Can the Garden State learn Olympic lessons from Vancouver?

BY JOE FAVORITO

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

ON N.J. SPORTS MARKETING

Last week word got out that the New York area could be the host for the 2014 Super Bowl, which many saw as a great irony given the snow that has been dumped on the area in the last few weeks. In December, Yankee Stadium announced it will host a Bowl game in December, striking up questions as to who would want to play in the frigid Bronx in a game not for a national title. The new Meadowlands Stadium is firmly in the plans for any potential World Cup bid for the U.S.

Yankee Stadium is constantly mentioned as a host for the Winter Classic.

But with all that we have going on in this area, can a big event actually make a difference, and do we need it?

Let's take a look at the upcoming Vancouver Olympics as an example and explore the reasons why this area — and even ones that have long been established as Olympic sites — can succeed as a host.

There has been much talk about Lindsey Vonn's suggestive Sports Illustrated cover, Stephen Colbert's great sponsor play, "The Flying Tomato" worrying about snow, Heather Mitts being a klutz and the Jamaican Bobsledders missing the cut, but can Vancouver the city and the region be the biggest winner in this year's Winter Olympics? The coming events have not had the hype or hysteria that other Olympics have had, probably because of the lack of big name American stars and less promotional dollars, as well as the fact that this will be the first Olympics since the crash of the financial markets.

The Winter Olympics are also never the huge casual fan draw that the Summer Games are, but they are still the first Games in North America since Salt Lake City, and may be the last ones for some time to come. So can a city known for its beauty and with a well established resort as a host (Whistler) find a way to push itself into the consciousness of the American sports fan, the global sports fan, and with that the branding become a successful Olympics? Could the region be a great example as to how established areas, in addition to emerging ones like Sochi for 2014, use the Games to grow and thus justify all the cost spent competing to host a global competition?

Vancouver has its Canucks of the NHL, and therefore should really own and embrace all things hockey west of the Rockies, and that includes most of the Western United States. The closest NHL team going south is in San Jose, California, leaving a huge expanse of a branding market for the Canucks to embrace. There is Triple A baseball, no hoops, and the CFL, but no really discernable sports presence for such a cosmopolitan city. It has a growing Asian population, and it has an incoming MLS franchise that can mirror the success that the Sounders have had in Seattle. It has the rich skiing tradition of its resorts and a very temperate climate, but still gets lost in the mix of North America's great cities, for sport and otherwise.

Yes it's far from the hub of media attention in the East, but it also has a vibrant film and television production community, and it can be a gateway to the Far East for brands looking to grow and expand.

So with no huge favorites or media stories jumping forward, can the city put itself as the focus for the world for over two weeks, as opposed to just the athletes? Can the stories turn into the beauty of the venues (despite the issue with snow) and the possibilities for expansion for major events? Can American brands visiting for the Games realize that Vancouver itself may be a great place to stage other large-scale events that can bring global awareness, and can sporting organizations look to the city and place it on the map of cities to be considered when the Games leave Vancouver? Will hockey and other sports look to a successful competition and realize that maybe this huge expanse can be a link for another future franchise or major event plan, despite the fact that the NBA Grizzlies failed here?

The justification which city and area planners made in competing for the Games is called the "Halo effect" — where after the Games, a five-year spillover in tourism and interest in potentially other events heats up.

That is why, especially for the Winter Games, the Olympics go to smaller or emerging cities rather than large metropolitan areas. Vancouver is actually a hybrid...metropolitan area with great potential to grow. If it works it could be a model for other hybrid bids going forward. If it works, Vancouver could enter into the mix when any franchise or event is looking for a new landing spot going forward.

So what does that mean for this area?

Certainly New Jersey is not prime for an Olympic-sized event, but it can handle other types of games or events — the Special Olympics at Mountain Creek in Vernon last week as an example. Will it mean more tax dollars and revenue for businesses in places like Newark, or developing areas like Asbury Park? No, the area is not Vancouver-esque. But there is enough room to grow ... to take some of the lessons learned in an Olympics for branding, marketing and growth, and apply them to bringing events back to the Garden State that can grow visibility, tourism and create a healthy bottom line.

Let the Games begin.

Joe Favorito has over 23 years of strategic communications/marketing, business development and public relations expertise in sports, entertainment, brand building, media training, television, athletic administration and business. Visit him at JoeFavorito.com.