2010 Olympics Business News for the Vancouver and Whistler
regions of British Columbia. Plus, Alberta, the rest of Canada, Washington
State, Oregon, Idaho, Montana & California
OlyBLOG Features: Olympic Opportunities for Vancouver Retailers Published January 26 2009 -
Opportunities Exist for Everyone - but you have to LOOK!
Hint: Look to athletes and the food sector ...
It is now obvious to most people in our Olympic region that living and doing business in 2010 Vancouver is much harder and more expensive than our politicians and VANOC led us to believe.
The economic crunch has made it even more difficult.
Almost everyone is struggling, especially since Vancouver property values dropped and taxes increased. Many companies are now carrying heavy mortgages on properties that aren't worth anything near what they paid, and if you've been paying attention you know taxes are not going to be reduced to match the lower assessments. It seems unfair, but that's how it works in all Olympic regions. Someone has to pay for 2010.
Unfortunately, it will only get worse, which means business owners cannot afford to simply go with the flow and hope for the best.
After the Olympics leave town and the final tax bill arrives many business owners, if they aren't already, will be be in dire straits unless they do something early to make up for the added costs.
Fortunately, there are opportunities, but only if you know where to look.
One industry with tremendous opportunity is the food sector.
Regardless of the economy, and no matter how the Olympics impacts our community, we all still have to eat. FOOD is a necessity, and it is also a luxury
we afford ourselves even in tough times.
Food is also one of the engines that drives the Games. For example, McDonalds is probably the best known Olympic sponsor. And even though fast food isn't regarded as the breakfast of champions, McDonalds has parlayed their position into a gold medal top spot.
Think about this for a moment.
Do Olympic athletes eat McDonalds burgers and fries?
Well maybe occasionally when they aren't training, but Olympic athletes' diets are designed to improve performance, which means they are very particular about what goes into their bodies.
Why does this matter to Vancouver food retailers?
If you're in the food industry it's a big deal, because if you've read my book or have followed this blog you know Olympic athletes are the bridge between Olympic synergy and the billions of people around the world who follow the Games.
Everyone in an Olympic region involved in the food industry including growers, producers, suppliers, distributors, transportation, and especially companies that retail through grocery outlets and restaurants are in an ideal position to leverage Olympic momentum.
None of these companies need a direct or even an indirect link with Olympic organizations like VANOC to take advantage of the excitement and opportunity generated by the 2010 Games.
The key is to appeal to the different varieties of people interested and maybe not even interested in the Olympics, and the fulcrum for this interest starts with the athletes and their support staff.
Athletes eat ... and we eat.
For many of us food is probably the only tangible and managed experience we have in common with athletes. U.S. Olympic swimming phenomenon Michael Phelps consumes 12,000 calories a day when he's training and competing. The average person probably consumes about 2,500 calories daily, but food tastes just as good to Phelps and is just as important to him as it is to us.
Vancouver is the health and organic food capital of Canada, and maybe even North America. We know food. Athletes know food, and when an Olympic athlete and their support teams show up here they will look for the best possible fuel for their bodies.
Consider too that whether someone likes the Olympics or not, it's hard not to like and respect Olympic athletes. Many even feel sorry athlete's are caught between corporate greed and their passion to compete.
Kids absolutely love Olympic athletes, and if there was ever a time to get your kids to eat their veggies it is now. Olympic athletes don't stuff their faces with empty calories. They eat good wholesome food, and they consume tons of it. American athletes were so concerned about food quality in Beijing 2008 they brought food and water with them.
Do you think finding good food in Vancouver will be a concern?
Will Olympic athletes coming for 2010 import food, or will they take a walk with their nutritionists and drop in to Capers or Choices Market, or even Stongs to see what's fresh?
All of these companies and many more provide incredible food for Vancouverites, and it's probably of much higher quality than most athletes can find in their hometowns anywhere in the world.
The trick for BC retailers will be to connect the dots and associate Olympic athletes with the grocer's brand without having the 2010 trademark police knock on their doors. It can be done, and many companies in past Olympic regions do it, but only if you plan carefully and early to leverage the momentum.
You might initially feel guilty and maybe even intimidated by Olympic organizations for even thinking along these lines, but keep in mind that at every Olympics event companies like Pepsi, Nike, Quanta's and a long list of other well respected companies do it and they and their customers don't feel bad about it at all. Read my book for the details. You will be surprised how many companies leverage Olympic momentum. It is ethical and incredibly effective. The secret is doing it diplomatically and in a manner that preserves the integrity of the Olympics and your company.
Athletes are the bridge to Olympic spectators as well as local consumers. How excited will little Jimmy or Mary Vancouverite be when they go online to see the types of foods healthy athletes eat. Granted, none of us will be chowing down in such gigantic proportions, but when you consider that one of the reasons a country hosts the Olympics is to improve the general health of their residents and that all levels of government will be promoting it voraciously, it doesn't take much to figure out your company should get on the train before it leaves the station.
Grocers are just starting to figure out how to use their websites, video and Twitter in combination to reach busy parents who plan daily meals.
Why not make it a meal fit for an athlete, and if you get a local athlete to do a little in-store cooking Martha Stewart style, even better! Web 2.0 is the secret sauce. It's not a stretch to think food suppliers would also be interested in becoming part of the equation by providing production funding. Everyone wins. Local grocers are never going to convince Olympic gold medallists to join them in a web-based cooking show, but there are plenty of other athletes with similar cachet to make it work for everyone, including the athlete. Pick the silver, bronze, fourth or even twentieth place athlete and start cooking.
Grocers should also align with B&Bs because bed and breakfasts will have a special challenge feeding the hordes of sports fans. You can also bet that many temporary B&Bs will pop up expressly during the Game. As you would expect, sports spectators will come from foreign countries looking for familiar foods. Does your local B&B know where to find a fresh supply of Bocconcini, and are you willing to have it delivered in a city crippled by transportation chaos? More on transportation later.
On the flip side of the Olympic frenzy coin, it's becoming obvious a growing number of locals aren't too enthused about Vancouver hosting 2010. Some never were, as evidenced by the increasing volume of nasty feedback seen in "Letters to the Editor" sections. The reality is that by the time the Games roll around, and like in all Olympic regions, many people who live here will not want anything to do with the Games. Many are already trying to figure out how to get out of town. If you plan your marketing strategy properly you can also appeal to these people, and it will be easier than you think.
Grocers are also well advised to create alliances with companies that already have experience delivering food because these companies have refrigerated city trucks and can provide a perfect solution for shut-in seniors who will no longer be able to easily jump on a bus or take a cab in our security grid locked Olympics city. Handicapped people are often left to fend completely for themselves in Olympic regions. The city will quite literally shut down respective of regular business, which means a lot of people who live here will need help.
We know about these challenges because they occur in all Olympic regions in the free world including Sydney Australia 2000, Salt Lake City 2002, Athens 2004, and Turin 2006. If VANOC had a plan to solve these recurring problems they would have been boasting about a solution long ago, so we suspect they will stumble and bumble through it like all the other cities. Olympic organizations spring these challenges on every region knowing full well governments will bail them out. They know it is easier to ask forgiveness than to beg permission. The financial fiasco at the Athlete's Village is a perfect example of how they spring surprises on residents. Lack of transparency is a tool they wield effectively.
The Olympics is nothing at all like Expo 86.
Locals have already been poked, prodded, spindled and mutilated with rising taxes that are rapidly increasing in an effort to pay for the Games. We've also had to bear the brunt of falling house values, and contend with dirty, dusty, noise inconvenient road detours and construction.
Many locals have already been forced to shop at different retail locations because they couldn't easily move across the Cambie construction zones, or they wanted to avoid entirely any of the Olympic infrastructure construction areas. When consumers change shopping habits in Olympic regions they rarely return to their old haunts, so if you're expecting them to come back after the dust clears don't hold your breath.
As a retailer it is your task to accommodate your customers and alleviate their stress, and the best way to do it is to empathize and let them know you feel their Olympic pain. Let them know you're going out of your way to make their life easier during this very chaotic Olympic frenzy that will only get worse as we approach the big event in 2010.
Most retailers have no idea an "erie quite zone" will occur for about three months prior to the Games. Sales in all sectors will drop dramatically. In this period tourists avoid Vancouver almost completely. The region will start to shut down, re-route and even change one-way road directions as they plan and prepare security check points. Hotels will scramble to finish last minute renovations. The city will be a mess. VANOC will also raid local businesses for employees and begin exhaustive volunteer training.
VANOC can't simply set it all up and turn it on the day before Opening Ceremonies. They slowly work up to it, and install, and test-as-they-go over a period of a few months.
If your location is anywhere near Olympic infrastructure and facilities you better start now to prepare for the infamous dry spell. It puts some companies permanently out of business well before the big event.
Let's get back to McDonalds for a moment. Considering they are the official Olympic food sponsor, and that they'll be stuffing Olympic spectators with Big Macs at every opportunity in 2010 sports facilities, how happy do you think fans will be when they finally break free and get to sample real food at some of Vancouver's great restaurants?
You can count on fans to be ecstatic, but what most local retailers don't know, let alone appreciate, is that it is incredibly difficult for EVERYONE, locals and spectators included, to get around in an Olympic region. If you think hungry spectators will simply stumble through to your location by accident you're going to be disappointed. The Robson area will do well, but everyone else will be on their own. Don't even count on many spectators making it as far as Denman, and you can guarantee most will never make it over the bridges unless you do something to entice them. Restaurants not within EASY walking distance from hotels will simply get left out of the festivities unless they entice foodies well in advance to their locations.
The rumour that local companies always do great business during the Games is a myth perpetuated by local news media who happen to also be partners with Olympic organizations. It's primarily spin to get locals to cooperate, but once locals figure it out it's often too late to do anything about it.
Transportation is almost non existent if you're not on Olympic business.
This means retailers have to reach out through websites, blogs and Twitter to create anticipation about their products in order to compel Olympic visitors to make the extra effort needed to get to their locations.
If you don't know what Twitter is, you better get up to speed quickly.
It won't be a regular tourist experience during the Games. The city will be turned upside down with 250,000 crazy sports fans. Our streets will be totally chaotic with stringent security checkpoints everywhere. Olympic organizations are well versed in knowing how to keep spectators within their walls to promote their own brands. No where in the Olympic mandate does it say VANOC has a responsibility to businesses in our community, in fact quite the opposite is true when you consider they forge complex agreements with their sponsors to ensure Olympic spectators spend their money on sponsor brands. For example, Coca Cola is an official sponsor/supplier, and VANOC will go to extraordinary lengths to make sure you don't see a Pepsi brand anywhere in the city, and the same goes for food, clothing, cars, etc.
If you're not an official sponsor you'll have to fight hard for recognition.
VANOC though is hoping you won't fight at all.
They would prefer you simply pay for the Games, not profit, but in this era internet communication in the Web 2.0 world it is now possible for almost any company to turn eyeballs their way.
The video below was taped two days
before the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
It becomes even more relevant each passing day.
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Leverage Olympic Momentum
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Own the Podium?
The official creed (guiding principle) of the Olympics is a quote by the
founding father of the modern day Games Baron de Coubertin. He said, "The
most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part,
just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle.
The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."
The Olympic motto consists of three Latin words Citius, Altius, Fortius,
which means, "Swifter, Higher, Stronger." The 1924 motto is meant to encourage
athletes to embrace the Olympic spirit and perform to the best of their
individual abilities.
No where does it imply that winning the most gold medals for your country
is part of the agenda. In fact it implies exactly the opposite.
The IOC maintains that it doesn't actively encourage countries to collectively
win the most gold medals, but on the other hand they also don't institute
anything to ensure that the Games are not turned into corporate money
grabs.
In fact, IOC sponsorship and partnership business models encourage a win-at-all-costs
mentality. It is the reason they have doping, fraud and bribery scandals.
The IOC invites young people to compete in the Olympics using the original
Creed & Motto. But when it comes to delivering on the promise they
fall incredibly short.
The Olympics today isn't as much about sport as it is about money and
profit.
Priorities changed over the years and so too should their Creed &
Motto.
If athletes go for the gold, and the IOC goes for the gold, and corporate
sponsors go for the gold, and governments go for the gold, and considering
that you will have to foot the bill for their gold, why should
you be edged out of the race?
Move to the starting line.
Own the Podium?
or
Own Your Home?
Real journalism consists of
what someone doesn't want published,
all the rest is public relations." George Orwell
