Background
Wakeham & Associates Marketing, Inc. was retained by the former Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts to conduct a sales campaign for the naming rights for the venue. With the departure of the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet as lead tenants of the venue, the Hummingbird Centre was preparing to undergo a significant renovation and re-branding. The newly re-launched venue will be positioned as the home of the next generation of creative expression, reflecting Canada’s multicultural reality. It will become the preferred venue for live music presentations, and will actively promote international cultural activities.
Objectives
- Secure a brand/company that was congruent with the new brand and which was willing to make a long-term commitment to the venue.
Strategies
- Targeted and presented to a select group of brands in a few pre-determined categories.
- Built a matrix of rights and benefits that would allow these brands the opportunity to integrate their product/services into the venue and to maximize their interaction with the venue’s patrons.
Solutions
- Approached Sony Canada with a fully integrated naming rights partnership that included integrating Sony consumer products into all aspects of the venue. Also looked at activation opportunities across several of Sony’s business segments including Sony Playstation; Sony Ericcson; Sony Music; Sony Pictures; Sony industrial projection systems and more.
- Offered storefront space in the venue lobby for a Sony Store.
- Year round programming including a multi-million dollar marketing and publicity plan and numerous opportunities for Sony to interact with consumers and major Greater Toronto Area retailers.
Results
- Finalized a 20-year multi-million dollar naming rights agreement with Sony – the first venue naming agreement ever undertaking by the company anywhere in the world.
- Provided Sony with a venue that would become a living showcase for their products and technology.
- Matched two youth-oriented brands with international reach and established a truly symbiotic relationship.