With the winter Olympics due to commence in Vancouver this month, retailers and manufacturers in the market have been seeking to capitalise on the opportunity.

Here, we examine what learnings can be taken ahead of the London Olympics in 2012, and suggest some key grocery stores to see if you're visiting Vancouver.

Global exposure

The winter Olympics remains as one of the world’s greatest sporting occasions. This month’s winter Olympics in Vancouver are forecast to attract a worldwide TV audience of over 3bn viewers. Vancouver and Whistler, where the events are being held, are expected to attract over 2m visitors. Against this backdrop of both heightened global and local awareness, product and service owners are keen to maximise the exposure of their brands.
 

	Vancouver, home of the 2010 Winter Olympics

Controlled partnership opportunities

To facilitate this, sponsorship has become an increasingly important element of the International Olympic Committee’s revenue raising activities, providing a range of ways in which branded manufacturers can engage with the event. This includes Worldwide Olympic Partners, National Partners, Official Supporters, and Official Suppliers. Beyond Coca-Cola’s role as a Worldwide Olympic Partner, General Mills, Hain-Celestial, Saputo, Weston Bakeries and Wrigley have all opted to engage as Official Suppliers and leverage the trade marketing opportunities which the Olympics offer.
 

Optimising their investments

These companies have sought to engage with their customers through the Olympics in a range of ways. Over the last two weeks Coca-Cola has started to build Olympic themed displays in-store and products featuring Olympic themed packaging have also started to appear. On-pack competitions, collectable products, Coca-Cola and Olympic dual-branded products and product giveaways add to the retail theatre. As a Worldwide Partner, the Coca-Cola Pavilion in the city centre will help to maximise the brand’s exposure.

At a local level, General Mills, Hain Celestial, Saputo , Weston Bakeries and Wrigley have chosen different ways in which to use their brands and the event to engage with consumers, and more importantly to drive stronger sales. Building on the themes of youth and nutrition, General Mills launched eight commemorative 2010 Winter Games' cereal boxes, which enabled consumers to make donations on behalf of General Mills to fund young athletes.

Coca-Cola Olympics themed display		Commemorative packaging from General Mills

Saputo and Wrigley have also sought to engage with consumers through promoting athlete funding schemes, on-pack competitions and giveaways, while Hain-Celestial has launched initiatives to exploit its healthy eating credentials and local links. These manufacturers will be hoping that their association with the Olympic Games will not only result in a sales uplift for the duration of the events, but will also drive sustained awareness of their brands and products.
 

Taking it online

One of the most notable features of many of these partnership agreements is how the manufacturers are utilising the online environment to promote their association with the Olympics. At the basic level, dedicated micro sites have been created. However, the use of social networking sites (such as Facebook and Twitter), along with blogs, provide for almost daily communication between the brands and consumers - particularly given the constant stream of Olympics-related news and the rapid growth penetration of smart phones.
 

Retailers focusing on merchandise sales

Apart from the in-store displays that many of the official product suppliers are now activating, food and grocery retailers are focusing on maximising the sales of Olympics related merchandise. Shopper interest continues to grow as the launch date approaches, and retailers will be hoping for a significant boost to food sales as families stay at home to keep up with the performance of the national team.
 

The London 2012 Olympics will create good opportunities for brand owners

Next stop….London 2012

Soon the focus of the world will turn towards London, and both retailers and manufacturers will look at how their brands can benefit from associating with the Olympics. Being linked with such a sporting event can create positive associations for brand owners, particularly where there is a heritage in health, nutrition and fitness. Given the broad appeal of the Olympics, across all age groups and demographics, sponsorship can also provide the opportunity to target particular segments.

The high profile nature of the Olympic Games can also deliver significant sales uplifts, providing an opportunity for brand owners to differentiate their products from those of their key competitors and to raise their profile in-store. Retailers may also afford official suppliers more space in-store in the build-up to the event itself and throughout its duration. Beyond the official suppliers, demand for snacks, soft drinks, and entertaining and BBQ ranges is also likely to be high, particularly if Team GB is successful and the weather holds out.
 

Some great stores to see

For those coming to Vancouver there is a wide range of food and grocery stores to see. Among the major retailers, stores to see in the city include Safeway, which opened just over a year ago, and No Frills, Loblaw’s discount format which has recently expanded into Western Canada. However, beyond these stores, there are five that I would recommend visiting:

• Woodwards Food Floor - Located in the heart of downtown, this recently opened store is a small format supermarket which blends a comprehensive grocery offer with a great bakery and deli
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• Urban Fare - With several outlets across the city, Urban Fare is a premium-based convenience/top-up format store, offering a range of gourmet foods from across the world
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• Meinhardt - This store is a great example of the blurring between food store and foodservice, with the Meinhardt Café and hot bar seamlessly integrated into the overall proposition. With a developing private label offer, this store also promotes locally sourced ranges alongside more premium based products. A personal favourite!
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• Whole Foods Market - A more mainstream choice but a store that is also well worth seeing. Opened in April 2009, this 50,000 sq ft store features an extended range of seafood, and a European-style market place
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• Granville Island Public Market - not so much a food store but a food experience. Many leading retailers visit this market as part of their format and range development programmes, with the products on offer reflecting Vancouver’s cultural diversity.
  
  

More information:

	Canada profile on Retail Analysis
	Keep abreast of the latest retail developments in Canada with our country profile on Retail Analysis.

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Stewart Samuel is a Senior Business Analyst at IGD, analysing food retailer strategies across key markets in Europe and North America.

Stewart has worked on a number of reports over the last 12 months including The Evolution of Convenience Retailing and Building Customer Engagement Capability in Recessionary Times. He has also worked on a number of special projects as part of IGD's commissioned projects service, with a particular focus on small format developments.