Following the success VANOC had in securing sponsorship for the Vancouver Winter Games, several of its top minds have formally launched The TwentyTen Group, a “strategic marketing, sports and entertainment company” looking to leverage its gold-medal success beyond the Games.
Officially opening the doors today, TwentyTen is led by Andrea Shaw, managing partner and former vice-president of sponsorship sales and marketing at the 2010 Winter Games, and includes Bill Cooper, former director of commercial rights management. The company has a client list that includes The Canadian Olympic Committee, Vancouver Games CEO John Furlong, The City of Vancouver’s 125 Anniversary Celebration and the University of Victoria.
In a statement, Shaw said the company’s goal was to use best practices learned at VANOC “to elevate industry standards both in Canada and around the globe. Our innovative approach along with core values of trust, integrity and service excellence bode well for an incredibly exciting future.”
Furlong, who worked with Shaw’s team and is now a client, spoke to Marketing in December about TwentyTen, which he said has a new approach to corporate sponsorship.
“It’s one thing to sell more products, but I think it’s another to come out of an association and feel like your workforce is more engaged, your relationship with the community is better, you’re seen to be involved in something worthy,” he said. “There’s a lot more there than just selling more T-shirts.”
Furlong credits Shaw’s team with “the largest deal in Olympic history and a record $760 million in domestic sponsorship, representing 90% of the Games operating budget, being generated in a tumultuous global economic climate.”
TwentyTen will have offices in Vancouver and Toronto.
