MUNICIPAL MARKETING contractual agreement , such as an arrangement that only one brand of alcohol or soft drink will be sold in a particular municipal venue .
“ I would say we ’ re behind America generally , because it is a bit of corporate creep into municipalities and who knows how comfortable we are with that ?” says Hagey . “ It ’ s generally not a norm yet , whereas down in the States it ’ s becoming a little more normal .”
Lest Ontarians recoil in horror as they imagine children ’ s playgrounds plastered with endorsements of sugary snacks , Hagey points out that some types of corporate sponsorship are already taken for granted , from littleleague uniforms carrying the name of a neighbourhood hardware store to sidewalk benches paid for by a local real estate agent or advertising on the boards at the community hockey rink .
“ I grew up in a small town and we were the Legion team , because the Legion ponied up the money to buy our uniforms ,” he says . “ People are already okay with advertising on buses ; I don ’ t think it ’ s a huge leap to put it on snow ploughs . You see ads on the rink boards when little Billy is playing hockey – why not when he ’ s at the swimming pool ?”
Before starting to envision specific sponsorship situations , Hagey says , municipalities should go through “ a bit of a needs assessment ” to determine what the community is ready for . He breaks this stage down into five specific questions to answer . 1 . Are your council and community on board ? 2 . Do you already have a policy covering this area ? 3 . Should you approach municipal entrepreneurism comprehensively , or simply open the door to consider opportunities as they arise ?
4 . Will advertising and sponsorship opportunities be sought out and negotiated by city staff or an outside firm ?
5 . Where will the potential revenue be spent ?
Breaking down these questions , a municipality ’ s responses and their importance is key to the future success of a municipal marketing plan , according to Hagey .
Council and community support When the City of Kitchener carried out a community survey , 84 per cent of respondents “ somewhat ” or “ strongly ” supported generating revenues through sponsorship , which
“ People are already okay with advertising on buses ; I don ’ t think it ’ s a huge leap to put it on snow ploughs . You see ads on the rink boards when little Billy is playing hockey – why not when he ’ s at the swimming pool ?”
– Ryan Hagey , Director of Financial Planning , City of Kitchener
Many popular restaurants have purchased floor decals in local venues like the Don McLaren Arena under Kitchener ’ s new marketing initiative
MUNICIPAL MONITOR 19