockey-related initiatives. The former captain of the Canadian National Women's Hockey Team will support the bank in finding new ways to involve Canadians in the sport, and will promote the game, leadership, teamwork, motivation and determination in speaking engagements. "Cassie Campbell is a Canadian hockey icon and success story," comments John Doig, Senior Vice-President, Marketing for Scotiabank. "We look forward to working with Cassie as part of our team, bringing together our wide range of hockey partnerships to create new and exciting opportunities to be part of this great game in communities from coast to coast."

• Just last month as reported in SportDecision, Canadian Inter University Sport (CIS)announced a new three-year sponsorship agreement with Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada Inc., set to kick off during the 2008 CIS winter championship season. Mitsubishi becomes a major partner of CIS sports, the presenting sponsor of all CIS championships and, along with Desjardins, a major partner in CIS television programming. The agreement, in excess of one million dollars, ties in to all CIS championships and many other CIS activities and initiatives such as the All-Canadian program and the weekly national rankings (Top Ten Tuesday). "The support of Mitsubishi will help grow the CIS brand and help CIS further pursue its primary objective of enhancing television coverage and webcasting of key events." commented CIS Director of Marketing, Peter Metuzals. In addition, Mitsubishi and CIS will launch the Go Far Award, to be presented at every CIS championship to the athlete that illustrated the most perseverance to succeed and inspired those around him/her to achieve more.

• Eastman Kodak announced that it was ending its 20 year relationship with the Olympics following the 2008 Bejing Games. KODAK though also announed this year that they would still be investing heavily in sponsorship and through IEG announced several key sponsorships designed to drive their digital camera services and products.

• Late last year, Insight Sports Ltd. announced that Capital One Financial Corporation has been awarded title sponsorship of the Grand Slam of Curling series in a multi-year agreement. As the property's title sponsor, the event has been renamed the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling. "This is our first major sporting sponsorship, and it's only fitting that it connects us with one of our nation's most popular and distinctive sports," observes Ian Cunningham, Chief Operating Officer, Capital One Canada. In addition to acquiring the title sponsorship, Capital One's partnership includes the development of the Capital One School of Rock community program. Held in conjunction with each individual Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event, this initiative is an interactive grassroots clinic designed to give local students the opportunity to receive expert tips and advice from Canada's top players.CBC Sports, which signed an eight-year deal in 2006 with the Grand Slam, will broadcast the main tournaments.

• In the February edition of Sport Decision it was announced that the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) announced that Coca-Cola Canadaand RBCwill be the exclusive Presenting Partners of the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay. As the Presenting Partners, the two sponsors will receive exclusive marketing rights and an agreed-upon number of torchbearers. They will also work in collaboration with VANOC on the overall development of the Olympic Torch Relay.

• Sony-Ericsson Mobile Communications has announced tennis player Maria Sharapova will be its global goodwill ambassador for the next four years. This divisional partnership is on top of Sony's $88 million global title sponsorship of the WTA. This Sony sponsorship is reputed to be the largest sponsorship in women's sport and was signed back in 2005!

• Earlier this month the Vancouver Olympics unveiled the Vancouver 2010 Countdown Clock in Ottawa in the presence of politicians, including David Emerson, Minister of International Trade, alongside Olympic and Paralympic athletes. The new clock is an enduring reminder to all who see it that in just two years Canada will welcome the world. The clock features a timepiece provided by Omega, the Official Timekeeper of the 2010 Games and an Olympic Partner since 1932.

• SportDecision ealier this month reported that Hockey Canada and the host organizing committeefor the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship have sold out of the gold, silver and bronze ticket packages for a total of more than 440,000 tickets or 95 per cent of capacity. The host organizing committee also announced a number of ticket availability opportunities and a re-selling program. All 31 games will be played in Ottawa at ScotiaBankPlace, the home of the Ottawa Senators, and the Civic Centre, home of the Ottawa 67's, over a 10-day period from Dec. 26, 2008, to Jan. 5, 2009.

• Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon (a sponsor for the upcoming 2008 Western Sponsorship Congress being held in Calgary in October 2008) has signed a deal with Saskatoon based Western Canadian Breweries as the official beer sponsor of the spoerts and entettainment centre. This move replaces a previous deal with Labatts. The deal is for the next seven seven years and will provide Great Western with a lock on 80% of the beer sales in the venue (Labatt to retain 20%). Great Western Brewery will also retian the rights to the three wholly owned properties/events of the Credit Union Centre that occur off site including the Taste of Saskatchewan Festival.

• In December last year, Skate Canada and BMO Financial Group announced that Saskatoon will host the 2009 BMO Canadian Figure Skating Championships. The city previously held the event in 2003 and 1991. Saskatoon was also the site of the 2001 Skate Canada International ISU Grand Prix. "This is testament to the strong support shown by Saskatoon for figure skating. It will be just over a year to the 2010 Olympics - so expect to see strong competition on the ice and quality performances!" says Tourism Saskatoon President and CEO Todd Brandt. The event will be held January 14 to 18, 2009 at Credit Union Centre.

• As reported in SportDecision, Tennis Canada announced that Miele Ltd. has agreed to a five-year deal to become the Official Team Sponsor of the Canadian Davis Cup and Fed Cup squads, the Official Home Appliance and Gold Sponsor at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, and Official Title Sponsor of a newly created National Tennis League Challenge. Previously, Miele was a silver level corporate partner at Rogers Cup and supported events such as the Ladies Day Reception. With an increased sponsorship package and gold level status, additional activations will be created. "Miele Ltd. has enjoyed its association with Tennis Canada and is proud to raise its level of commitment for the next five years," said Jan Heck, president, Miele Ltd. "Partnerships to create stimulating programs in the arts, cultural communities and sport is an important part of the Miele social pledge." Since 2004, fans have appreciated The Miele Move of the Match at the Rogers Cup in Toronto. Immediately following the first changeover of the centre court match during each session, Tennis Canada randomly selects four fans from the upper stands who are escorted to Miele Premium Platinum Seats.

• The judges for the 2008 Sponsorship Marketign Awards to be presented April 14 in Toronto include Brenda Woods of VISA Canada, Monique Giroux (a past presenter at the Western Sponsorship Congress) Rita Fabian of CTV, Rob Assimakopoulos of the CFL, Sue Alexander Ash of Initiative Media, Dave Bedford of COC, Patricia Striker of Sponsorship STI, Hunter Madsen of Yahoo! Canada and Pascale Chasse of Fusion Marketign Alliance.

• Alberta Canada Games looks like they have acheived sponsorship sucess this year. With the Games taking place in Leduc this month they have secured Alberta Foundation of the Arts, ATCO and Alberta Lottery Foundation each for $100,000 level sponsors with Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, AltaGas Utilities and Edmonton Airports all in at $25,000.

• 2008 is the United Nations' International Year of the Potato (belive it or not)! Of course, Canadian family owned potato gian McCains is on board as a sponsor. As quoted from The Sponsorship Report, McCain's President and CEO Dale Morrison noted "With our knowledge and global presence, we are in a unique position to support the United Nations in educating the world on the value of potatoes and by introducing potato farming capabilities to developing countries and impoverished nations that will deliver high nutrition, low-cost solutions to the worl's poor and hungry".

• Even under new non Canadian ownership, Rio Tinto Alcan has stepped to the plate with the Planetarium in montreal with a $4 million contribution to the reconstruction project and naming rights to the building as reported by The Sponsorship Report.

• Mark your calanders for the 2008 Strategic Sponsorship Marketing Canadian Summit being presented by The Sponsorship Report. This annual event will be held in Toronto in Tuesday November 4, 2008 at the Grand Hotel and Suites.

• The Alzheimer Society of Ontario recently participated in a sponsorship and entry into the "online social communities" world. The content on Flickr was entitled Unfaded Memories. For more detaisl be sure to access the January 2008 Edition of The Sponsorship Report at www.sponsorship.ca.

• Ottawa's new proposed concert hall will a 900+ seating capacity will be located across the street from the Fairmount Chateau Laurier and Parliament Hill. Building naming rights, yet to be secured, are estimated to be $6 million over a 15 year period. The Federal Government has set aside $8 million to this project as well.

• TELUS has announced that they have commited a $1.2 million sponsorship for namig rights to the TELUS Walk To Cure Diabetes. The agreement is over a three year period.

• TELUS has also recently announced it has stepped up to be a Platinum Partner for Alpine Canada raising their annual sponsorship committment to $1 million per year.

• St Joseph Communications has announced the signing of a 5 year renewal of their Scoutrees Program with Scouts Canada. St Joseph will br the exclusive sponsor of the program as repoted in The Sponsorship Report. Since 1990 over two million trees have been planted through this partnership.

• The Royal Canadian Mint has announced their upcoming committment to the Quebec City Museum of Civilization to celebrate their 100th Anniversary. The sponsorship is of the 2008 Gold in Americas ehibit that will be on display from April this year through Janaury 2009.

• RBC Financial Group has stepped up to the palte with the struggling PGA Canadian Open. RBC will be the title sponsor of this prestigous event through 2012.