Lethbridge and District Exhibition partnering with Coca-Cola

By Ry Clarke - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on September 16, 2022.

Herald photo by Ry Clarke Lethbridge Exhibition CEO Mike Warkentin, at centre, joins in a toast to celebrate the new partnership with Coca-Cola Thursday at Heritage Hall at Exhibition Park.

Lethbridge and District Exhibition has announced a venue-wide partnership with Coca-Cola Bottling Company in Canada.

When guests attend events at the Lethbridge and District Exhibition campus, they will now see the venue enhanced by Coke’s branding.

“We are announcing our formal partnership with the Coca-Cola Bottling Company in Canada, it is truly a tremendously exciting day,” said Mike Warkentin, CEO for Lethbridge and District Exhibition, during a press conference on Thursday. “We are integrating a world class brand with our organizational culture. We had an to opportunity to put our staff through their on-boarding so that we understand what is important to set up this brand that everybody is familiar with.”

Coke branding will be seen throughout the Agri-food Hub and Trade Centre with a presence at the events that will be held in the future.

“For us to align with a brand like Coke for the future is a great opportunity for us. What’s important through this process, for us, was aligning the vision for Lethbridge and District Exhibition for our campus growth, for our culture growth, and the way we want to elevate our event delivery into the future here on campus,” said Warkentin.

The partnership will see Coke products sold at the Exhibition grounds well into the future with a long-term contract.

“It’s a seven-year deal where we will exclusively sell Coke products as the non-alcoholic beverage here on campus. It is a significant investment in our staff culture,” said Warkentin.

Lethbridge and District Exhibition was approached by Coke to make the partnership, seeing the grounds as a good opportunity for its products and imaging.

“As we have been going through the evolution of bringing the new building on, Coke approached us about the opportunity in the building,” said Warkentin. “It seemed like a natural fit and opportunity for us to align culturally.”

With construction still underway at the grounds, Lethbridge and District Exhibition will look for other partnerships like this to enhance the facility and secure investment.

“We are anticipating a spring 2023 opening, Coke having a significant brand representation in the building,” said Warkentin. “As we get closer to the building, we do anticipate announcing many more partnerships as we look to open.”

Comments are closed.