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Events become memorable through meaningful
shared experiences. In this issue, Kate and
Yvette look at two charitable events
sponsored by major companies and will rate
them according to the following system:
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The Good - |
holiday eggnog in front of
a roaring fire |
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The Bad -
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too much holiday eggnog |
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The Ugly - |
holiday eggnog that you
discover in the back of your fridge
in March (it happens more often than
you think!) |
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Yvette’s Event:
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Campaign: |
CN Tower Climb for United Way |
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Venue: |
CN Tower |
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Date:
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Annual event |
Yvette’s Rating: Good.
One of the best known charity events in
Toronto is the CN Tower Climb for the United
Way, which raises funds for over 200 health
and social service agencies. A few years
ago, when I was at Scotiabank, my son, Connor
and I had the opportunity to be involved
with this annual event as both a sponsor and
as a participant.
Scotiabank sponsored the climb in 2003 as
part of its ongoing commitment to community
service on both a local and a national
level. Major banks will often sponsor events
such as these in order to raise awareness
for a cause and to actively make a
difference in the communities that they
serve. Many institutions also offer matching
gift programs and encourage employees to
become directly involved in corporate
fundraising initiatives, raising the bar
each year.
The CN Tower Climb is targeted to members of
the public, but also to corporations, so my
colleagues and I, along with our families,
quickly found ourselves scampering up the
stairs (all 1776 of them) alongside
colleagues from TD Canada Trust, RBC and
CIBC. Healthy competition led to over a
million dollars being raised that year for
United Way agencies, and we all felt as if
we had been part of something far greater
than ourselves.
This event is a great example of the ways in
which experiential marketing can reach
audiences by creating fun, memorable
experiences that leave audiences with the
feeling that they have participated in
something larger than life. |
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Kate’s Event:
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Campaign: |
The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront
Marathon |
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Venue: |
Toronto |
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Date:
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Annual event
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Kate’s Rating: Good
The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon
takes place every September with a full
42.2km marathon, a half marathon, a 5km run
and walk. The Charity Challenge has a goal
to have every runner - no matter what the
distance - running in support of a charity.
In 2005 nearly 10,000 runners raised over
$625,000 for 41 charities and this year, I
had the chance to participate with my
daughter.
As a runner, I was familiar with the
marathon, but 10K was my max! I hadn’t
thought of participating until my daughter
brought home a permission slip to
participate in a special section of the run
called “Marathon Kids”. Marathon Kids is a
special program targeted to school children
in grades 4-8. As part of their commitment
to promoting active lifestyles, nearly 500
students (along with parent volunteers such
as myself) joined the marathon runners for
the last five kilometres of the event.
The event provides a unique opportunity that
not only reaches adult audiences, but also
reaches young people, many of whom will be
opening their first bank accounts in the
next few years. By inviting school children
to join an actual marathon, complete with
t-shirts and hundreds of onlookers cheering
from the sidelines, Scotiabank created a fun
and positive experience that will hopefully
contribute to a lifetime of healthy physical
exercise. My daughter had never run 5K
before and was very proud of herself. |
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