In an effort to increase awareness of Paralympic sport among both consumers and sponsors, the Canadian Paralympic Committee has launched a new marketing campaign spotlighting its “super-athletes.”
The campaign launched Monday with a series of four 45-second vignettes that will be shown on sporting telecasts and featured on both the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s Facebook page and a dedicated website.
The 45-second vignettes, developed by Toronto production company FamilyStyle in collaboration with CTV, showcase four Canadian Paralympic athletes. An additional 16 spots are slated to debut in April, profiling participants in the 2012 London Paralympic Games.
The Canadian Paralympic Committee is not currently “top of mind” for Canadians, with a Feb. 2011 survey finding that only 15% are aware that the organization manages international games for athletes with a disability.
Canadian Paralympic Committee CEO Henry Storgaard said that one of the campaign objectives is to create Paralympic stars that are instantly recognizable to Canadians, just as other sports leagues and associations such as the NHL have done.
“We’re trying to build that star system that’s been so prevalent in other sports organizations, such as hockey with Sidney Crosby,” he said, noting that nations such as the United States and South Africa have successfully accomplished the task.
Each vignette provides a brief overview of a Paralympic athlete, each of whom is given a nickname that reflects their specific competitive profile and character. One of the profiled athletes in the first batch of videos is Dominic Larocque, a member of the Canadian men’s sledge hockey team dubbed “The Warrior,” who lost one of his legs while serving with the Canadian armed forces in Afghanistan.
“We’re trying to emulate the overall sports model where the Wayne Gretzkys of the world really increase viewership, participation, social media numbers, all of those kind of things,” said Storgaard, who joined the Canadian Paralympic Committee in August of 2009 after spending much of his career in business management, communications and marketing.
“So many of our athletes have dwelled in obscurity for so many years, so we want to bring them to the forefront because they have fabulous stories in addition to their athletic accomplishments,” he added.
One of the campaign’s longer-term goals, Storgaard added, is to get people afflicted with a disability exercising more. Only 3% of Canadians with a disability are currently physically active, said Storgaard, citing 2006 Statistics Canada data, and the organization’s goal is to double that number in the next three years.
Successfully achieving that objective will not only contribute to better physical health among disabled Canadians, he said, but also significantly increase the size of the athlete pool from which the Canadian Paralympic Committee can draw.
The campaign is also intended to raise the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s profile among corporate sponsors. The organization currently receives $6 million in annual funding from the federal government – part of a new commitment that runs through the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games in Toronto – and an additional $2 million a year from corporate sponsors including Pfizer, Petro Canada, Bell Media and General Motors.
While the Canadian Paralympic Committee has not been an active marketer in the past, Storgaard said it is “fundamental” to raising awareness of the organization and soliciting sponsor interest.
This renewed commitment to marketing and media outreach is reflected in increased media attention: the organization is currently tracking toward 300 million media impressions this year, compared to 75 million a year ago.
