Buz | Business Unlimited Zone : Management and Marketing Consultancy


		A Case STudy

		SportAccord International Convention Dubai 2010 – Host City Marketing by BUZ Management and Marketing Division and Creative development by Percept Gulf ME

Overview		September 2009: Dubai bid for and won the opportunity to host the annual SportAccord International Convention - the annual event that brings together representatives from more than 100 international sports federations and organisations worldwide. The event is organised annually by SportAccord (formerly General Association of International Sports Federations-GAISF) in conjunction with the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations and Association of the International Olympic Winter Sports Federations, as well as the International Olympic Committee Executive Board. It brings together more than 1500 delegates from across the world including bidding and host cities, architects, sports lawyers, broadcasters, games organising committees, rights holders and other specialists to discuss the key issues facing the sport industry. The mandate for organising the event on behalf of Dubai Government was given to Dubai Sports Council (DSC) – the unified sports body that was established under the chairmanship of HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai with a vision to set up a distinguished sporting community in the Emirate.

Host City Marketing Opportunity:		The annual SportAccord International Convention provides the host city with a tremendous opportunity to market itself to a worldwide audience from the sport industry. In addition, the host city convention that is held alongside the event also enables the various stakeholders of sport in the city to congregate and discuss plans for the future uplift of the industry. As per standard practice, a committee is formulated at the host city level to devise and implement integrated marketing strategies to ensure that the event is duly marketed and gets appropriate visibility amongst target audiences worldwide, regionally and in the city. The host city committee is at all times in touch with the main organising committee at SportAccord to ensure that all elements are in accordance with the pre-set marketing guidelines of SportAccord. In November 2009, an Organising committee for SportAccord International Convention Dubai 2010 was formed. Headed by HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, w/o HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, VP and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai the committee included senior officials from DSC and from SportAccord. It was also decided that SportAccord International Convention Dubai 2010 would be held at Atlantis Hotel, Palm Jumeirah from 25 – 30 April 2010.

Appointment of the Agency		In December 2009/ January 2010, DSC appointed us as their agency to develop a comprehensive host city marketing programme for the SportAccord International Convention Dubai 2010. There were several phases to the marketing component: Phase 1: Event management of the launch press conference on January 12 Phase 2: Marketing elements in the run up to the actual event Phase 3: Implementation of the host city marketing components during the event

Phase 1: Event management of the launch press conference on January 12		SportAccord and DSC organised a press conference on January 12th to launch the event. The press conference was chaired by HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, along with Dr Ahmed Al Sharif, Secretary General of Dubai Sports Council and Vice President of Dubai Organising Committee, Andrew Ryan, President, Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, a founding association of the Convention; and Anna Hellman, Executive Director of Lausanne, Switzerland, based SportAccord Convention. BUZ & Percept conceived the entire event component. The colour scheme and theme was carefully chosen to ensure that the blue of the SportAccord logo was echoed in the blue of the room set up including chairs, carpet and stage. BUZ encouraged DSC to move from a standard class room set up to a cabaret style set up, which lifted the profile of the event and gave it a significant level of formality and ceremonial appearance. As per SportAccord and DSC requirements, the backdrop incorporated a total of 6 logos artistically spaced out in a step and repeat format to ensure adequate visibility to both SportAccord stakeholders and Dubai Governent entities, while at the same time incorporating a built in screen that seamlessly integrated with the logos. The backdrop theme was also repeated on some of the roll up banners to be used in TV interviews and photographs to promote the branding. The event was given a specific Dubai look and feel in addition to the focus on sport by developing a roll up banner that included elements of the UAE flag colours and the Olympic sporting icons spread out against the blue of the SportAccord logo colours. This theme was consistently played out in the letterhead designed for the event, the folder for the press pack and the sticker on the USB included in the press pack. Note: The quality of the roll up banners and the backdrop were specially commended by SportAccord officials who requested BUZ/Percept to ensure that these could be reused during the actual event.

Phase 2: Marketing elements in the run up to the actual event		The initial brief given to BUZ was wide ranging and all inclusive although rather non specific. DSC officials were clear that they had an opportunity to showcase Dubai’s extensive sporting infrastructure and capabilities to more than 1500 decision makers from the world of sport, but there were several ideas and opinions on how this could be achieved. Also, the underlying objective, though never clearly expressed, was evident - that with the hosting of this event, Dubai aimed to position itself as a serious contender to host major international sporting events including the Olympics. With the task of positioning Dubai as an emerging sporting centre of the world to the leading 1500 delegates, BUZ MMC worked on the original SportAccord theme “Where sport meets” and echoed its elements in a Dubai-focused extensive creative and marketing campaign in the run up to the actual event in April 2010. BUZ/Percept first worked on a skeleton marketing proposal that included: Sponsorship marketing Developing the SportAccord Dubai 2010 Regional marketing support

Sponsorship marketing		BUZ developed comprehensive sponsorship packages to target the following Dubai-based international organisations. In developing these packages, care was taken to keep in mind the requirements of the potential sponsor and the extensive visibility that could be provided for the organisation within the purview of the major event. BUZ also conducted extensive market research to identify a possible list of local organisations that could be approached for sponsorship support.

Developing the SportAccord Dubai 2010 brand		Given the overall brief that SportAccord delegates arriving in Dubai and travelling within the city should feel that they have been welcomed and the event has been given due importance, we set about creating a comprehensive plan to brand the entire city with the SportAccord Dubai 2010 brand. Various locations were identified within Dubai Airports, exit to the main city, along Sheikh Zayed Road, exit to Palm Jumeirah, entrance to Atlantis and the convention centre at the hotel itself. (Dubai Island) We then explored various creative formats and came up with the best possible options to showcase SportAccord Dubai 2010 through the city. Most important and probably the most challenging task was to develop a design for the SportAccord Dubai 2010 brand that would have a typical Dubai look and feel while at the same time echoing the original SportAccord logo, colours and messaging. Creating the harmony between two completely diverse concepts like SportAccord and the city of Dubai was a significant challenge, specially keeping in mind that at no time should one be seen to be dominating or comprising the other. Further, it was important to convey the main message - Where Sport meets – while at the same time highlighting the location of the meet – Dubai – in a low key yet decisive manner. The designs devised by us were much appreciated by the members of the Dubai Organising committee and were highly commended by SportAccord officials.