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## The Town of Port Hawkesbury
## Commercial Naming Rights and Sponsorship Policy
## 1.0 POLICY STATEMENT
The Town of Port Hawkesbury is committed to providing high quality facilities and services to residents. To enrich the lives of residents by enhancing these services, the Town welcomes naming rights and sponsorship agreements for Town owned assets from qualified businesses and organizations whose support aligns with the municipality's mission, values, and priorities.
## 2.0 PURPOSE
The purpose of the naming rights policy is to create an authorized environment and region-wide protocol for naming rights that establishes the principals and conditions under which the Town will pursue and accept these agreements and that;
- a. Safeguards the Town's image, values, priorities, assets, and interests.
- b. Protects the Town from any risk.
- c. Aligns with Town of Port Hawkesbury projects, programs, and services.
- d. Provides Town employees with guidelines based on industry recognized best practices.
- e. Provides guidelines and procedures which facilitate opportunities for sustainable revenue generation.
## 3.0 DEFINITIONS
| Sponsorship | Sponsorship is a mutually beneficial business relationship where a corporation or organization provides a rights fee in cash or in a value in kind arrangement for the right to exploit the commercial potential associated with an asset (property) owned by the Town of Port Hawkesbury. Sponsorship is a marketing- based activity and unlike philanthropic programs (donations) there is a commercial expectation on the part of the buyer (sponsor). |
|---------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Asset | A sponsorship asset includes Facility Feature, Town Facilities and Properties, Open Spaces, and Park land as defined in the Civic Naming Policy. |
| Advertising | Advertising is the sale or lease of Town owned property and space and is universally accepted as a commodity transaction rather than a partnership. Unlike sponsorship, there are no associative values and the commercial use and or lease of |
| | Town space is based on predetermined industry standard rates of cost per thousand (CPM). Advertising does not imply a reciprocal relationship between the advertiser and the property owner and as such the advertiser is not entitled to additional benefits beyond the space being purchased. |
|----------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Acceptable Commercial Coverage (ACQ) | ACQ is the level of advertising and or sponsorship presence that is acceptable with any one asset. The ACQ will vary significantly according to an individual asset and is influenced by various measurement variables such as but not limited to the user group demographic and psychographic profile associated with an individual asset. |
| Commercial Naming Rights | A type and level of sponsorship whereby a company or organization purchases the exclusive rights to name a physical structure such as a facility or event with a commercial name typically for a defined period under specific contractual terms. In short, this is when a sponsor's name is incorporated into the name of the sponsored property. |
| Title Sponsorship | Title sponsorship is the highest level of sponsorship designation in a property such as an event or program. The level is typically the largest contributor in a property and includes rights to name the property. |
| Values-Centric Assessment/Ethical Scan | A value-centric assessment is a Town customized tool that will qualify sponsorship and advertising against pre-set values Tally sponsor criteria while an ethical scan will vet the potential sponsor or advertiser's overall business. The process provides a guideline that fairly and equitably determines; the acceptable and unacceptable areas of involvement, if a sponsor or advertiser meets the requirements defined by the Town's sponsorship and advertising policy or is otherwise affected by the restrictions section of the policy. |
| Value In-Kind Sponsorship | Payment (full or partial) of a sponsorship rights fee in goods or services equal to a cash amount and provided in lieu of cash. |
| Category Exclusivity | Gives a sponsor the rights to be the only company within its business category product or service) associated with a property being sponsored. A property can have more than area of exclusivity and a business may be required to have more than one category of exclusivity such as Bell- Aliant- internet; cellular; cable, TV etc. to cover all their lines of business |
## 4.0 SCOPE:
- 4.1 This policy applies to:
- a. All Town of Port Hawkesbury business units, departments and divisions
- b. All Town owned and managed assets including but not limited to the built and natural infrastructure, facilities, and features (i. e. rooms, ice pads) and other relevant properties
- c. Commercial naming rights within Town owned facilities unless allocated such as to sport organization and/ or nonprofit Society etc.
## 4.2 This policy does not apply to:
- a. Private- public partnerships
- b. Philanthropic contributions, gifts, or donations
- c. Town of Port Hawkesbury' s Heritage Program
- d. Naming of streets or memorialization of community spaces
- e. Town of Port Hawkesbury's Civic Naming Policy and Guidelines Applications.
## 5.0 PRINCIPALS AND CONDITIONS
- a. Sponsorship and advertising presence within a Town asset must reflect the target audience and user group demographic and psychographic profile associated with the asset.
- b. Sponsorship and advertising within a Town asset must be mindful and respectful of the community associated with the asset so as not to disrupt or interfere with the experience of the asset. As such, the Town will determine and manage an acceptable level of commercial presence (ACQ) within each Municipal asset.
- c. Sponsorships are associative in nature and therefore alignment to pre-determined municipal values is necessary.
- d. As a collaborative arrangement, in return for cash or value in kind consideration, a sponsor shall receive benefits commensurate with the assessed fair marketing value of an asset being sponsored.
- e. The granting of naming rights is intended to support and promote investment in Town of Port Hawkesbury owned assets.
- f. Neither Town of Port Hawkesbury, nor a third party operating a Town asset, may relinquish, through a naming rights agreement, any aspect of its right to manage and control a Town of Port Hawkesbury owned asset.
- g. The granting of Commercial Naming Rights shall not include an express or implied obligation, on the part of the Town, its agencies, associations, boards, working groups, or commissions, to purchase the naming entity's products and services or to endorse either the naming entity itself, or the naming entity's products or services.
- h. Naming rights agreements must not conflict with the terms and conditions of any existing agreement entered between the Town of Port Hawkesbury and a third party.
- i. The granting of naming rights shall not result in additional costs for The Town of Port Hawkesbury, excluding costs incurred during the solicitation and authorization
process, or costs incurred to fulfill conditions for naming imposed by the naming entity and agreed to pursuant to the naming rights agreement.
- j. Signage and acknowledgement shall comply with the Town of Port Hawkesbury' s Land Use Bylaw and applicable federal, provincial, and municipal law.
- k. The Town of Port Hawkesbury will endeavor, to the extent reasonably practicable, to balance its responsibility to maintain transparent processes and provide full disclosure to the public, with its responsibility to maintain confidentiality regarding third party interests.
- I. Prospective naming entities shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of a naming rights proposal, and the Town of Port Hawkesbury will, in no case, be responsible or liable for those costs.
- m. Neither the submission of a naming rights proposal nor the acceptance of the proposal shall be construed as a contract.
## 6.0 NAMING RIGHTS PROPOSAL
6. 1 A proposal to name an asset shall be brought forward by Staff
2. 6.2 The proposal to name a Town asset shall include:
- a. list of naming opportunities;
- b. market valuation of the proposed naming opportunity;
- c. proposed naming rights fee;
- d. proposed term of naming agreement;
- e. proposed rights and benefits;
- f. intended use of funds (e. g. capital, endowment, capital reserve plans);
- g. draft signage and acknowledgement plan; and
- h. draft naming rights agreement.
11. 6.3 Guidelines for naming rights and sponsorship agreements:
- a. The Town of Port Hawkesbury will consider all naming rights and sponsorship proposals but retains the discretion not to accept sponsorship from any entity at its sole discretion.
- b. The Town will not endorse the products, services or ideas of any sponsor or advertiser.
- c. As the sale of naming rights is a revenue generation activity it is intended to only supplement municipal funding for the purpose of enhancing municipal programs and services. Sponsorship or advertising cannot displace or be seen to displace Town funding, nor be perceived solely as a budget advantage.
- d. To expedite the sale of naming rights, a formal competitive process is not required. However, in the event of a competitive situation between two or more companies
- with rights fees being equal, the Town will defer to the company which aligns best to the values and priorities of the Town.
- e. Sponsorship and advertising must comply with the Town's visual identity guidelines or any Town by-laws and policies in all relevant situations.
- f. Sponsorship and advertising within Town buildings and facilities must conform to all applicable federal and provincial statutes, and meet standards set out by the Canadian Advertising Standards Council as amended from time to time.
- g. The sponsorship or advertising must not unduly detract from the character, integrity, aesthetic quality, or safety of a Town asset or unreasonably interfere with its enjoyment or use.
- h. The sponsorship must not confer a personal benefit, directly or indirectly, to any employee or elected official. All political advertising must indicate if it is paid by a party or candidate, to avoid any impression that the Town is supporting any party or candidate.
- i. The Town of Port Hawkesbury shall retain ownership and control over all Town owned and managed assets.
- j. Benefits provided to the sponsor by the Town of Port Hawkesbury are limited to those stated in the naming rights or sponsorship agreement.
- k. The category exclusivity rights clause provides exclusivity rights to the asset being sponsored and does imply exclusivity privileges with the Town itself.
- I. The Town will not solicit or accept sponsorship from companies or organizations whose business contradict any by-law or policy of the Town of Port Hawkesbury.
- m. The Town of Port Hawkesbury will not solicit or accept agreements from companies or organizations that compromise the reputation of the Municipality's public image. These include but are not limited to:
- a. those whose business is derived from the sale or production of tobacco or cannabis; pornography or sexual services;
- b. who promote or sell alcohol or other potentially addictive substances at venues geared primarily to children and youth;
- c. whose business is derived from armaments and weapons manufacturing other unsafe products or sale of such weapons, excluding recreational firearms;
- d. those who are not in good standing with the Town of Port Hawkesbury (i. e. currently in violation of a by law or under litigation); and
- e. those who discriminate by way of race, religion or gender.
## 7.0 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
## 7. 1 Town Council will:
- a. Grant or refuse proposals to name Town assets, based on this policy; and
- b. Approve and revise this policy as necessary
## 7.2 The Town of Port Hawkesbury Staff:
- a. Determine the process by which naming, and sponsorship agreements shall be solicited;
- b. Solicit, negotiate, prepare and administer naming rights and sponsorship agreements, including contract management;
- c. Seek third party professional advice regarding market valuation, as appropriate;
- d. Evaluate and assess proposals and opportunities;
- e. Provide communications guideline continuity;
- f. Manage agreements for Town owned facilities;
- g. Provide annual policy review as required;
## 8.0 USE OF FUNDS
8.1 Funds received by the Town of Port Hawkesbury through the sale of naming rights agreements are to be credited to a special account for the facility and smaller sponsorship agreements will be part of general revenues and allocated through budgeting process, unless stated otherwise in the agreement.
## 9.0 DOCUMENTATION
9.1 All sponsorships must be documented and arranged in a fixed term. A legally binding agreement must be entered into for each sponsorship arrangement consistent with the size, complexity, and scope of the sponsorship and in accordance with the Town protocol of procedure and delegations associated with agreements.
9.2 Agreements over $5,000 per year will require a contract. In these cases, the Town shall consult with the legal services to ensure appropriate terms and conditions are being identified.
## 10.0 EVALUATION
10.1 Naming rights and sponsorship opportunities will be evaluated to determine fit and alignment to the Town's image, values, and brand and to assess that all provisions in the policy are satisfied. Consideration will be also given to timeliness or readiness to make a deal, value of the naming rights proposal, and term of the agreement.
## 11.0 POLICY REVIEW
11.1 This Policy shall be reviewed on an annual basis through the first two years.
## ANNOTATION
Policy Review Notification:
Policy Review Date:
Approved by Council:
February 3, 2026
September 16, 2025 & February 3, 2026
February 17, 2026
I certify this to be a true copy of the Commercial Naming Rights and Sponsorship Policy as adopted by the Town Council of Port Hawkesbury at a Special Public Meeting held on February 17, 2026
Terry Doyle, PEng. Chief Administrative Officer
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