PREPARING BID PRESENTATIONS BY: Pat Craigmile Manager of Sports City of Mississauga

PREPARING BID PRESENTATIONS When preparing a Bid Presentation remember: You are selling yourself – your group, agency, municipality You need to create excitement You need to demonstrate how you will be successful You need to outline what you can deliver – and deliver well and better than anyone else

Things to consider when contemplating submitting a Bid: Can we deliver….. The fans, audience A financially successful event Corporate sponsor support Key message related to the event The best venues A professionally run event If you are convinced you can deliver the event with positive values, the volunteer base, the media, the support, the business community and the fun you are now ready to prepare your Bid presentation.

HOSTING STANDARDS: Hosting standards considered when preparing Bids may vary depending on the calibre of the event – International, National, Provincial and Local.

The following provides examples of Standards that may need to be addressed when preparing your Bid Presentation: The host community must demonstrate the ability to stage major national, international, provincial, regional or local events in a highly successful manner, both financially and logistically. The host community and partners must have a sufficient population base from which to market the event. The host site for the event must be in close proximity to an international airport (i.e. Maximum 200 kilometres or 2 hours travel time) and major highway arteries.

The host site must have a strong volunteer base within the business community and community at large from which to draw on for leadership, both at the host site and satellite locations, if applicable. The bid should outline plans for recruitment, training and recognition of volunteers. The host community must have an appropriate facility for key events. All satellite facilities must meet minimum standards (i.e. Technical) and be within a specific distance (i.e. 200 kilometres) of the main venue; host community.

The host Organizing Committee must have a certified guarantor who agrees to underwrite the financial guarantee for the event. The host community must demonstrate the degree to which the staging of this event will impact economically on the region, both on a short and long-term basis. The host Organizing Committee must demonstrate how they will extend the excitement of hosting the event as broadly throughout the community and surrounding areas. The bid should include host plans for community involvement, together with any special events or social activities which would add a festival-like atmosphere to the hosting arrangements.

The event must be priced in such a way to ensure the events are affordable to the family, individuals or groups in the community. This will allow spectators of all ages the opportunity to experience an event of this type or magnitude. At the same time the ticket pricing must be structured to enable the Host Organizing Committee to achieve revenue projections. The key when submitting Bids is to strive to exceed the standards! Your goal should be to host the best event ever!!

CRITICAL PATH: A detailed Critical Path must be submitted with any Bid. A critical path is an important process in showing teamwork, understanding, ownership, support and excitement for the event. Everyone can see the big picture and how important every person and detail is to the organizing of the event.

EVENT BID PRESENTATION COMPONENTS: GOALS: Establish the goals of your event. EXAMPLE: 1.To be an overwhelming success as an event. 2.Take female hockey to the next level (from the OWHA Bid presentation Package for the 2000 Women’s World Hockey Championship)

What will it take to accomplish these goals? 1.VOLUNTEERS: - critical to the success of the event - the performance of the volunteers will have a direct impact on everyone who is part of the event – participants, spectators.

You need to identify what you need from the volunteers, i.e. -Experience related to the event -Business skills -Enthusiasm -Commitment -Positive attitude -Integrity -Honesty -A desire to contribute -A desire to have fun !

VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT: HOW WILL YOU DO IT? EXAMPLES: - Through a multi-faceted approach – word of mouth, advertising, Internet targeting of specific groups or known individuals - Through the business community who have skills specific tasks - With persons who have been involved in similar events in the past

SCREENING PROCESS: OUTLINE YOUR PROCESS EXAMPLES: - Volunteers fill out application forms in order to match skills, interest and availability - Steering and Management Committee members are usually high profile community persons with experience and interest in the type of event you are bidding to host. Examples (names) of these individuals should be included.

TRAINING OF VOLUNTEERS: - how will you train the volunteers? - who will be providing the training? - components of the training should be outlined:

EXAMLES: -nature of the event; goals -risk management -policies on harassment and abuse -codes of conduct -accountability -team building -“Big Picture” and how they fit in -their impact on the success of the event

RECOGNITION / APPRECIATION: -Outline how you will recognize the contribution of the volunteers; how will you recognize their contributions before, during and after the event; -Your budget needs to reflect the activities of volunteer participation (i.e. training, recognition through specific activities, etc.)

2. PROPOSED BUDGET: -A detailed budget must be submitted with any Bid Presentation to include a breakdown of expenses and revenues. If the event you are bidding on has been held previously, you should show the actual figures (if available) for comparison purposes:

Revenues should include: Sponsors contributions, both cash and in-kind Gate receipts Grant money (i.e. Federal, Provincial) Souvenirs Any other miscellaneous revenues

Expenditures should include: Accommodations Travel / Transportation Meals Opening / Closing Ceremonies Special Events / Socials Related Committee Expenses Volunteer Accreditation

Administration Event Administrator (if applicable) Promotions and Advertising Facility Rentals Contingency Fund (for unforeseen expenses – usually 2 to 5% of total revenues)

3. MARKETING STRATEGY: Your marketing strategy needs to identify the core theme of your event – i.e. “Family Fun”; participation. Who is your target market? What are the best ways to reach them? What are the objectives of your marketing campaigns? What is your Marketing Strategy? (i.e. timed media releases and event; ways to secure public support) Outline examples of the marketing / promotion tactics.

4. SPONSORSHIP STRATEGY: -Outline the objectives of your Sponsorship Strategy EXAMPLES: Find / Secure partners to generate revenues in addition to ticket sales to ensure profit goals are met. Attract new / potential partners to the event you are hosting (i.e. Disabled sport).

How will you accomplish your objectives? EXAMPLES: Corporate Support Fundraising Special Promotions The benefits of sponsoring your event must be clearly outlined to potential supporters Sponsorship packages need to be outlined – i.e. as a Gold or Official Supporter, what do they receive?

5.ORGANIZATION HISTORY, VALUES, EXPERIENCES: -If the Bid Presentation is being made by a specific organization (i.e. Ontario Women’s Hockey Association), the bid should include details such as: Values and Mission Statement History, including prior event hosting experiences Future plans for the organization Role of the organization locally, provincially, nationally or internationally (depending on the event you are bidding for)

6. HOST COMMUNITY: -What does the Host Community have to offer? EXAMPLES: Location – highlights Transportation linkages Facilities to host event Accommodations Demographic base Media market

Corporate base Hospitality Volunteers and leadership Special events and locations

- Letters of support should be included with this section: EXAMPLE: - Politicians - Celebrities - Corporations - Organizations / Individuals from the Community

7. TRANSPORTATION: -Details of the various modes of transportation and their accessibility must be included: EXAMPLES: Road, Air, Rail – services available and proximity to event venues. Examples of schedules to shuttle participants in the event as well as spectators.

8. ACCOMMODATIONS: -Details of both the host hotel(s) as well as hotels for potential visitors. EXAMPLES: - hotel names and location - # of rooms - room rates - meeting facilities - other amenities and facilities

9. HOSTING FACILITIES / VENUES: -Specific details of each facility need to be included: EXAMPLES: - Building Amenities - Event Services (i.e. food & beverage) - Listing and outcomes of previous events hosted - Security capabilities

10.IMPACT / LEGACY OF HOSTING THE EVENT -How will you know you were successful? -Measurement Methods (i.e. SWOT Analysis – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats).

CONCLUSION / SUMMARY: Summarize why your Bid is the one to be chosen: EXAMPLES: - Highlight experiences - Partnerships - Support - Benefits

“We can do the best Job”!!