Over the last 50 years, the Canada Games have successfully claimed gold in Canadian pride. The question is, how and why has the Canada Games consistently done so well in instilling a sense of pride to the nation? I spoke to Patrick Kenny, Director of Marketing and Communications for the Canada Games Council, who shared his thoughts on the reasons behind the success of the Canada Games. Patrick will also be presenting on this topic as a guest speaker at the upcoming Sage Summit in New Orleans!
What do you attribute to the reason behind the success of the Canada Games?
The Canada Games are unique from a grassroots perspective. They touch every province and territory from an athlete's perspective. This is an opportunity to create a touch point or milestone in the lives of our athletes. When athletes speak of their experience, it reinforces what we’re trying to do.
When planning for the Canada Games, are there specific brands you search for in respect to national partnerships and cultivating strong relationships/sponsorship opportunities with? Do you seek brands that align with your mission, vision, and values for the Canada Games?
Yes, we align with brands in some ways. We have tons of partnerships from a stakeholder perspective, from every level, every province and territory. We have 20 sports for the summer games, 20 for the winter games. There is an enormous scope from a stakeholder perspective. There are also tons of opportunities for stakeholders to engage. There are also marketing opportunities for the sponsors. If the sponsor isn’t getting marketing value out of their partnership with us, we haven’t done our job effectively. We like to work with brands that align with our mission, vision and values.
How do organizations submit applications to become corporate partners for the Canada Games?
For every single Canada Games, partners are announced 1.5 years after the bid process. They work to secure the partnerships from bid phase to the announcement of the location of the following Canada Games. During the process, many companies float up, and come about. They are earmarked during the solicitation process nationally, regionally, and within the host city's community. There are different levels of partnerships. There is the Friends of the Games program, which is sponsorships of $50,000 or less, $50,000 or higher is at the National level. There are also sponsorships with an ‘In Kind’ value, and cash sponsorships. We also have longer term partnerships. Currently, there are 11 national partners, from Games to Games. We are happy to say that Sage is one of them. Sage is a great corporate partner, completing activations among stakeholders.
What sets apart the Canada Games from other major sporting events in Canada?
The scope of the event involves 5000 volunteers, and 240 athletes. The bid process for selecting a host city involves speaking to communities, to educate the people about the scale and scope, from bid to execution of the event. People don’t understand the number of hours and amount of people it takes to execute the Games. It is also a chance to provide athletes with an opportunity to compete at a national level. We can also track alumni who have competed in the Canada Games. Olympic stats – 60% of the members of the Canadian Olympic team are Canada Games alumni. They have experienced competition at the national level. By going through the process of competing at the Canada Games, they know what it’s like. It prepares them for international competition.
The Canada Games has been a stepping stone, and played a very prominent role in the development of the careers of some of Canada’s premier athletes. Do you believe this is one of the main reasons there is so much support and pride from Canadians for this event over the last 50 years?
From an athlete/Canada Games alumni perspective, they give back on a regular basis. The athletes tell the story about all the hard work and effort. We are able to see the respect Canadians have for their athletes. Yes, there is a certain percentage of athletes who think the Canada Games are a stepping stone. For others, this is their Olympics, and pinnacle of their athletic achievement. Canadians recognize that this is an opportunity for athletes to shine nationally. Some of the famous Canadian athletes who are alumni of the Canada Games include Sidney Crosby, Hayley Wickenheiser, Alexandre Despaite, Catriona LeMay Doan, and Steve Nash.
How do you tackle the task of selecting themes for the Canada Games?
The theme is Inspiring Dreams and Building Champions. The Canada Games are an opportunity for stakeholders to use the event as an inspiration, as well as professional development for companies. The Games are a place for building champions, hitting athletes at the right time and opportunity. Other themes come from host cities, which can create a legacy or opportunity to create legacies within each host community. These will live on forever, long after the Games are over. They have created a cresting point of thinking of themselves differently.
Dealing with marketing, sponsorship, and
communications for the Canada Games is a massive effort. How far in advance
does the planning process for the Games begin?
We have built resources, policies and procedures to be used for the Canada Games. These are the standards that need to be delivered by each organizing committee. They are used as templates from the planning process. We try to hit the industry at the right time, and use this as a transfer of knowledge. This way, it will be consistent across the board for each of the Games. From a marketing and communications perspective, we want to make sure that the framework exists.
No matter how effectively you plan for an event of any size, things happen, and a crisis may occur. What contingencies do you have in place for an emergency/crisis during the Canada Games, to ensure everything still runs smoothly for attendees and athletes?
From an event hosting perspective, we plan constantly, build resources, and execute. We put contingencies in place, in the event of challenges. We work with each host society, and create an emergency and crisis communication plan. Stakeholder relations are key. We work with them to ensure success. We also work with provincial and regional services, always knowing who and what is responsible. In regards to emergency preparedness, we need synergy, and work from a government relations perspective. If a situation escalates, we can take over.
Tom Quinn, Chairman of the Canada Games Council, was a competitive elite athlete who played badminton for over 17 years, and represented Canada at international events. Being on the executive side of sports now, do you think being a former athlete fueled his desire to promote sports in Canada, and instilling a sense of pride for Canadian sports and athletes?
(Tom was not present for the interview) I can't speak for Tom, but he brings a unique perspective at the Council level. He was an elite athlete, and also had a successful career in sports marketing. He has an interesting perspective, as he sees athlete centeredness. He can also see from a sponsor’s perspective, and how they merge. Tom has been hugely successful from a Council perspective.
Patrick will be one of the guest speakers at the annual Sage Summit 2015 conference, taking place in New Orleans from July 27-30. This unique event is part conference, part festival, and all about transforming your business! Guest speakers for this year's Sage Summit include entrepreneur and professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, actress Jane Seymour, Deepak Chopra, and General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret). I had the pleasure of attending last year's Sage Summit, and was impressed by the quality of the sessions, keynote speakers,amazing events, and level of professionalism from everyone at Sage!
Sage is generously offering my readers a fantastic discount to use for registering for the Sage Summit! Use promo code NOLA to register for $99USD (regular $799USD!) To register, go to www.sagesummit.com. You don't want to miss this amazing event!
We have built resources, policies and procedures to be used for the Canada Games. These are the standards that need to be delivered by each organizing committee. They are used as templates from the planning process. We try to hit the industry at the right time, and use this as a transfer of knowledge. This way, it will be consistent across the board for each of the Games. From a marketing and communications perspective, we want to make sure that the framework exists.
No matter how effectively you plan for an event of any size, things happen, and a crisis may occur. What contingencies do you have in place for an emergency/crisis during the Canada Games, to ensure everything still runs smoothly for attendees and athletes?
From an event hosting perspective, we plan constantly, build resources, and execute. We put contingencies in place, in the event of challenges. We work with each host society, and create an emergency and crisis communication plan. Stakeholder relations are key. We work with them to ensure success. We also work with provincial and regional services, always knowing who and what is responsible. In regards to emergency preparedness, we need synergy, and work from a government relations perspective. If a situation escalates, we can take over.
Tom Quinn, Chairman of the Canada Games Council, was a competitive elite athlete who played badminton for over 17 years, and represented Canada at international events. Being on the executive side of sports now, do you think being a former athlete fueled his desire to promote sports in Canada, and instilling a sense of pride for Canadian sports and athletes?
(Tom was not present for the interview) I can't speak for Tom, but he brings a unique perspective at the Council level. He was an elite athlete, and also had a successful career in sports marketing. He has an interesting perspective, as he sees athlete centeredness. He can also see from a sponsor’s perspective, and how they merge. Tom has been hugely successful from a Council perspective.
Patrick will be one of the guest speakers at the annual Sage Summit 2015 conference, taking place in New Orleans from July 27-30. This unique event is part conference, part festival, and all about transforming your business! Guest speakers for this year's Sage Summit include entrepreneur and professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, actress Jane Seymour, Deepak Chopra, and General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret). I had the pleasure of attending last year's Sage Summit, and was impressed by the quality of the sessions, keynote speakers,amazing events, and level of professionalism from everyone at Sage!
Sage is generously offering my readers a fantastic discount to use for registering for the Sage Summit! Use promo code NOLA to register for $99USD (regular $799USD!) To register, go to www.sagesummit.com. You don't want to miss this amazing event!
