Sponsorship Marketing Council Communication:
Toronto, April 8, 2011: RONA, the hardware, home renovation and gardening retailer, took home Best of Show at the 7th annual Sponsorship Marketing Awards (SMAs). The SMAs, presented yesterday at the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada’s annual conference in Toronto, recognize companies that have maximized their investments in sponsorship marketing by developing innovative strategies that drive business results.
RONA took top honours for its breakthrough, multi-year, multi-faceted sponsorship marketing program leading up to the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games and Paralympic Winter Games. RONA also won a Gold Award in a special category in this year’s competition dedicated to the Vancouver Games (See below for more on RONA’s winning entry.)
“With a record number of submissions, this was the most competitive year ever for the SMAs,” said Judging Chair Lucie Lamoureux, Corporate Director, Sponsorships and Social Commitment, at Loto-Québec. “RONA’s entry exemplified the exceptionally high caliber of this year’s winners. Those who broke through did so by attaining, and in many cases surpassing, business objectives. They also exhibited a true knack for engaging consumers and communities, building brand equity, and providing a highly productive return on investment.”
In total, Gold Award and Award of Distinction winners were announced in eight categories. Following are the titles of the winning entries:
Best of Show
- “How RONA Clinched Top 5 on the Corporate Reputation List”
Media Sponsorship (activation of sponsored programs experienced primarily via media such as broadcast, print, online, etc.)
- Gold Award: “Mortgage – Laurentian Bank of Canada”
- Award of Distinction: “Ford Fiesta and CBC – Being Erica”
Sports
- Award of Distinction: “Coca-Cola Zero Fans First Game”
- Award of Distinction: “The STM Sponsorship of the Rogers Cup”
Special Interest (activation of sponsored programs created in areas other than Sports, Arts & Entertainment, or Cause)
- Gold Award: “BMO Power of Blue”
- Award of Distinction: “TD’s Diversity Portfolio and the GLBT Community”
Arts & Entertainment
- Marilyn Michener Excellence in Arts & Entertainment Award (Gold Award): “Scotiabank Nuit Blanche”
- Award of Distinction: “TD: The Bank of Music”
Cause (not-for-profit programs)
- Award of Distinction: “Purolator Tackle Hunger”
- Award of Distinction: “Pepsi Refresh Project – CFL Challenge”
Small Budget (less than $100,000 annually, including rights fees and activation)
- Award of Distinction: “Lotto Max – Making the Brand Promise Reality”
Sustained Success (three or more consecutive years’ duration)
- Gold Award: “Kraft Hockeyville 2010”
- Award of Distinction: “Scotiabank SCENE”
2010 Vancouver Olympic Games & Paralympic Winter Games
- Gold Award: “How RONA Clinched Top 5 on the Corporate Reputation List”
- Award of Distinction: “RBC 2010 Olympic Torch Relay Campaign”
- Award of Distinction: “Wrigley Canada – C.H.E.W. to Win”
Videos of the winning entries will be posted on the SMCC’s website (sponsorshipmarketing.ca).
RONA: BEST OF SHOW
In 2005, RONA became a National Partner of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. To achieve its business and marketing goals, RONA determined that it needed to become a top-10 Canadian company in terms of corporate reputation.
A five-year plan was put into play based on four pillars:
- To support Canadian athletes, RONA provided $4 million to 100 high-performance winter and summer athletes to help with living, training and competition expenses
- For the Olympic venues, RONA donated building materials, hardware and paint for more than a dozen locations. RONA also delivered building materials for affordable housing units in six British Columbia communities.
- For at-risk youth, RONA created the Vancouver 2010 Fabrication Shop program. This provided carpentry training to young people who faced barriers to employment through lack of education or skills.
- To engage RONA staff, 87 employees served as volunteers at the Games.
The plan was supported by a fully-integrated program. It was anchored by a “Made in Canada” ad campaign designed to evoke Canadian pride. It ran on six TV networks and reached over 90% of Canadians across the country.
This was supported by campaigns on the CTV and RDS websites; daily news about Canada’s athletes, 9 million flyers, branded trucks, in-store signage, extensive use of the Olympic logo on uniforms and RONA product, and a major internal campaign to employees.
The results were very impressive. RONA-supported athletes won 13 of Canada’s Gold medals, and 21 of our 26 medals overall. The Olympic venues have been transformed into 150 permanent affordable housing units for disadvantaged locals. The Fabrication Workshop graduated 64 at-risk young people who now have ongoing employment. And RONA’s team of volunteers was one of the largest corporate delegations to the Games.
And most significantly, RONA’s corporate reputation went from 21st in 2006 to 5th in 2010 (source: Léger Marketing, in collaboration with Marketing Magazine and Commerce Magazine, October 2010). RONA also left an ongoing legacy in the buildings they helped build, and the lives they helped improve.
2011 JUDGING PANEL
In addition to Lucie Lamoureux as Chair, the other members of this year’s judging panel were:
- David Allard, Marketing Director, Diageo Canada Inc.
- Brent Barootes, President, Partnership Group – Sponsorship Specialists
- Tim Bishop, Business Development, North America, IMI International
- Trish Bronsch, CEO, Prairies/NWT Region, Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation
- Kevin Donnelly, Directeur principal – Partenariats et programmation, Société du parc Jean-Drapeau
- Stéphane Duval, Vice President, Marketing, Sleeman Breweries Ltd.
- Tyler Mazereeuw, Director, New Business Development, Canadian Football League
- Kelly Murumets, President and CEO, ParticipACTION
- Jim Tobin, Director & Head Sponsorships, Canadian Marketing Scotiabank
The judging panel was selected to be representative of the sponsor, sponsee, media and agency sectors. Judges are not permitted to vote for entries where there are conflicts of interest.
EVENT SPONSORS
Event sponsors were: CBC, strategy and Media in Canada (presenting); m marketing (communication); CINCO Interactive Marketing Agency (SMCC supporting); adbeast (SMA online entry process); Molson Coors (reception); SDI Marketing and Sponsorium (contributing); fisheye (social media); Frischkorn Associates (A/V); Toy Piano Music (SMA video production); and the Association of Canadian Advertisers (founding).
Formed in 2004 under the auspices of the ACA, the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada was created to advance the development of best practices and accountabilities in the field of sponsorship marketing. For more information, visit sponsorshipmarketing.ca.
Media Contact: Randy Scotland, Vice President, Communications Association of Canadian Advertisers, (416) 964-1043 / rscotland@ACAweb.ca