Inventa: Planning Ahead Reaps Immense Rewards
Publish Date: August 2009
Five years may seem like a lot of planning for a two week event, but when that event is the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games – drawing visitors from all over the world to Vancouver and generating a wealth of economic opportunities for local businesses – the importance of preparation cannot be over-emphasized. So it made sense for Inventa to start early on its strategy to be an important player in the Games-related marketplace.
The Vancouver-based marketing agency began researching the Games-culture years ago by visiting the Torino 2006 Winter Games and the Beijing 2008 Summer Games and by sponsoring Olympic Windsurfer Nicola Girke in 2008. Aware of the limited timeframe for capitalizing on Games-related business opportunities, executive vice president David Nichols likes to stress the importance of reaching out.
“Bottom line – our success comes from being proactive and establishing ourselves as Olympic experts early in the game,” he says.
This has certainly been a wise strategy, proven by the numerous competitive bids that the company has won.
By taking the initiative as an active bidder on private and government contracts, the company has been involved in many Games-related projects. These include the RBC Flag Tour, the outdoor festival for the Canadian Pacific Spirit Train, and the interactive BCLC Games Dome experience. Additionally, they have contracted with Coca Cola on the 2008 Torch Exhibition Tour and the upcoming 2010 Olympic Torch Relay and Coca-Cola Live Site. A contract with Vancouver Organizing Committee for 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) on their City Celebrations rounds out Inventa’s cache of Games-related projects.
The Coca Cola account in particular has enabled Inventa to prove itself as an industry leader in sustainability. By using only eco-friendly materials in its creation of lighting, tenting, and furniture for Coca Cola, Inventa is practicing its dedication to recycling and addressing climate change.
“Sustainability is of the utmost importance to us,” says Nichols. “Both in practice and in messaging.”
Having garnered over 5.2 million dollars in revenue from the combination of these Games-related contracts over the last four years, Inventa is pleased with the return on their investment of effort. But the true scope of the company’s achievement becomes apparent when considering that Inventa was often the smallest company to bid on these contracts, and yet ended up triumphing over significantly larger multinationals.
Nichols attributes this success largely to the company’s intimate familiarity with B.C., as well as a home-grown passion to be involved.
“International companies come in with big promises,” says Nichols. “But they tout only token representatives from Canada, and that’s not enough.”
While Inventa is a key player in the local market, they also firmly emphasize the importance of networking to ensure that they are never limited to this market. By leveraging their strong national coverage and by networking with international marketing companies, Inventa has been able to form a partnership with U.S. marketing agency Ignition to win the Games-related Coca-Cola projects.
Nichols urges other B.C. based businesses to take advantage of their experience in the local economy and to bid on Games-related opportunities that are aligned with their areas of expertise.
“Be selective,” he advises, “and find something that fits exactly what you do, and then plan properly and go after it hard.”
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