TrojanOne Talks Sport Marketing at CSTA’s 10th Annual Sport Events Congress

The Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance (CSTA) held its annual Sport Events Congress from April 21st to 23rd at the Doubletree by Hilton – Toronto Airport in Toronto. As Canada’s largest annual gathering of sport, tourism professionals and event management firms, the event attracts approximately 300 delegates each year. Coinciding with the event’s 10th anniversary, TrojanOne partnered with the CSTA to present a Sports Marketing stream to pay homage to Canada’s top sport marketers by looking back at the greatest sport marketing success stories of the past decade, and look forward to the next 10 years of sport marketing in Canada.

“The Sport Events Congress is a great opportunity for sport properties and sport tourism stakeholders to connect and learn how to leverage their brands beyond what they’re currently doing,” said Mark Harrison, president, TrojanOne. “The insights provided through our sport marketing stream focused on taking lessons from the past decade and forecasting to the future to identify the key nuggets that these organizations can take to market their event, bring sport to their community and create a legacy.”

The Sports Marketing stream kicked off with CTV’s Keith Pelley opening as the keynote speaker during a breakfast reception. Pelley was recently promoted as Executive Vice President, Strategic Planning, CTVglobemedia and is also serves as pesident for Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium. Pelley discussed the Consortium’s multiplatform and multilingual coverage of Vancouver 2010, which delivered the top five most-watched events in Canadian television history. He addressed the strategies and approach which allowed Canadians to watch what they wanted, when they wanted and how they wanted.

The event concluded with a keynote luncheon where CBC Sports broadcaster Brenda Irving interviewed Stacey Allaster of the Sony Ericcson WTA Tour. Allaster is a 15-year veteran of Tennis Canada and one of the most successful women executives in sports. She took on the role of president for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour in 2006, and in 2009, was named chairman and CEO.

Irving brought more than 20 years of broadcast experience and a personal connection with Allaster to the table. Their discussion encompassed the evolution of sport, Allaster’s personal vision for the sport of tennis, the diversity and multiculturalism tennis is seeing today, and how the sport is developing internationally.

TrojanOne’s sport marketing stream at the event also saw two expert panels, moderated by Mark Harrison. First, Harrison engaged the panelists for Sport Marketing of the Decade. The speakers revealed their key learnings, best practices, and went beyond their own experiences to discuss the most influential moments that every sport marketer should learn from. Speakers for this facilitated panel included:

• Andrea Shaw, VP of sponsorship sales and marketing for VANOC. Shaw collaborates closely with the organization’s diverse roster of worldwide, domestic and local sponsors and stakeholders. Brand protection of what she views as “the most powerful brand in the world” also falls under her umbrella, encompassing issues such as protection of intellectual property, licensing and merchandising.
• Dan Ouimet, principal, event director for Calgary Triathlon. Ouimet is owner and event director of the Viterra Ironman 70.3 Calgary triathlon and resident & chair of the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon. He is also a business director for Athletics Alberta and a member of Right to Play’s Alberta Cabinet.
• Scott McWilliam, director of corporate partnerships for Abbotsford Heat Hockey Club. Presently works with Front Row Marketing for the Abbotsford Heat and Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre and as a scout with NHL Central Scouting Services.
• Scott Giannou, VP of Targa Newfoundland. Promoter of the 2200km road rally held each September in Newfoundland, Giannou is responsible for the marketing and promotion of this unique event to consumers, competitors and corporate partners alike.

The second panel was Sport Marketing for the Next Ten. This panel drew upon their strategic plans for their future endeavors and their expertise around the industry to shed light on what the next ten years holds for sport marketers. Speakers for this panel included:

• John Paul (JP) Cody-Cox, executive director of Volleyball Canada. He will be speaking about their 2012 Open. With a combined 10 years of professional experience in sport, corporate marketing and sponsorship.
• Chris Morrissey, CEO, 2011 Halifax Canada Games. Morrissey is the driving force behind the senior management team and is responsible for the overall planning, organization, co-ordination, control and staging of all 2011 Canada Winter Games operations in accordance with the objectives, policies, and plans approved by the board of directors.
• David Hopkinson, senior vice president, business partnerships, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Hopkinson presides over the largest and most diverse sports business portfolio in Canada, and one of the largest in North America. His portfolio includes leadership of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment’s Corporate Sponsorships, Broadcast Sales and Executive Suites