What happened

Tourism Toronto and Tourisme Montreal have erected “The Cheating Wall” as their newest campaign to promote tourism between the rival major Canadian cities.  The new marketing programme, developed by Crispin Porter + Bogusky Canada, is encouraging residents of the two cities to have a summer fling with one another.

The Cheating Wall consists of separate HD video panels, located in high-profile locations in the two cities. Each wall is equipped with its own camera, microphone, sensor and speaker, enabling residents of each city to engage in live video chats and participate in a series of scheduled events, in real time.

The insight behind the creative concept is driven by the long-standing rivalry between the two cities, which is driven by the two cities’ statuses as Canadian business hubs and, of course, the rivalry between the two ice hockey teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens.  It has resulted in a common perception that any visit to Montreal or Toronto is viewed as a ‘betrayal’ of your home city.

The Cheating Wall has been installed in the TIFF Bell Lightbox in downtown Toronto, and at 350 de Maisonneuve Boulevard in Montreal. The live interactive portals are open for live chats between 6am and 2am, and also host a number of live events such as “Tai Chi at the Wall” and “Street Magic”, as well as fashion and comedy shows, amongst numerous others.

The campaign is also available to view online at TheCheatingwall.com, and TrompeTaVilleMuramur.com, both of which link to Facebook pages where visitors can win flights to the respective cities, courtesy of Air Canada.  Participants are encouraged to share their experiences on Twitter, using the hashtags #cheatingwall and #trompetaville.

The initiative is being supported by transit shelter and poster ads in Zoom Media’s resto-bar network, which feature QR codes that take users to the Cheating Wall’s Facebook pages.

Why we like it

This live interactive portal provides a new and innovative way of promoting tourism. Rather than the typical tourism campaigns involving scenic landscapes and cheesy poses, this avant-garde campaign gives the users a corporeal, almost voyeuristic look into the lives of the other city.

By engaging the consumers and actually tapping into their personal interests, rather than forcing them to withstand a corny commercial or print ad, The Cheating Wall brings a whole new meaning to conventional advertising.

With its catchy and risque name, visual appeal, interactivity, enticing social media incorporation, and its ability to feed the voyeuristic tendencies of our contemporary world, this is the tourist campaign of the future. The annihilation of time and space gives us a live window into these two cities.

What the brand says

“We wanted to work on improving the travel between the two destinations,” said Tanya Churchmuch, assistant director, international relations at Tourisme Montreal.

“We wanted to remind people that there are two amazing destinations that are very different from each other and offer extremely different things to do, but are very close and very cool cities. You don’t have to go thousands of miles away to have a great experience.”

Let’s hope other cities think it’s as great as we do.

By Melissa Oberman on September 1st, 2011

Tags: Blogging, Communications, community, Content, Default, Facebook, Synergy, Synergy Loves, Synopsis

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Coming all the way from the far reaches of the universe (well, Toronto, Canada), I thought hockey fans were the be-all end-all of extreme and die-hard sports fans.

That is, until I came to the UK and realized that soccer (er, football) fans here take the meaning of ‘devoted sports fan’ to a whole new level. (Even the most fervent of Canadian hockey fans can still sit in the same stadium side by side without having to have police act as human barriers – seemingly to avoid any potentially fatal expressions of allegiance to their team…)

And so I was led to believe, in my six months in living here, that football is England’s sport, and the Brits are in loyally monogamous relationships with their respective football teams.

So, when I was given the assignment of promoting the Super Bowl here in the UK, I thought we may have a considerable task on our hands. But I quickly learnt about the very real (and growing) fan base for the sport here. American football fans, here in the UK? You bet. A lot of them.

Of course we were helped in our cause by the ten very crucial assets at our disposal: the Indianapolis Colts cheerleaders.

Initially, we had planned a full 5-day trip on this side of the pond, jam-packed with television and radio interviews promoting the game and coaching appearances at primary schools in London and Birmingham to showcase NFL cheerleading to a whole new generation of fans. But unfortunately Mother Nature was in a sour mood for Super Bowl weekend and plagued Indiana with the worst ice storms the state has seen in over two decades.

After two unsuccessful attempts to board their London-bound flights, the girls finally made it over to Heathrow late Friday night. When I met the girls at 6:15am Saturday morning in the lobby of their hotel, I was expecting to be greeted by a group of (understandably) bleary-eyed and jet-lagged individuals.

However, much to my surprise, the girls were all smiles and raring to go, regardless of the fact that it was still before dawn and they had just spent the previous day travelling from Indianapolis to Washington to London. The girls even sang a hearty ‘Happy Birthday’ to one of their squad, Erin, who just so happened to be celebrating her 23rd birthday on that day.

As the first five girls departed for Sky Sports studios at 6:30am sharp, they were met by the Sky Sports crew for their first UK media appearance: Soccer AM. After a few short rehearsals, the girls put on a live performance for the Sky Sports breakfast show viewers, and answered various questions, ranging from what the life of a professional cheerleader entails to the standard enquiries about their current romantic status… After which, three of the girls were escorted to the Sky NFL Studios, where they put on a skit to be filmed and aired as the intro to the Super Bowl show on Sunday night.

Then the girls were all back on the bus, heading straight for Walkers Stadium in Leicester, where they were due to cheer on a different ball game: Leicester FC v Barnsley FC. There, they were reunited with the rest of the squad who had had headed straight for Leicester, stopping off at the local BBC Radio Leicester studios for a live interview with the host of the midday show.

The girls went down a storm at the Walkers Stadium. I am pretty confident that all 22,667 in attendance at the stadium forgot all about their hunger and the need for a fresh pint, remaining in their seats for the entirety of the half-time as the girls blew the crowd away with their performance.

And to top things off, the Leicester City Football Club organized a surprise for our birthday girl Erin, as they called her out onto the field and had the entire stadium sing her happy birthday and presented her with an LCFC jersey with her name and number 23 on the back. The girls were given the treat of watching the rest of the game from the luxury of the Executive box.

The next day was the real highlight of the girls’ trip: their 3 performances at the NFL’s annual Super Bash party at Indigo2, in London’s O2 Arena. (Tip for any girls: NFL is especially worth your while given that, as the crowds flowed into the Indig02, the guy to girl ratio was easily 20:1…).

Sky’s and BBC’s Neil Reynolds and former BBC Radio 5 Live sports man Arlo White hosted the pre-game show, with the entire crowd erupting into hoots and howls at the mention of the cheerleaders coming to the stage. When the girls came on for their first performance, two fans standing in the front row literally dropped their beers onto the floor in awe. As supportive shouts of “Cheerleaders! Cheerleaders!” grew each time they came on and off the stage, it was clear that the girls stole the pregame show.

I think it’s safe to say that all in attendance will be doing anything they can to get their hands on tickets for next year’s Super Bash!

If this entire experience has taught me one thing, it is to never underestimate the power of a group of very pretty, talented, and energetic girls who genuinely adore the sport they so passionately support. And if their loyal following can help attract and grow support for the game, then they are welcome back any time. Roll on the 2011 season!

By Melissa Oberman on March 1st, 2011

Tags: American football, NFL, Sport

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With approximately 500 days remaining before the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, this is a question many are asking.  Since the Olympics were awarded to London, the London Organising Committee (LOCOG) has been moving full tilt, drawing on everything ‘London’, from the one-of-a-kind buildings to leveraging the city’s international flavour.

However, with all of this movement taking place, a certain degree of negativity and skepticism still colours public and media opinion.  Will the country who is expected to host one of the greatest Games in modern times be able to right itself in time?

This is not the first time that the International Olympic Committee has seen a country divided in its support of the Games, as negative public opinion also reigned in the lead-up to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games. This was not simply a price tag issue, but an acute lack of confidence in the country’s overall ability to deliver on a global scale. Emerging from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, coupled with the belief that Canada was bound to be outshone by the spectacle put on for the world two years prior in Beijing, the lead up to the Games was anything but a celebration.

Unlike Canada however, the UK is acutely aware, if so desired, that they can deliver a world-class event. Less than a decade ago, in 2002, this country played host to two of the greatest and most widely publicised events in recent UK history: the Queen’s Jubilee and the Commonwealth Games in Manchester. These two globally scrutinized events were both marked by tremendous skepticism by British citizens in the months and years preceding them. There were even predictions in the media that the Queen’s Jubilee would be a ‘non-event’, and that the Commonwealth Games were nothing but a poor financial investment that would indubitably burden the local citizens.

Nonetheless, the 2002 Commonwealth Games turned out to be the largest in history at the time, and has commonly been referred to as the most successful multi-sport event to be held in the UK since the 1948 Olympics. Furthermore, the success of hosting the Commonwealth Games demonstrated to the world that the UK was more than capable of hosting events of such magnitude, and this played a significant part in securing the 2012 Olympic Games for London.

While the success of LOCOG and sponsor planning will only be truly realised when the Opening Ceremony begins on July 27th, 2012, like past Games, the present skepticism will continue to be eroded as the Games become more tangible and imminent to the public.  One key tool in rallying the nation’s support will be the Olympic Torch Relay (OTR), set to commence 70 days before the Opening Ceremonies. The OTR, which will be so far-reaching and all-encompassing that 95% of the UK will be within one hour’s drive from it, is the greatest asset of the Olympic Games to bolster support and ignite fervour and enthusiasm.

The OTR, which acts as the prelude to the Games, has the unique ability to touch people in their hometown, on their doorstep.  Local heroes will pass the Olympic Flame across the country, and overall the OTR will serve as a 70-day celebration of what and who this country is comprised of.  It will allow everyone to experience a little part of the Olympics on their own home turf, and to incite that enthusiasm and patriotism.  Just as in Canada, it was not until the flame began its journey across the country that the wave of excitement was generated and intensified, and Canadians realised the power of what they were hosting.

It may take a while yet before all the UK’s citizens come around and celebrate hosting the Games, but hopefully prior to when the Olympic Torch Relay commences.  However, if the 2010 Torch Relay throughout Canada was able to rally its 33.7 million citizens to support the 2010 Games given an even greater hurdle of public opinion, then I can only assume that the 2012 OTR will have an even greater ability to appeal to its 60+ million UK residents.

I predict that national pride will take hold and that the hearts and minds of the nation will be captured in a frenzy of patriotism. The Olympic flame will ignite a fever that will spread from coast-to-coast with the Torch Relay and we will all be smitten by the Opening Ceremony, at which point the responsibility is passed on to the athletes to show the world what they’re made of.

The eyes of the world will be upon us, as the UK prepares for perhaps the only event that can eclipse a Royal Wedding: the greatest and most successful Olympic Games in history.

By Melissa Oberman on January 27th, 2011

Tags: Beijing 2008, BOA, Commonwealth Games, London 2012, Olympic Torch Relay, Olympics, Winter Olympics

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On 4th January 2011, the Synergy team kicked off the New Year with the launch of the BMW London 2012 Performance Team, an initiative designed to provide Team GB and ParalympicsGB with support as they prepare for the Games on and off the field.

The event, which took place at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, was attended by the first twelve BMW London 2012 Performance Team athletes: Tom Daley, Louis Smith, Ellie Simmonds, Jonathan Brownlee, Alistair Brownlee, Giles Scott, Mark Lewis-Francis, Tom Aggar, Martyn Bernard, Mark Hunter, Richard Mantell and Simon Mantell.

Two of the BMW London 2012 Performance Team athletes, diver Tom Daley and gymnast Louis Smith, bared the cold weather head-on as they stripped down to their sporting attire to be photographed with a BMW and a MINI.   The stunts, performed with a minor interruption in the form of a partial solar eclipse, saw Tom demonstrating his trampoline training moves next to a MINI and Louis performing pommel horse moves on a reinforced BMW stunt car. To see the athletes in action take a look at the film below:

Despite the 6am start and the freezing January weather, all of the athletes remained in top form throughout the entire event. As they breezed through numerous press interviews, studio photography, outdoor broadcast interviews and indoor video filming, each of the Performance Team athletes shared their unique stories, goals and performance ambitions for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games with various national media outlets including:

The Daily Telegraph

The Times

Sky Sports News

The Guardian

As the day came to an end and with everyone in good spirits, Tom and Louis decided to show their support to the England cricket team with their own version of the sprinkler dance. Take it away gentlemen…

To find out more about the BMW London 2012 Performance Team and to view the athletes’ performance moments visit www.bmw.co.uk/London2012.

By Melissa Oberman on January 21st, 2011

Tags: Athletics, Communications, London 2012, London 2012 sponsorship, Olympic sponsorship, Olympic sponsorship consultants, Olympics, PR, Sponsorship, Team GB

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