Canon Combines Customers, Celebrities, Charity at CES
Diane Taylor -- Tradeshow Week, 1/4/2008 2:41:00 PM
Canon U.S.A. will take advantage of the crowds and excitement during this week’s Intl. CES to entertain customers while raising funds for a favorite charity.
Canon is continuing what has become an annual tradition by sponsoring a customer appreciation reception, auction and meet-and-greet with celebrities Tuesday, Jan. 8 at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. The evening will feature entertainment, a program and an auction that will benefit the Natl. Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).
The next day’s Canon-sponsored NCMEC Celebrity Golf Tournament, to be held at the Tournament Players Club in Summerlin, also combines fun with fundraising.
Dawn Shields, Canon U.S.A. senior manager of corporate events, said Canon has a history of helping the cause of missing children. It has donated digital cameras, scanners, bubble jet printers and other products to law enforcement agencies; produced public service advertisements with missing children’s photos; educated parents on the importance of having current photos of their children; and been a major corporate partner of NCMEC.
Shields said the company wanted to entertain its customers, but felt it could accomplish a second objective at the same time. “Our events are planned to be first rate so our customers have a great time, but we also let them know they are contributing to a cause that helps children,” she added.
Shields relied on former Canon employee John Arnos, now an independent consultant, to obtain sponsorships for the golf outing, gather auction items and make other reception arrangements. Baskow & Associates secured 35 celebrities for appearances, including musician Alice Cooper, actor Blair Underwood and former Minnesota Vikings player Ed Marinero. Visual Impact Communications published a souvenir journal, complete with advertising. And Perfect Productions did the stage design for the reception.
“We are fortunate in that all our suppliers provide services at a discount to help with the fundraising,” Shields said.
In the eight years of Canon’s involvement, first at (defunct computer tradeshow) Comdex and now at CES, nearly $3 million has been raised for NCMEC. “In the beginning, attendance at the customer appreciation event was just 200 people. This year, 750 people are expected to attend, with about 100 golfers participating in the golf tournament,” Shields said.
Joy Messenger, chief development officer for NCMEC, noted that the events held in conjunction with CES are her organization’s largest fundraising events with Canon. “Organization is a team effort with Canon taking most of the responsibility and NCMEC participating as a partner,” she said.
Although sponsorships for the golf tournament can cost as much as $10,000, Messenger said, “these events are so popular, some of the sponsors contribute even more than that. And you should see the donated auction items – wide screen televisions, the whole electronic gamut. It’s wonderful.”
