Toronto 2015 has chosen Endeavour and Toronto start-up Trajectory to develop a brand for the 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games.
Nineteen agencies hit the starting line in April with submissions for the upcoming sporting event’s visual identity, but by the final turn only three submissions made the shortlist: Endeavour/Trajectory, BBDO Canada and Interbrand.
“They were terrific,” said Ian Troop, CEO of Toronto 2015. The judging panel “was really impressed by all three submissions. They’d obviously spent lots of time… doing consumer research, thinking creatively on how to express [our brand]. We were really fortunate that all three groups were committed to this.”
Submissions were scored on the quality of their brand planning, development and creative attributes by a panel of independent branding experts assembled for the RFP.
Along with Troop, the panel included Michel Frappier, chair of the Ontario Advertising Review Board; Allan Middleton, a professor at the Schulich School of Business; and Richard Peddie, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.
“The strength of Endeavour in the strategy and execution of major events was complemented by Trajectory’s strategic and creative brand expertise creating an approach that will be a vital element of the Toronto 2015 Games,” said Middleton, in a statement.
While Endeavour and Trajectory’s submission has been approved, Troop expects the brand won’t to be ready for the public until August. “There’s some work to be done across the architecture, the visualization of it. We have to make sure we check with consumers. We’ve done some work there already.”
The branding assignment does not include marketing duties. While Toronto 2015 recently hired a senior vice-president of marketing–Katherine Henderson, former general manager, vice-president and director of marketing for Whirlpool Corporation–Troop could not comment on the likelihood or timing of an advertising agency-of-record search.
