“People are passionate about sport and connect with things they love.”
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Add an Olympic medal, charisma and a wanted to be part of the experience, but compelling personal story and the odds had no idea how to benefit from linking improve. Still, there’s no sure thing. up with an athlete. “It’s part heart, part science,” says Enter Agenda, with a bevy of Young. “We’ve seen athletes you think tangible benefits to sponsoring an can’t miss not attract an endorsement.” athlete on the road to Olympic or In an increasingly fragmented world-class glory, including making marketplace, Young believes companies the athletes, as Young says, “3-D brand want innovative ways to reach their ambassadors” for corporations. To do consumer base. Touching customers that he had to overcome the perception with a link to an event or activity that that giving money to help fund athletes resonates personally is one potential was simply patronage. “A lot of people avenue. “Sponsorship can get to an area still consider it a handout and it where conventional advertising can’t,” shouldn’t be,” says Young about athlete says Young. “People are passionate sponsorship. “A business can give an about sport and connect with things athlete $20,000. But what we look to they love. do is get $100,000 worth of value for “It’s about having heroes who their investment.” are more than NHL players,” Young “We’re trying to tell a story through continues, noting that when four-time these athletes,” says Jennifer Johnson, Olympic medalist Kristina Groves goes ’05 BPE, Agenda’s manager of client into a school, kids know who she is and relations who came on board in 2008. have seen a speed skating race. “Ten She goes on to say that stories are years ago, we would have had to tell a powerful tool for building a bond between athlete and client and a key part people what speed skating was. Now, people know the Hamelin brothers,” of Agenda’s success-management plan. “We want our athletes to be great athletes, who won gold in 2010. Groves joined the Agenda fold great role models and great marketing in 2006 after capturing two silver partners for our corporate clients.” medals at the Turin Olympics and Young came up with this paradigm says representation allows her to after a 20-year career in sport focus on skating. “Agenda is really administration, including marketing good at helping each athlete partner roles at Nike and senior producer with companies they feel connected duties at NBC Sports, where he built to,” says Groves, who added another the network’s website for the Sydney two medals in Vancouver and whose Olympics in 2000. But the Agenda story sponsors include Nike and Oakley. “I starts with a philosophy that stands feel any company I work with because the image of a typical “agent” on its of Agenda has been aligned with my ear. “We try not to be that guy pushing own agenda.” for money,” says Young, stressing the That link was evident with natural need to make the company’s athlete foods manufacturer Hain Celestial, experience a positive one. which sponsored Groves. To celebrate That means creating the right links her Olympic achievements, the between athlete and corporation---a company set up a Facebook page process very similar to matchmaking. that allowed the first 500 Canadian Those who set up love connections respondents to send a personal message know there’s no guarantee of success. to Groves while also supporting her But a trained practitioner takes note favourite charity. of the qualities that might make for a “Celestial recognized very soon that compatible match and sport marketing I was part of Right to Play,” she says. is no different. Being attractive, well“At the Olympics, they made a $5,000 spoken and a competitor in a sport that donation to that charity in my name.” connects with the public is a good start.