As thousands of Canadian children prepare for next year’s Canwest Canspell National Spelling Bee, Canada Post is leveraging its role as presenting sponsor to increase its brand presence with young Canadians.

‘This event gives us a great opportunity to connect with a new audience, giving us a terrific exposure to a quarter of a million children and their parents,’ Cindy Daoust, manager of marketing and communications tells MIC. The initiative engages students in Grades 4 through 8 in spelling study and regional, national and international competition. Thousands of schools and about 250,000 students in 22 Canadian cities take part in the contest.

Daoust says that in addition to important grassroots level awareness across Canada, the event ties in with their goal of promoting adult literacy. To increase awareness, Canada Post is touting its involvement via in-store posters, and will have staff help out at the competitions across Canada. In addition to sponsorship support, the company will also foot the bill for the 2009 school fees associated with the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee, to be held in Washington in spring next year.

While Air Canada is the official travel partner, the Egg Farmers of Canada is the newest sponsor to join Canspell, providing funding for the Canspell Education Awards.
www.canspell.com