Who’s on TOP at London 2012

 

This weekend the world witnessed the kick-off to the London 2012 Olympic Games. With Danny Boyle’s Opening Ceremony drawing in over 1 billion viewers worldwide, it’s no wonder London 2012 is host to some of the largest corporate sponsorships on record.

The rules and regulations around Olympic sponsorship, however, are as fierce as the Games themselves. Since 1984, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has regulated corporate sponsorship by developing a competitive scheme which offers exclusive advertising rights at premium rates. This year, the corporations who’ve won the bid to these exclusive rights fall into four categories of brand sponsorship.

The first and most prestigious sponsorship category belongs to the Worldwide Olympic Partners, who together, constitute The Olympic Partnership (TOP) Programme. At the London 2012 Games, the corporations which fall under this category include: Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos, Dow, GE, McDonalds, Omega, Samsung, P&G, Panasonic, and Visa(see campaign shots below). TOP partners tend to be multi-national corporations whose advertising campaigns are targeted at international audiences. To advertise at London 2012, these companies have invested a combined total of £704m (around $1.1bn CAD – that’s $100m CAD each!), which they’ve paid into the IOC’s Olympic budget. In return, TOP sponsors receive exclusive monopoly rights to advertise their companies in and around London 2012 venues and to affiliate their products with the greatness of the Games.

The second group of Olympic sponsors are known as London 2012 Olympic Partners. This year, companies such as Adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB have earned a place in this tier by partnering with the London Organisation Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) through unique sponsorship deals. The combined total of these deals at London 2012 is an estimated £500m ($786.9m).

The rest of Games supporters fall into one of two final sponsorship tiers. This year, there are seven companies who have invested approximately £40 m ($63m) each to be classified as a London 2012 Olympic Supporter. They include: Adecco, Arcelor Mittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte., Thomas Cook, and UPS. And finally, there are over two-dozen London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers who have each paid a £10m ($15.7m) price tag to secure an official ‘provider’ or ‘supplier’ title at London 2012. (For a full view of the London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers, visit the official London 2012 site).

With this much invested in the London 2012 already, this year’s Games sponsors are sure to activate some exceptionally stimulating and creative brand campaigns over the coming weeks. So to see who takes home the gold, stay tuned as ClarkHuot/Cocoon continue its design coverage of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

 

To read more about the London 2012 sponsorship programme, visit:

The official site of London 2012

The official site of the Olympics

The IOC Marketing and Media Guide for London 2012

London 2012 Sponsorship List: Who are they and what have they paid? (The Guardian)

Hot Dog — It’s Christmas!

To Our Deer Friends,

Here’s hoping you relish the yuletide season, making time to meat with old friends, and ketchup on your hobbies.

Now we have to beat it. See you in January!

Happy Holidays!

-Velocity Branding.

 

P.S. VELOCITYWG will return Jan. 6, with an extra-special entry by Lee Froese.

P.P.S. Mustard.

Velocity’s Lee Froese at An Event Apart

I was really excited and thankful to be able to attend An Event Apart 2011 in San Francisco last week. I follow A List Apart and own all books in the A Book Apart series — call me a fanboy, but I respect and appreciate the knowledge that the people involved bring to our industry.

On day one, I took a short walk to the gorgeous Palace Hotel where the conference took place. I walked up to registration, looked to my left, and there was none other than Jeffrey Zeldman. He was the first to speak, followed by a long list of web wizards and design gurus. I came in with high expectations and left very satisfied. Every presenter had a different topic and some would build on what others had said.

An Event Apart was very inspiring and extremely informative. I came in with a strong working knowledge and left with a brain completely full of new ideas. Learning about web technologies, when to use web apps vs native apps, developing and designing for mobile, going from an idea to an interface, and better practices, have greatly improved my skill set. Fresh ideas and new approaches are always helpful in my work, and naturally benefit the whole Velocity team.

There were tons of great people that I met throughout the event. There was a very diverse range of attendees — from people working for huge international corporations, to startups, to tiny design studios. I can’t thank Jeffrey Zeldman and Eric Meyer enough for putting a conference of this caliber together. I look forward to attending another Event Apart soon.

-Lee Froese

Behind the Scenes of The Dream Factory Rebrand

Over the past year, Cocoon has been working with the board and key staff members at The Rainbow Society to develop a new brand – The Dream Factory – that was officially launched today.

“The process we used to guide The Rainbow Society through their rebrand is the same process we use for any company or organization,” said Kyle Romaniuk, president at Cocoon. “When we help our clients define their brand, we work to transform their function-driven business into a brand that has a real emotional connection. We build meaning beyond what they do, to help communicate why they do it. Of course, there is some level of innate emotion when you’re talking about an organization that helps kids with life threatening illnesses and their families – but there is always an emotional driver, no matter what business you are in.”

Kyle continued, “The emotional driver for The Dream Factory’s brand that motivates their behaviour as an organization is a sense of joy. That sense of joy can be created and experienced while thinking about what the dream could be, the anticipation leading up to the dream, the moments during the dream itself, and sharing the memories created by the dream for the rest of their lives. Creating a sense of joy helps get through the illness, and concentrate on the happiness childhood should bring. And it is that joy that describes what The Dream Factory is all about and why they exist – beyond the literal function of what they do. It’s that joy that people really connect with, and it motivates them to action.”

Chuck Phillips, creative director at Cocoon, added: “The Dream Factory identity is more about emotion than structure. It was a long process to refine the concept and make it work as an identity without losing the emotion and energy captured in our original sketches.”

Grace Thomson, executive director at The Dream Factory (formerly The Rainbow Society), had some valuable insights into their experience working with Cocoon. “Cocoon really challenged us to explore our organization in depth and to look at our brand from all angles, involving all stakeholders in the process. Because of this, the end result – The Dream Factory – is something that represents us perfectly, and it wasn’t just a typical solution. When the new brand was revealed to us, I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room – it connected so powerfully on an emotional level. We saw immediately how the the brand could be rolled out and what it could become.”

Watch the brand launch video.

The Rainbow Society becomes The Dream Factory

Today, The Rainbow Society became The Dream Factory, in a rebrand designed and conceived by the team here at Cocoon.

The Rainbow Society is a charitable institution here in Winnipeg. Founded in 1983, they were the first wish granting organization in Canada helping children with life threatening illnesses and their families. It’s a great cause… But it’s even closer to our hearts because of Cocoon’s very personal connection with the organization. When Kyle Romaniuk, president at Cocoon, was twelve years old, he was a dream kid himself. In the midst of his journey through cancer, The Rainbow Society sent Kyle and his family on a dream vacation – an experience that remains a highlight in Kyle’s life.

“It’s hard to put into words what it means to be able to come back to The Rainbow Society – as a healthy adult and now a father myself – and give something back to them,” Kyle said. “I couldn’t imagine a more worthy cause, and Cocoon was honoured to be able to donate our services.”

The new name – The Dream Factory – more clearly represents both the function and the spirit of the organization. The airship logo design was inspired by the organization’s new positioning line: “Sometimes kids deserve to get carried away.” The Dream Factory helps kids forget about their illness – even just for a moment – and encourages them to get carried away in the anticipation of having their dream come true, the experience itself, and the memories they will keep with them when they return to their routine of doctors, treatments, and hospital visits.

“When we develop a brand strategy, we work to peel away all the functional benefits of a brand and discover the emotional purpose behind what they do. For The Dream Factory, that greater emotional purpose is to create a sense of joy – and we used that to help us design the brand identity, values, and messaging,” said Romaniuk.

“It is only through the generous donations of businesses and individuals in Manitoba that we are able to do what we do for our dream kids,” said Grace Thomson, executive director of The Dream Factory. “This situation was unique because of Kyle’s close personal connection to the organization. He understands more than anyone what our dream children are facing as they battle life threatening illnesses – and it’s so wonderful that what goes around comes around. Kyle beat cancer and then came back to help other kids who are going through a similar childhood experience.”

Watch the brand launch video.

VELOCITYWG #5 — “Silver Heights”

Silver Heights is the area north of Portage Avenue, south of Ness, and situated between Moray and Mt. Royal Road. It takes its name from what should have been the home of the first Lieutenant-Governor of Rupert’s Land, William McDougall, which in turn took its name from the silver poplars that once blanketed the area. McDougall never actually lived there, owing to one Louis Riel and the Red River Rebellion.

VELOCITYWG #5 is “Silver Heights” by Interactive Designer, Lee Froese

Adams George Archibald, Manitoba’s first Lieutenant-Governor, also refused to live there at first.

“The main and permanent objection to a residence at Silver Heights, (and this applies in a special manner to the Winter Season) is its distance from Winnipeg. I should have been obliged either to keep an office in Winnipeg, and make a daily trip to town, which with the temperature, as we have recently had it, at 40° below zero, would not have been a very pleasant thing to do, or else compel every person wishing to see me, to add to his journey to Winnipeg, a further distance of five miles to go to Silver Heights.”
-Lieutenant-Governor Archibald, February 1871

It’s heartwarming to know that Manitobans have been complaining about going about their business in the cold for at least 150 years now.

As Winnipeg expanded after WWII, suburban areas like Silver Heights slowly came into their prime, with the Greatest Generation settling down into modern bungalows and giving birth to the Boomers. Architect W.D. Lount and his father Frank, who played a role in building Tuxedo, were two of the area’s principle developers. In addition to houses, Lount built the retro-marvelous Silver Heights Apartments, Park Towers, and Park Terrace.

Stop in for a cold beer and some ribs (or a Hughie burger) at the iconic Silver Heights Restaurant and Lounge (ironically, a few blocks east of the official boundary) opened in 1957 by the Siwicki family. The neighbourhood gem opened the same year as Silver Heights Collegiate, which was unfortunately demolished in 2007. After supper, take a drive down Mt. Royal Road past Trail Avenue and the Silver Heights Gates (A City of Winnipeg Grade III heritage site), and look at the Christmas lights speckling the neighbourhood as jet planes carrying holiday travelers come in for a landing overhead.

For added affect, play Vince Guaraldi’s, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

You can almost imagine Winnipeg, 1965.

VELOCITYWG is a weekly design project: simple exercises in unfettered creativity with a common theme that’s near and dear to our hearts: celebrating the streets, suburbs, and cityscape of Manitoba’s capital.

VELOCITYWG, Rebranding One Great City, continues next week.

Comments? jay@velocitybranding.com

VELOCITYWG #4 — “Armstrong’s Point”

Most Winnipeggers know Armstrong’s Point as “East Gate” for one of the neighbourhood’s three primary streets running off of Cornish Avenue.

Armstrong’s Point has always been an exclusive community. Built along an oxbow in the Assiniboine River, the area is naturally secluded. Although its first houses were constructed in the 1880s, it wasn’t until 1910 when residents erected the characteristic gates which still stand today.

VELOCITYWG #4 is “Armstrong’s Point” by Velocity Creative Director, Karla Burr.

Armstrong’s Point is one of those neighbourhoods that you can’t help but admire. Similar to Crescentwood, the little enclave touts a gaggle of architectural marvels from Winnipeg’s late 19th and early 20th Centuries — beautifully complemented with handsome old trees, tangled bushes, and manicured lawns.

Karla’s comments:

I had no idea that East and West Gate were actually called Armstrong’s Point. I couldn’t ignore the fact that everyone knows the area as East and West Gate — so I created a logo type that has wrought-iron details and looks like the archway of a gate. That also explains the E and W at the top.

Although spring and summer are lovely in East Gate… er… I mean Armstrong’s Point, nothing comes close to the beauty of the neighbourhood in mid to late fall, or just after a fresh dusting of November snow. Walking a complete circuit around the area won’t take long, so be sure to stop in at the Cornish Library, built in 1914 with funds donated by U.S. industrialist Andrew Carnegie and named for Winnipeg’s first mayor, Francis Cornish. It’s just about the best place possible to while away an hour or two and get lost in a good mystery novel.

VELOCITYWG is a weekly (well, we aim for weekly) design project: simple exercises in unfettered creativity with a common theme that’s near and dear to our hearts: celebrating the streets, suburbs, and cityscape of Manitoba’s capital.

VELOCITYWG, Rebranding One Great City, continues next week.

Comments? jay@velocitybranding.com

Boo Breaks Another Record!

It’s official! This year’s Safeway Boo at the Zoo has already set an attendance record, with over 44,000 visitors so far, and four nights to go! That’s a 400 % increase over 2010 attendance!

 

“The numbers we’re experiencing are unprecedented,” said Lorne Perrin, VP Marketing & Park Services with the Assiniboine Park Conservancy (APC) which organizes the event, now in its 16th year. “We’re absolutely thrilled with the enthusiasm for this year’s Safeway Boo at the Zoo and we love to hear that people are enjoying the new aspects of the event.”

Read the Winnipeg Free Press story here.

 

What the article doesn’t mention is the extensive use of troll magic, courtesy of Icky, Boo’s new mascot. Icky was discovered on a recent zoological expedition to Northern Manitoba by Velocity Designer  Colette Boisvert. The big purple troll was lured out of his cozy cave with the promise of all the free chocolate bars, cold pizza, and sweat socks he could eat.

Boo at the Zoo runs till Sunday!

 

 

 

 

Velocity Branding is hiring!

The work keeps coming and we continue to welcome new clients and expand current relationships! For this we are starting to look for some additional help around the office.

We are looking for a Print Production Designer and a WordPress Developer/Designer. Click for more.

A BOOtiful Weekend for a Troll!

This year’s Safeway Boo at the Zoo has broken a sales record in just four days!

From Thursday Oct. 20 to Sunday Oct. 23,
nearly 27,000 tickets were sold — SPOOKTACULAR!

In addition to the record, feedback has been monstrously positive! We like to think that Icky the Troll, discovered in the remote wilderness of Northern Manitoba by Velocity senior designer Colette Boisvert, may have had a hand in boosting attendance. How? Troll magic.

Here’s a shot of Icky with Colette (left) and Creative Director Karla Burr (right).

Icky loves the ladies.

 

 

Safeway Boo at the Zoo runs till Sunday, October 30.