Vancouver 2010 Olympics – Everybody Wants a Piece

Locals, tourists, media, sponsors and non-sponsors will be descending onto this Village of Vancouver over the next few weeks for one of the world’s biggest sporting events.  And while this blog’s title may or may not be a veiled reference to the 100,000 free condoms distributed to the participants, it’s clear that marketers are pulling out all the stops in order to align their brand with the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.

First up on the docket is Subway, who’s manoeuvring around the whole ‘non-sponsor thing’ is downright comical.  In fact, I’m inventing a term for their particular style of ambush marketing – ‘overt covertness’.  The commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhGJ8Q84L4I) has US Olympian and Speedo-clad Michael Phelps – a summer sport participant no less – swimming his way toward Vancouver.  There is no actual mention of Vancouver or the Olympic Games, but it shows a map of the Pacific Northwest with Phelps clearly heading through Washington and toward Vancouver, with the narrator chiming in ‘so he can get to where the action is this winter’.  I suppose we can only assume he’s heading to the Puyallup Sewing and Stitchery Festival.

Closer to home, Edgewater Casino have unveiled their ‘Our Games Are 24/7’ campaign at bus shelters across the city.  Howe Sound Brewing made news with the release of their latest beer, an imperial red ale that features three beavers adorning gold, silver and bronze medals.  Lululemon have gone a step further and unveiled a clothing line cheekily entitled ‘Cool Sporting Event That Takes Place in British Columbia Between 2009 and 2011’.

Clearly VANOC’s concerns are well-warranted and they have a lot to watch out for.  This isn’t just a random event company controlling their logo usage to protect their brand and sponsor interests.  VANOC is charged with the enormous and difficult task of developing and implementing a brand that not only speaks to their organization; but also a brand that will demonstrate to the world what it is to be Canadian.  Caley Denton, VP, Ticketing & Consumer Marketing at VANOC, said at a recent luncheon “The impression of the games and what it says about Vancouver and Canada will be our legacy.”  A tall order indeed.

Caley’s words may seem grandiose but they couldn’t be more on mark.  We are far beyond maple syrup and Mounties; we are a compassionate, tolerant, multicultural and spirited bunch who take pride in the natural theatre in which we live.  Too often an afterthought on the world scene, Canada will emerge from these games with new meaning and Vanoc’s message of “with glowing hearts” will deliver that.  I attended the BCAMA’s Speaker Series event – The Art of Storytelling – and among speaker Bill Baker’s many insights was the following quote: “To be human is to have a story”.  Well, to be Canadian is to have a story as well, and now is our chance to tell it.

So in reality, chasing down an ambush marketer or besmirching a local companies’ attempt at good old Canadian wit is the least of Vanoc’s worries.  The public are pretty marketing savvy in today’s world anyway, and they will hardly be fooled by imposters.

The challenge, therefore, is not in wrestling their brand rights from rogue ambushers, but rather quite the opposite: taking the brand and infecting everyone so they may embrace and live it.  Every interaction a tourist encounters upon arriving in Vancouver will play a role: the customs officer, the cab driver, the hotel clerk, the waitress, the nightclub bouncer, the museum guide.  From Zulu to Roots, from Japadog to Roxy, we are all brand ambassadors.  Storytellers, you might say.

Let’s just hope Michael Phelps is arriving in more than a Speedo.

Written by Ryan McKee, Manager, Marketing & New Media at Vancouver Whitecaps FC and BCAMA Director of Special Events