The Olympic advantage

When her team was on television, especially during its 6-3 victory over Sweden in the gold medal game, some NBF branches across the country threw curling parties. There was no fooling around in Winnipeg, though. That office simply shut down each day until the last rock had been thrown.

“Productivity in Winnipeg went to near zero when she was playing. We brought in food and snacks and one of the mutual fund companies heard we were having a party and sent over more food,” he says.

But now the big question is, how can the bank leverage having a gold medal winner on the payroll? Spiring says there’s no question that having a current Olympian on full-time staff is rare at worst and possibly unique in Canada.

“Most Olympic athletes are training full time. Here’s a person who is working, being a mom and training as a world-class athlete,” he says. “(Her win) is great for the bank. We have to win by this association but can we win with a home run or a ground rule double?”

Derrick Coupland, a partner at Blacksheep Strategy, a Winnipeg-based branding consulting firm, predicts big benefits for financial services firms that are affiliated with high-profile Olympic athletes. He says sponsorship of amateur athletes can be seen as more authentic in the public eye than partnerships with professional athletes.

“There’s nothing else quite like it. It’s spectacular for the brand and spectacular value (for the company). It’s a fabulous opportunity because Olympic athletes are so endeared in our country. There’s a strong affinity by all Canadians to them. For companies to be able to leverage their accomplishments is fabulous from an awareness standpoint,” he says.

There is also less cynicism shown towards amateur athletes, Coupland says, because their endeavours are, by and large, not driven by the pursuit of money.

“There is great value in professional athlete sponsorship, too, but the story is as much about money because the size of the endorsement gets so widely reported. There’s more of a purity of sport (with amateur athletes). It’s as though we don’t have to worry about them having a fall from grace that we sometimes do with professional athletes,” he says.

Next: RBC’s sponsorship of Canada’s Olympic team
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RBC’s sponsorship of Canada’s Olympic team

As an official sponsor of Canada’s Olympic team, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has the biggest exposure to the just-returned athletes from Sochi. The country’s biggest bank’s roster of “RBC Olympians” lead a steady parade to the medal podium across a wide variety of sports.

They include:

• Brad Jacobs – Gold medalist as the skip of the men’s curling team.
• Jill Officer – Gold medalist as the second on Team Canada’s women’s curling team.
• Jayna Hefford and Caroline Ouellette – gold medalists on Canada’s women’s hockey team in Sochi, Vancouver and Turin.
• Patrick Chan – Silver medalist in both the men’s individual figure skating and team events.
• Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir – Silver medalists in both the figure skating team event and ice dancing in Sochi, following a gold medal performance at the Vancouver Olympics.
• Mikael Kingsbury – Silver medalist in men’s moguls freestyle skiing in Sochi.
• P.K. Subban – gold medalist on Canada’s men’s hockey team. (Unlike the others, he’s not an RBC Olympian but is instead one of the bank’s “Play Hockey” ambassadors.)

Each of RBC’s Olympians has a different relationship with bank. Jacobs, for example, already worked at RBC in the Sault Ste. Marie main branch before being welcomed into the program. Officer, meanwhile, works for the regional public affairs team in Winnipeg.

Each athlete serves as a community ambassador, speaking at schools, employee events or other events that the bank sponsors. They also help tell RBC’s story through videos on the bank’s YouTube channel.

“But we are not done yet,” says Rob Johnson, Winnipeg-based regional president for RBC. “We look forward to cheering on RBC Paralympian and para-Nordic ski team member Robbi Weldon and all of our nation’s Paralympic team as they prepare to compete at the 2014 Paralympic Winter games beginning March 7th in Sochi.”

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is hoping its sponsorship of the upcoming Paralympics will also pay off, albeit in a less high-profile way than Olympic support.

— Photo source: Bloomberg