Challenge
His Honour, The Honourable Steven Point, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia at the Awards luncheon.
Every day in British Columbia someone is working hard to make sure our communities and workplaces are safe for us all. Often a thankless job, the BC Safety Authority (BCSA) created the annual Lieutenant Governor’s Awards for Public Safety in 2005 to honour those individuals and organizations.
In the first two years, a small awards ceremony and reception was held at Government House in Victoria, BC. In 2007, Contemporary Communications started working with the BCSA’s communications team to raise the profile of the event and the organization, increase ticket sales, and generate more awards nominations.
Solution
Contemporary outlined objectives for the luncheon and developed a comprehensive plan that involved greater stakeholder and staff engagement, increased advertising coverage throughout the province, larger sponsorship goals, and better sponsor recognition.
Under our guidance, the awards were moved from a dinner in Victoria to a luncheon in Vancouver to allow for greater industry attendance, and a central downtown venue was picked.
Planning an event of this magnitude requires a lot of organization, extreme attention to detail and day-to-day communication, which we managed on behalf of the BCSA. Whether it was writing letters, liaising with Government House, or working with partners to design awards and promotional materials, we assisted in every aspect.
Results
Contemporary created a turnkey event for the BCSA that grew in profile and attendance – more than 200 people representing BC’s safety community attend the luncheon now at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The new event plan established by Contemporary met the BCSA’s goals of increasing ticket sales, engaged new segments of the organization’s stakeholders, and brought in a record number of award nominations.
