Analysis
With the Pan Am Games just beginning Toronto should be on edge with excitement. Instead what is making the news is a man who was charged for driving with two mannequins in the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane and when Twitter exploded with news of a terrorist attack on the CN Tower that turned out to be a surprise fireworks demonstration. So how did Ontario stray so far from the “Welcome Pan American Games” and “National Pride” articles, which should be running at this time? We have compiled a list on exactly how to not build excitement based on how the Pan American Games were introduced to Toronto.
DRIVE RESIDENTS OUT OF YOUR CITY!
According to a survey done by Field Day Inc. over 58% of Toronto residents have no desire or plan to purchase tickets for an event happening in their own backyards. Instead many are fleeing to cottages or friends houses far from the city and the expected traffic. When even a Pan Am torchbearer asked admitted he would not be taking in any events but rather escaping the city to avoid extra frustration with traffic!
GIVE THE ELITE FAST PASSES!
Don’t emphasize fast passes, people at Wonderland and Disney World complain and commuters will too. The highway has now been deemed “HOV Highway to Hell” due to anger over misuse and the increase in commute times. A Kijiji add has recently garnered a lot of attention when two enterprising young Halton men offered their services as HOV passengers. For a fee they will both ride with you making your car eligible for the HOV lane in all its glory.
FLASH YOUR BILLIONS… OF TAX PAYERS MONEY!
The topic of the Pan Am budget has been a hot button for Ontario residents even before the bid for the Games had been announced. A sky-high budget of 2.5 billion dollars has residents seeing red, with the mascot alone costing the taxpayers over $380,000.
RAMP UP EXCITEMENT… BY REMINDING EVERYONE NO ONE IS COMING!
Weeks before the games were set to begin, the organizers were complaining about how few tickets had actually been sold to the event, and how fewer hotel rooms have been filled than expected. The Sun was showing that 77% of people in Toronto had no plan to buy tickets to the games. Nothing builds excitement like negative social proof articles.
The organizers should have spent more time building up hype and excitement about the games, and getting everyone in Toronto motivated before the shock and awe scare tactics of potential traffic chaos, and commuter hell reality set it. However the money has been spent, the HOV lanes implemented and the crowds are slowly arriving. It’s no longer time to dwell on how poorly the games were advertised to Torontonians but to learn from it and to embrace some national pride.
