Hill & Knowlton

The Commercial Games

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:45:18 +0100

Previous weeks it was frequently mentioned in the news that the IOC would prevent brands from doing "something with the Olympic Games”. Words like Olympic, Vancouver and even dates were not supposed to be used in advertisements. Exaggerated? Perhaps. But also designed to protect the official sponsors and partners. A brief look at how they activate their sponsorship.

Official sponsor of the Games, there are quite a few of them. The IOC comes with nine "Worldwide Olympic Partners". The local organizing committee VANOC also has six "National Partners'. And then there are the ten 'Official Supporters', forty 'Official Suppliers' and twenty four "Vancouver 2010 Government Partners”.

Without doubt the most prominent form of sponsorship activation are the huge banners on buildings. Hotel Georgia has hung out the largest Canadian flag ever to their wall in downtown Vancouver. And Hudson's Bay, the Canadian maker of clothing for athletes and supporters, is also visible: their four-storeyed building is covered with larger than life images of Canada's Olympic heroes. But the gold medal in this section is disputed to the RBC Bank. Their 37-storeyed headquarter is covered with a huge picture of a freestyle skier, accompanied by the text "We're proud to support Team Canada”. The logo of RBC is remarkably small compared to the picture.

A little less 'in your face' approach, are the ‘houses’ (furnished by the sponsor). Popular is the house of Samsung, in which a 3D-TV show is shown. The makers of the Canadian dollar, The Royal Canadian Mint, have set up a shop where people can admire the official medals and the 'one million dollar coin’ (a huge gold coin). Coca-Cola makes it more interactive and focuses on families. Through various games to play, they stress the importance of recycling. It is also possible to make a picture with the official Olympic torch.

The beer brands have two different kinds of approaching. Molson stands for limited and expensive. You can get into The Molson Beer garden for $ 99, where you ‘may’ buy a beer for $ 8.50. The catch? There is a good chance you bump into a Canadian hockey player. This seems to work; all tickets are sold. But it is questionable whether you make many friends among your target group with these prices...

The other approach is from Heineken. At first the Holland Heineken House in Barcelona was small and cosy. The latest version has a huge festival hall, an exhibition hall and an Olympic Club, with room for thousands of fans. And they come every day. The Dutch show the Canadians and other non-Dutchmen how to party. Free entrance and $ 4.50 for a beer very affordable.

Talking about beer: the Germany Saxony House was out of beer after only one week. The Germans did not expect Canadians were drinking so much. A plane with fresh beer from Germany was the solution.

And other companies? They don’t stand a chance. You will not find other coffee than Coca-Cola’s in the stadiums. And you should not expect that you can pay your coffee with a MasterCard or American Express card, because Partner VISA has the monopoly here.

Although there is a risk that this distracts the attention of the sport, protests continue against the commercialism of the Games. In the Netherlands where the 5 and 10 kilometre speed skating is interrupted by advertisements one seems to realize: without any commercial there will be no top-class sport on this scale. And that is what it's all about after all.

Note: from the companies mentioned above, only Coca-Cola and The Royal Canadian Mint are clients of Hill & Knowlton Canada.

Worst Games ever? Well, according to the British point of view...

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:34:13 +0100

In my last posting I blamed the British journalists writing that the Olympics in Vancouver are the worst Games ever. This statement is a blow to Canada. It seems that people are affected by this. Last days we spoke with several journalists, colleagues and communication staff of the organization committee VANOC in Whistler; putting the accusation in another perspective.

The words of this statement `worst Games ever’ come from Lawrence Donegan, sports writer of the British’s The Guardian. A reporter known for its more than criticized look. 27 of his latest 30 articles on the Olympics have negative headlines and approach. The same Donegan uses Twitter to see if people have transportation problems during the Olympics. Searching for hours will eventually bring forward a complaint and a new negative story.

Donegan is British. Relevant information? Yes! On the moment of his statement the last time a British athlete won a gold medal was in 1980. I think that lacking this success will affect the tone of his reports, deliberately or not. Results from the past are backing this proposition. During Athens 2004 the British media started a `campaign’ to bring home the British athletes: `the results are disappointing, so what are we still doing here?’ No good news was written about the organization as well. Results that met expectations in the second week were forgotten by these journalists.

It also works the other way around. Good results bring positive attitudes, also among journalists. Only after winning gold, Alex Bilodeau-Freestyle Ski-, Canadian media were even more present. They are writing with passion about their local heroes and the success of the Games. Nobody still writes about the `brown slopes’ on Cypress Mountain, due to the lack of snow. The same thing happens in the Netherlands, after winning gold in Speed Skating (Kramer, Tuitert, Wüst) no stories are written about the failing ice resurfacing machines, Zamboni (correction: Olympia)

More interesting will be that the British will host the Games in 2012. VANOC will be under close watch of Donegan and his British colleagues. (The same will be for LOGOC, the organization of London 2012).

The enthusiasm of the fans in Vancouver can not be erased from my memory. The streets are so crowded that it looks like it is Canady Day every day. Tickets to every (!) game are sold out long ago, which is also the case for the red mittens (the red gloves with the maple leaf and the Olympics Rings) unless your name is Oprah.

So, are the Games in Vancouver really the worst Games ever? In Torino 2006 it was possible to get tickets on the day of the event. Atlanta had to deal with a bomb, transportation flaws, badly trained volunteers and large computer failures. In Munich eleven athletes from Israel were murdered. Like Olympic historian David Wallechinsky says to the Canadian CBC on `Vancouver 2010’: ““Looking at it from a historical perspective the one thing that will be part of the Games will be the death of the athlete. The rest of it is minor issues.”

I agree. Or am I wrong?

The worst Games ever?

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:32:42 +0100

Are these the worst Games ever? Is the Holland Heineken House really that popular? And when do even journalists take a time-out? A short review on the first week in Vancouver.

First, it was the lack of snow on Cypress Mountain that dominated the headlines. Later the discussion in the media had moved on to the organization itself. A bobsled track that resulted in a tragic death, a concert where 20 people got slightly injured, the Zamboni's (which actually were no Zamboni's) doing everything but smoothening the ice, or the events at Cypress Mountain where suddenly less spectators were accepted because there was too much mud. There are plenty of things that went wrong.

But are these the worst organized Olympics Games ever? Let’s ask John Furlong, CEO of the organizing committee VANOC. Last Wednesday I was able to hear how he answered this question: "Who said that?" Reporter: "Well, the British media." Furlong: "Yes, and you've seen them here?". Silence ... The Canadian media seem to agree with Furlong: things are not so bad. Or is that national pride talking?

The most frequently asked questions this week: "Can you get me into the Holland Heineken House?". Every Canadian wants to see what "those crazy Dutchies" are doing there. Or as the Vancouver Sun wrote in a headline: "Going berserk in the House of Orange". The Dutch are lucky, because they can skip through the endless rows. There is no house like the Holland Heineken House.

In the end it is the week of the Canadian hockey men. If Canada plays, everyone wears his red/white sweater, paints maple leafs on his cheeks and the Canadian globe just stops spinning. Also most journalists are hooked up on the TV screen for two hours. "Can you call me back later?"

Coats, tickets and coverage

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:08:14 +0100

The Olympic Games have finally begun, and everybody is focused on the performance of the athletes. Behind the scenes, however, a very different battle is going on: the battle for media attention. This battle can also be considered as sport.

In Vancouver, February 2010, it is all about the tickets and coats. Tickets around your neck show where you may enter, for example the media centers. The largest and main media centre is - like the name suggests - the Main Media Center (MMC). In this highly secured, huge building almost ten thousand journalists can make their stories. There is another media center in Whistler and the many more around the competition sites, sponsor houses and other events. Media without tickets can go to the BCMC (British Columbia Media Center). Very 2.0, because these are mainly cell phone journalists and bloggers.

Journalists are surrounded by people with coats; employees of the sponsors and other companies that want to make money at the Games. The problem? Every day there are a thousand things to do in the city, let alone the sporting events. So what do you do to get that coveted airtime and those newspaper articles?

- You serve good food. You ask top chefs from all over the country come to cook for the journalists. Attendance: 68 journalists from Japan to Germany and USA.

- You furnish a house. An orange beer house or pavilion with medals. Journalists will visit them all

- You act crazy. You flood the Olympic rings with 13 million cranberries in front of the cameras.

- Most important: you get an Olympic hero in the spotlight, preferably from the neighbourhood. Wayne Gretzky, Steve Nash or Nancy Greene... it seems to be the recipe for coverage. With them by your side, your logo will certainly be in the picture ..

And that what it is all about.

All eyes on Vancouver - a city in excitement

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 11:41:56 +0100

After more than 10 years of preparation today, February 12, is the big day. In the early evening a Canadian star (Wayne Gretsky?) lights the Olympic flame in the BC Place Stadium. Vancouver seems to be ready for probably the most important event in the city’s history. Where ever you go, the Olympic rings, the banners with `Go Canada Go’ and the red maple leafs can be seen everywhere. Okay, last Wednesday a protest was held against the organization; a few civilians wondered out loud if their children had to pay for the bill, if the revenues were not as expected. And yes, not all taxi drivers are all quite positive; because of the Games extra subway and temporarily taxi drivers have been facilitated. Due to the extra amount of visitors even the grumpiest taxi driver will have its ride. In general all inhabitants seem very enthusiastic. For example, the Olympic Torch Relay has been carried around the country since 30 October. 12,000 torch carriers, carrying it 45,000 km on foot, on ski’s or snowboards, or like the freestyler riding on top of a ski lift. This grand operation took even the head sponsor 106 days and 55 fte’s. The torch had been exchanged between `everyday Canadians’ and real stars. Thursday this star was basketball player Steve Nash, raised in Vancouver and crowned twice as best player in the NBA. This good-natured, relaxed man also gives a lot back to the local children. Nash is like the embodiment of the Olympic thought. When this man appears the torch relay is like a stage in the Tour de France. People are lined up an hour before Nash’s arrival, decorated with flags and outfits (even their pets have to join them). What if you don not have a flag? No worries, over-the-top decorated sponsor stands will stuff them in your hand. Everything for a good camera shot. A hero like Nash can even let the hearts of the journalists beat faster.

Our job is to lead the torch relay in quite good order, where possible. That is why we did not tell the media when and where Nash will go by. Only one Canadian TV-Station could get information of the location.

When Nash eventually steps out of the van with fellow torch carriers, the crowd goes wild! ``Steve, We love you!!’’ and ``Go Steve Go’’ can be heard miles away. A reporter succeeded in asking Nash one question: ``Steve, how special is this for you?’’ ``Very special’’ clearly seeing his excitement. For the video check: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOvBA0SKmKU

No more than 5 minutes later the showpiece is over and we drive Nash to a school. Another crowd awaits. Once inside sitting next to the library’s basic fire place he answers questions of selected media. After an hour he tries to find a way out through the ecstatic schoolchildren, leaving the journalists finishing their stories and all of a sudden show time is over. Well, over…The real deal just has to begin.

If this is an omen to what is coming next days, it will be just fine. Worst case scenario: Canada not winning the hockey Gold Medal. Then all has been for nothing… (Read more http://www.communicatieonline.nl/opinie/weeklog-week/de-communicatiepiste-te-vancouver-van-binnenuit )

Report from Vancouver

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:50:04 +0100

Hill & Knowlton is represented in Vancouver! From 12 till February 28, the world's best winter athletes are to compete for Olympic medals. Being the official communications agency of VANOC (the organizing committee of the Olympic Games in Vancouver in 2010), consultants of Hill & Knowlton Netherlands are present at the 21th edition of the Olympic Winter Games.

We are here to taste the Olympic atmosphere, to see the Dutch ladies and gentlemen boarding, sliding and skating towards the gold, but especially to work. Also to take a look behind the scenes at some of the largest regional and (inter) national sponsors of the Games.

We will bring you all the ins and outs. From opening until closing, we will give you our professional communication vision at everything happening in the Olympic city. Do not miss it!