Greater Vancouver

By Tim West
  

Taking it to the next level
For the past six years the Greater Vancouver club has put on a very popular springtime event: The Plywood Cup.  What makes it so popular?  It could be the picturesque waterfront setting at Granville Island by the heart of the city, or it could be the challenge experienced by the 15 teams of 4 people when building small boats in 90 minutes with only basic supplies and tools.  It could be, of course, the large crowds at Granville Island that cheer on during the brief but often spectacular rowing portion of the event —where invariably some boats go down looking for Nemo!  Then again, it could be all of these elements as well the amount of charity dollars this event raises.

After six years, it was time to take this event to the next level.  The club has decided to shift from an eclectic mix of participants and organizations to a more corporate sponsorship focus.  The idea being that for essentially the same event, drawing in solid corporate sponsorship will yield significantly more charity dollars.

So how has Greater Vancouver gone about changing the approach for year seven?  The first thing was to re-brand the event with a subtitle: The 7th Annual Plywood Cup—Corporate Challenge.  Next came a series of club initiatives including a web site specific to the event.  The web site contains four main promotional pieces.  The first piece introduces the event, the second piece provides team information, entry requirements and expectations of the teams for fundraising.  The third piece is targeted at potential sponsors, with sponsorship categories at $500, $1,000, and above $2,000, along with benefits they receive at their selected level of involvement.  To offer a more practical taste for the event, the web site visitor can play a three-minute video—a compilation from last year’s Plywood Cup.  Of course, the web site is a support tool for the club members who do the canvassing and follow-ups.

In previous years, the plywood cup event would be followed by a BBQ at which recognition and awards take place.  This year, to appeal further to potential corporate sponsors, the BBQ has been replaced with recognition and awards that will take place on a three-hour dinner boat cruise aboard a luxury vessel with capacity for up to 250 passengers.

Saturday May 29th is the 7th Annual Plywood Cup - Corporate Challenge.  We are optimistic that the event will be a resounding success—we have six years of experience on which to build.  We are also realistic in that the shift into serious corporate sponsorship takes time in order to nurture the relationships and for the event experience to catch on with senior levels within those organizations.