Ask Aunt May: Marketing During the Games

Posted on January 19th, 2010 by Aunt May

Dear May,

This February I’ve got my marketing job cut out for me. All of these restrictions for the Olympics is making it incredibly hard to promote my business and the sales I will have going on.

Have you got any suggestions for marketing during large events such as this?

Sincerely,
Stressed Out in Vancouver

Dear stressed,

There’s no denying that the coming Olympic games has many Vancouver business owners confused about what they can (and can’t) do to promote their businesses while global attention is focused on our city. The reality is that for most Vancouver businesses, the restrictions will have very little impact on your marketing efforts. As long as your business is located outside the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games hot-zones, you don’t have to worry too much about changing your strategies to meet Vanoc’s brand protection guidelines for the games. Simply make sure that any campaigns you are running don’t infringe on the Olympic brand. Vanoc has provided plenty of information on its website to help businesses evaluate their campaigns in light of games-related brand infringement potential.

The most important thing to remember – DO continue to advertise while the games are on! The eyes of the world will be on Vancouver during February and March of this year and our city will be flooded with visitors from across the globe. Take advantage of the extra attention – if you are a retailer or provide consumer goods and services, this is a great time to advertise your business in local, on radio stations and on television. Make sure your advertising is targeted – placed where your customers are most likely to see it, using language that speaks to the needs of those customers and communicating offers that are consistent with your core brand position. Those efforts will deliver far more value than an obviously contrived effort to tie your existing brand to any Olympic games themes.

The City of Vancouver has also made some temporary amendments to city advertising bylaws that affect how you can promote your business using signage, vehicle wraps and street promotions during games-time. It will save you a lot of headaches down the road if you remember to be respectful of these new restrictions when planning any promotional activities during this period of time.

Whether you are a consumer or b2b enterprise, make sure your place of business puts its best face forward. You never know if that lost tourist that walks through your front door looking for help to find his way around is a potential investor, customer or competitor. Your brand starts at home with a pleasant atmosphere, friendly helpful staff and an organized workplace.

Some more simple guidelines:
· Do not imply association with the 2010 Games or use slogans, taglines or other marks “borrowed” from 2010 Olympics marketing.

· Do not use images associated with the Olympic games, like the infamous rings or the torch, within your marketing efforts.

· Do refer to the games in a factual manner, intended to inform your customers (for example: mentioning your hours of operation during the 2010 Olympic Games)

· Do continue to advertise.

Useful Links for Marketers:
2010 Commerce Centre; Information for Business
Protecting The Vancouver 2010 Brand
City of Vancouver Olympics Advertising ByLaws

And finally, but probably most importantly – the games are coming to Vancouver in less than a month and nothing will change that. Good or bad, we’ll be paying for this party for a long time to come. We have an opportunity very few cities in the world ever have or will – how we choose to approach the experiences of this next few weeks is the only thing any one of us can really control. So let’s choose to enjoy it while it’s here!

Aunt May

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Tagged with: advertising bylaws • event planning • marketing • olympics

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