The recent rebrand of one of Ottawa’s biggest event centres has brought a Canadian tech company into the spotlight as it works to build local brand awareness.
Already a Subscriber? Log in
Get Instant Access to This Article
Become an Ottawa Business Journal Insider and get immediate access to all of our Insider-only content and much more.
The recent rebrand of one of Ottawa’s biggest event centres has brought a Canadian tech company into the spotlight as it works to build local brand awareness.
Earlier this year, the EY Centre announced its official rebrand to the Cohere Centre as part of a major naming-rights partnership with the Toronto-based enterprise AI firm.
“Our partnership with EY was fantastic and it lasted well over a decade,” said Neill Bales, general manager of the Cohere Centre. “It just came to a point where that agreement had expired and we were out looking and we had some conversations with Cohere that worked out really well.”
Bales told OBJ this week that his team spoke with dozens of potential naming rights partners before striking a deal with Cohere.
“Cohere came to the table and was super-enthusiastic about it,” he said. “They have a big program with the federal government, so being in the national capital made a lot of sense for them. It made sense to get that exposure while they’re expanding across Canada and government, military and defence are big aspects that they’re working in. Having CANSEC as a major staple here had a big impact on that.”
The Canadian AI company builds custom large language models and natural language processing tools for businesses. Founded in 2019, it isn’t a household name for most Ottawans.
But according to Bales, naming rights deals are increasingly popular, both as a revenue stream for event centres and as a way to raise brand awareness for companies.
As Cohere expands in the defence and security sector through major military contracts with companies such as Ottawa’s Calian Group, Bales said a partnership with an Ottawa venue allows the company to introduce itself to the city as it expands its local footprint.
While other major event centres in the city work with recognizable names like Rogers and Canadian Tire, Bales said Cohere has become a powerhouse in its own right and will likely become a more familiar name going forward.
“As quote-unquote small as they are, I think their last market cap was US$6.8 billion,” he said. “As much as we think of them as a fairly small Canadian organization, they’re growing exponentially. I think (Prime Minster) Mark Carney said it on stage during CANSEC, that if you haven’t heard of them yet, you will very soon.”
For the event centre itself, Bales said its reputation will rise right alongside Cohere’s. That’s an advantage as the facility attempts to compete with larger venues in other cities.
“We always sit second to the Torontos, the Vancouvers and the Montreals,” he said. “We’re happy to be part of that and continue that narrative. The more Ottawa can drive into this marketplace, the better.”
Dave Ferris, vice-president of global public sector at Cohere, said at the time of the rebrand that the company is proud to partner with the facility.
“As a Canadian company building secure, enterprise-grade sovereign AI for organizations around the world, we are pleased to support a venue that brings together business, government, technology, and community in the nation’s capital,” he said in a news release.
