Through its ongoing association with Adidas, Montreal agency Sid Lee has worked with two of the biggest soccer stars on the planet in Lionel Messi and David Beckham.
That experience was a key factor in the Montreal Impact’s decision to hire Sid Lee in preparation for its 2012 Major League Soccer (MLS) debut.
The agency’s soccer expertise extends to its division Sid Lee Architecture, which is currently working with the European soccer club AFC Ajax to develop a museum-type fan experience.
“If you take a look at Sid Lee’s client roster, international experience and exposure and the different cultures they represent, they are a perfect fit for our organization,” said Claude Pinard, executive vice-president of sales and marketing for the Impact.
While a certain Hollywood celebrity may have undermined its meaning over the past few weeks, Pinard described the Impact as a “winning” organization seeking a winning agency.
“One of the words we don’t use here is ‘competitive.’ We’re not competitive, we’re a winning organization,” he said. “We don’t want an agency that is competitive in the market, we want a winning agency.”
While the two partners are still in the strategy phase of their relationship – Toronto-based Pigeon Branding + Design has already revamped the team’s logo and associated imagery – Pinard told Marketing on Friday that he has been impressed by the “keen intelligence” of the Sid Lee team as it relates to the Impact’s business objectives for 2012.
While the Impact has existed since 1993 and has enjoyed success in both the North American Soccer League and the USL First Division, Pinard said the team’s heritage won’t be a factor in Sid Lee’s future work with the brand.
“Everything’s in the air now. If you work with Sid Lee you’ve got to make sure you’re open to being challenged,” he said. “These guys look deep into the organizations they work with and challenge the way you do things. At the end of the day it’s going to be a totally new image of the Impact with the same core values.”
“It’s a big opportunity,” said Martin Gauthier, executive vice-president and senior partner with Sid Lee and the executive who will oversee a team handling the Impact business that is expected to total about 15 people. “We really want this to become Montreal’s number one summer sport and passion.”
Gauthier described Major League Baseball’s Montreal Expos, who defected to Washington in 2004, as a “long lost summer love” for Montrealers, and said that Sid Lee hopes to re-ignite the city’s passion for summer sports.
“We really want to bring some love and passion to Montreal and we’re sure the Montreal Impact will do that,” he said.
Gauthier said Sid Lee will employ both traditional and non-traditional marketing tactics, and with a young “young and passionate” fan base as the target, social networks and mobile applications will play a key role in future marketing outreach.
The first work for the Impact is expected to debut in mid-June and will be directed towards season ticket holders. While the goal is to sell tickets and sell out Saputo Stadium, Pinard said the ultimate objective is to create ambassadors for the team using a grassroots marketing approach, similar to what Toronto F.C. has accomplished in its five years in MLS.
