ISU World Cup Speed Skating

Speed Skating Canada had recently taken over the management for international events hosted at the Olympic Oval and was looking for a team with experience in all aspects of event management to execute the event on a short timeline. Launchpoint was asked to work alongside Speed Skating Canada to execute all required elements of the event on time and within budget while increasing attendance. We were also tasked with engaging local media and increase local coverage of the event.

Despite a limited budget for promotional activities, through creative promotion (ticket drops, school visits, engaging with local clubs), attendance at the event saw a significant increase from recent international events hosted at the Olympic Oval.

In an effort to reengage local media, we lined up media opportunities with athletes leading up to the event as well as had media cover a school visit by athletes to a local school to promote the event. As a final component in the engagement strategy, a Media Day was hosted the week of the event, where media, local celebrities and athletes were invited out to try speed skating. All of these efforts helped in engaging the media and in significantly increasing event exposure by the media.

We were even able to overhaul the volunteer structure of the event, bringing in our trusted list of experienced volunteers, who all contributed in helping the event run smoother than ever. We also engaged our various trusted vendors to secure resources for the event – providing crucial cost savings for an event operating on a lean budget.