Note: This story was updated on Nov. 7, 2012
After a four-month-long search process, Fuse Marketing Group has been appointed to handle strategy, branding, development, social media and digital work for the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games.
The Toronto-based agency was one of nine companies that showed interest in the appointment, and it was announced this week that they’d become the official supplier of web and social media development and management for the games.
Stephen Brown, president of Fuse Marketing, said the agency will eventually oversee ticket sales and promotion when the event takes place in summer 2015.
“It’ll be a full life cycle, from beginning to end,” said Brown, of Fuse’s role in the games. “It’s a great sized project. I love that it’s a Toronto thing.”
Brown also said Fuse will develop a Pan Am mobile app. “We have to be building three years down the road for mobile needs,” he said, adding that the development team has already begun work on it. “It’s more than an app, it’s a mobile philosophy.”
Katherine Henderson, senior vice-president of marketing and revenue at the Pan/Parapan Am Games, said she did “quite a bit of extensive research into the market” and ultimately chose Fuse because of their strong digital background and versatility.
“It was a combination of their experience and ability to deliver value to the games, and their understanding of what it is we’re trying to do at a community level,” she said.
“We just want a really good user experience and we want digital excellence,” she added about the mobile app. “It really bring things home for consumers.”
Brown said that as the games draw closer, Fuse will have to integrate with e-commerce and other third party solutions for things such as ticketing and volunteer sign-ups.
“First and foremost, we’re asking them to help us engage our fan base,” said Henderson. “We need to be able to reach into communities all over the globe. [Fuse] will help us develop programs that connect athletes and spectators with the rest of the world.”
