mr.x
Oct 1, 2008, 3:24 PM
Vanoc spends $40 million to tie up advertising space
Jeff Lee, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Organizers of the 2010 Games will spend $40 million buying up every major supply of public advertising space throughout the Lower Mainland.
Everything from billboards to mall posters to Vancouver International Airport baggage carousels, to every inch of available space on TransLink's vast fleet will carry the corporate Olympic message in 2010.
The move, which involves six major advertising suppliers, honours Vanoc's commitment to the International Olympic Committee to sew up all advertising locations for Games sponsors and prevent so-called "ambush marketing" by non-sponsors. The deal also allows the Vancouver Organizing Committee to resell that advertising at cost to sponsors, according to Dave Cobb, Vanoc's executive vice-president of revenue, marketing and communications.
Cobb said Vanoc is still working out deals with some of the six suppliers in the Metro area.
But he said Tuesday that the agreements require Vanoc to pay full market rate to the owners of the advertising space.
Vanoc will then try to sell that space to sponsors at cost-recovery rates.
"Our objective is to pass it all through, to receive enough money from sponsors to pay suppliers like TransLink for their inventory," he said.
"It's not a profit centre for us, and our object is to sell all of it. If we do, we recoup our money."
Cobb said the Vancouver Bid Committee, Vanoc's predecessor, signed agreements with advertising suppliers securing all outdoor advertising space around the Olympics.
Vanoc was obligated to buy 100 per cent of the inventory, and to pay full price, adjusted for inflation. The suppliers also didn't have to use a broker, he said, giving them a richer deal.
"That would result in each of the suppliers receiving significantly more revenue than they ever would have received for the 10-week [Olympic] period," he said.
Vanoc revealed the new details in the wake of an agreement it signed with TransLink to include public transportation with Olympic admission tickets.
As part of that agreement, TransLink will give Vanoc access to a large range of advertising options, including space on board buses, SkyTrain and West Coast Express cars, in stations and on platforms, and even the ability to wrap vehicles in Olympic livery or advertisements.
Cobb said the other suppliers include Pattison Outdoor, CBS Outdoor, Vancouver International Airport, Canada Line and Canada Storyboard, the large electronic billboard at Canada Place.
Cobb and Doug Kelsey, the CEO of TransLink, declined to reveal dollar figures behind the TransLink deal at this time because other contracts are still pending. They committed to making the details public early next year.
However, Kelsey said it's a good deal for taxpayers.
"The agreement for TransLink, we think is a very good agreement for us and the taxpayers. It is, in totality, self-funding. So relative to the cost of running the Games, our costs will be funded," he said. "That was the mandate of TransLink's board of directors."
Ken Hardie, TransLink's communications director, said the deal was based on a "conservative" estimate that there will be an additional 700,000 to one million transit rides during the Games.
"We're not getting paid off in stuffed animals. We're getting cash," he said.
"We're not wandering around trying to get rid of a thousand Quatchis or something like that."
Cobb said the advertising arrangements run from Jan. 12 to March 23, 2010.
The deals also make it extremely difficult for non-Olympic advertisers to take advantage of the Olympic period.
The International Olympic Committee has in the past insisted on stringent rules to prevent non-sponsors from creating unapproved affiliations with the Games.
Such "ambush marketing" rules have made it difficult for even ordinary advertisers because Vanoc aggressively protects its brand.
The recent Beijing Summer Olympics was plagued by ambush marketers, from car companies using stadiums as backdrops to perfume companies picturing models as high-performance athletes.
jefflee@vancouversun.com
Jeff Lee, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Organizers of the 2010 Games will spend $40 million buying up every major supply of public advertising space throughout the Lower Mainland.
Everything from billboards to mall posters to Vancouver International Airport baggage carousels, to every inch of available space on TransLink's vast fleet will carry the corporate Olympic message in 2010.
The move, which involves six major advertising suppliers, honours Vanoc's commitment to the International Olympic Committee to sew up all advertising locations for Games sponsors and prevent so-called "ambush marketing" by non-sponsors. The deal also allows the Vancouver Organizing Committee to resell that advertising at cost to sponsors, according to Dave Cobb, Vanoc's executive vice-president of revenue, marketing and communications.
Cobb said Vanoc is still working out deals with some of the six suppliers in the Metro area.
But he said Tuesday that the agreements require Vanoc to pay full market rate to the owners of the advertising space.
Vanoc will then try to sell that space to sponsors at cost-recovery rates.
"Our objective is to pass it all through, to receive enough money from sponsors to pay suppliers like TransLink for their inventory," he said.
"It's not a profit centre for us, and our object is to sell all of it. If we do, we recoup our money."
Cobb said the Vancouver Bid Committee, Vanoc's predecessor, signed agreements with advertising suppliers securing all outdoor advertising space around the Olympics.
Vanoc was obligated to buy 100 per cent of the inventory, and to pay full price, adjusted for inflation. The suppliers also didn't have to use a broker, he said, giving them a richer deal.
"That would result in each of the suppliers receiving significantly more revenue than they ever would have received for the 10-week [Olympic] period," he said.
Vanoc revealed the new details in the wake of an agreement it signed with TransLink to include public transportation with Olympic admission tickets.
As part of that agreement, TransLink will give Vanoc access to a large range of advertising options, including space on board buses, SkyTrain and West Coast Express cars, in stations and on platforms, and even the ability to wrap vehicles in Olympic livery or advertisements.
Cobb said the other suppliers include Pattison Outdoor, CBS Outdoor, Vancouver International Airport, Canada Line and Canada Storyboard, the large electronic billboard at Canada Place.
Cobb and Doug Kelsey, the CEO of TransLink, declined to reveal dollar figures behind the TransLink deal at this time because other contracts are still pending. They committed to making the details public early next year.
However, Kelsey said it's a good deal for taxpayers.
"The agreement for TransLink, we think is a very good agreement for us and the taxpayers. It is, in totality, self-funding. So relative to the cost of running the Games, our costs will be funded," he said. "That was the mandate of TransLink's board of directors."
Ken Hardie, TransLink's communications director, said the deal was based on a "conservative" estimate that there will be an additional 700,000 to one million transit rides during the Games.
"We're not getting paid off in stuffed animals. We're getting cash," he said.
"We're not wandering around trying to get rid of a thousand Quatchis or something like that."
Cobb said the advertising arrangements run from Jan. 12 to March 23, 2010.
The deals also make it extremely difficult for non-Olympic advertisers to take advantage of the Olympic period.
The International Olympic Committee has in the past insisted on stringent rules to prevent non-sponsors from creating unapproved affiliations with the Games.
Such "ambush marketing" rules have made it difficult for even ordinary advertisers because Vanoc aggressively protects its brand.
The recent Beijing Summer Olympics was plagued by ambush marketers, from car companies using stadiums as backdrops to perfume companies picturing models as high-performance athletes.
jefflee@vancouversun.com