Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

City Services and Budgets Committee

FROM:

The General Manager of Engineering Services

SUBJECT:

Corporate Sponsorship for Street Banner Program

 

RECOMMENDATION

CONSIDERATION

GENERAL MANAGER COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

Use of City Streets for the purpose of advertising is not permitted except with approval from Council. Examples of permitted uses are transit shelters and benches. In September 1997, Council approved banners with corporate logos for APEC `97. In November 1997, Council approved the implementation and exploration of opportunities to increase the revenue generation capabilities of City programs through corporate sponsorship.

When dealing with a report on Corporate Sponsorship on November 7, 1997, Council approved the guiding principles of a City sponsorship program and approved the implementation of a sponsorship program for the acquisition of goods and services and revenue generation opportunities.

On October 1, 1998, Council approved corporate sponsorship of the street banner program as one of a number of revenue and expenditure adjustment to the 1999 Operating Budget.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to seek Council direction on raising revenues through corporate sponsorship of the summer banner program. The concept is based on contributions from sponsors for the right to acknowledge their support for the banner program.

BACKGROUND

The highly successful summer banner program has been in place since 1958 and adds colour and pageantry to the bridges and downtown streets of Vancouver. The program also provides a unique opportunity for displaying the artworks of a number of well-known and respected local artists such as Bill Reid, Len Morris, Toni Onley, and Jack Shadbolt. Current policy for the selection of banners on City streets does not allow the use of public space for the purpose of commercial advertising. The artistic development of the banners is done by a voluntary Street Decoration Committee, which is comprised of local artists and architects.

In 1997, Council approved the installation of 934 banners on major processional streets for APEC `97. The banners were installed at no cost to the City and had a corporate sponsor's logo at the bottom. There were eight corporate sponsors in total. These banners were up only for a few weeks and there was no public reaction.

Several cities locally have already begun the use of corporate sponsors to fund their banner programs. Langley Township, Richmond and Whistler banner examples are attached in Appendix `A'.

DISCUSSION

As budgets get tighter, the search for new revenue opportunities becomes increasingly important. Obtaining corporate sponsorship for the 1999 City banner program will provide a significant revenue opportunity for the City. In the October 1, 1998 Council report outlining the 1999 operating budget projections, this proposal was one of a number of revenue enhancements with a projected revenue of $40,000. The amount of the revenue is very difficult to predict and may well exceed this amount and the $80,000 cost of the banner program. If the amount exceeds the yearly cost for the program, staff will report back on the disposition of this revenue.

Two alternatives are presented for the implementation of a corporate sponsorship program as follows:

1) Program based on corporate logo displays attached to the bottom of street banners.

2) Program based on acknowledgement of corporate sponsorship through media other than the display of logos.

If one of these alternatives is approved, a request for proposals (RFP) will be sent out which outlines the City's trial banner sponsorship program. Staff would then report back for approval of the sponsor(s). After the one year trial program, staff will report back on the attitude of the public and make recommendations about ongoing sponsorship, the disposition of revenues greater than program costs, and the possibility of Business Improvement Associations and special events obtaining sponsors for their banners.

Corporate Logo Display Alternative

In this option, presented as item `A', sponsors would be permitted to display corporate logos at the bottom of the banner on a pennant as shown in Appendix `B'. Keeping the corporate sponsors logo on a separate portion of the banner will keep the logo at a specific and consistent size and separated from the banner art.

The RFP would ask corporations to submit bids for all or a portion of the City's 808 banners based on the guidelines approved by Council. Separate bids would be requested for the display of logos in the colour of the sponsors choice and for logos in a more neutral white logo on a solid colour background. Council approval for the sponsor(s) would be required. The choice would be based on the sponsor or combination of sponsors that provides the best balance between revenue generation potential while minimizing visual impact on the program. If more than one sponsor is used, the banners with the different corporate logos will be alternated.

In addition to previous sponsorship policies approved by Council on November 7, 1997 (Sponsorship Program), the following additional guidelines are proposed:

· Street Decoration Committee would continue to produce the themes and the banner artwork.
· The corporate sponsor logo would be on the pennant attached to the bottom of the banner, and would be subject to the size guidelines shown in Appendix B.
· Advertising would be permitted on one side of the banner only and would be permitted to remain on the banner for the duration of the banner program from around mid-May to mid-October.
· Corporate sponsors would be selected through a tendering process.
· Award of the sponsorship would be subject to Council approval.
· The banners will remain the property of the City of Vancouver.
· The City reserves the right to permit advertising on only a portion of the total number of banners and permit more than one sponsor.

The implementation of the sponsorship program for banners as per item `A' has the potential to raise significant revenues for the City. However, it will also detract somewhat from the purity of the artistic intent of the program and for this reason, the Street Decoration Committee is opposed to the idea (see comments below). Having a sponsor's logo attached to the art may also make it more difficult to attain the interest of artists.

Sponsorship Acknowledgement Alternative

This alternative, presented as consideration item `B', would provide a less obtrusive way to implement a banner sponsorship program. It is based on allowing corporations to acknowledge their support for the program through media other than street banners. This could be done through the City's press release on the annual program, and through separate advertisements taken out by the sponsors.

This alternative would likely achieve a much lower level of revenue generation for the City due to the lower level of corporate exposure.

Other alternatives

Another alternative identified in discussions between staff and the street banner committee is to raise revenue through a separate winter banner program. However, during the period outside the normal summer banner program, organizations such as the Sun Run and the Art Gallery use the banner hardware to put up their own banners. The revenue potential would be less than that of a summer sponsorship program due to the additional costs related to banner production and more limited exposure times. If Council wishes to pursue this option, staff would have to report back on how to accommodate other groups that use our hardware and other specifics of an additional banner program.

COMMENTS OF THE STREET DECORATION COMMITTEE

The summer programme of art banners on Vancouver City streets is an important civic gesture for pure public enjoyment. For 40 years this programme of art has been heralded as unique in North America, a feature for which Vancouver is known. A dramatic and clear signal of civic pride in pure artistic expression, the banners create good feeling and goodwill beyond the measure of price. The banners are an outdoor gallery, so to speak, accessible people who would not otherwise enjoy a display of pure artistic merit.

Tampering with the banner format will significantly reduce the impact and quality of the programme, and will most certainly negate its merit. `Sponsorship', no matter how well disguised, is advertising, and the invasion of advertising into a public art programme is a contradiction in purpose. It sends a negative "city for sale" message to the public. It is offensive to most peoples' private notions about public places. Many people will object to the use of public streets for creating revenue.

There is no conceivable way that advertising can be combined with the pure artistic expression of the banners. No matter how discreet, advertising will compromise the artwork. A logo has undeniable impact. Corporate logos are designed for instant recognition: they are powerful and pervasive. Even if advertising is restricted in colour, and attached to a bottom `pennant', it will still be part of the banner design, confusing the graphic image. Few artists will find this addition to their artwork compatible with their personal integrity, and with their purpose of `painting' the City streets. Many artists will have strong objections to the sponsors themselves (ie. Coca Cola, Nike). And together, these factors will likely reduce the number of artists willing to participate in the programme.

Each year the banners have become the canvas of the distinguished, creative artists of our city. And each year, the multiple `hanging' or sequence of these artworks has formed a ribbon, a colourful edge of form and composition which delights the viewer. The banners provide a welcome contrast to the commercial business background, and the dominating superstructures. The banners express the spirit of the city, its setting, its people.

The Street Decoration Committee is fully sympathetic to the City's need to recover costs of the banner programme each year, and has made several suggestions which have been incorporated in the alternatives contained in this report. But, above all, the Committee believes the summer banner programme is acknowledged throughout North America as an unadulterated celebration of our city's very own art and artists.

CONCLUSION

The search for revenue opportunities has become increasingly important and has led staff to investigate the possibility of corporate sponsorship of the 1999 banner program. Sponsorship could provide revenue to cover a portion or all of the cost of the annual program. Recommended item `A' is based on the display of advertising logos at the bottom of street banners. Consideration item `B' is based on corporate acknowledgement through media other than the banners. The first alternative is likely to generate more revenue than the second, but also results in the display of corporate logos on the banners.

ATTACHMENTS THAT DO NOT HAVE ELECTRONIC COPY ARE AVAILABLE ON FILE IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE

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