TORONTO – David Strickland has been hired as senior vice-president of sales and Adam Ashton as vice-president of marketing for the CTV-Rogers’ coverage of the 2010/2012 Olympic Games.
Reporting to Keith Pelley, president of CTV-Rogers Olympic consortium, and effective immediately, Strickland and Ashton are the latest additions to the CTV-Rogers Olympic team, following announcements last month appointing Rick Chisholm as Executive Vice-President, Broadcasting, and Alon Marcovici as Vice-President, Digital Media and Research, as reported by Cartt.ca.
Strickland (right) is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the revenue streams (conventio
nal, specialty, radio, mobile and online), including sponsorships, sales packaging and pricing, and business development. He will also build and lead the CTV-Rogers Olympic national sales team and create a targeted sales strategy for traditional and new media, says the release.
Strickland’s 23-year sales and marketing career spans the consumer products and services, sports and entertainment, media, and retail industries. His Olympic experience includes various roles with leading organizations. As director of marketing for CTV, Strickland developed the strategy and launch presentation for the network’s coverage of the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer; as Senior Vice-President of Marketing for Hudson’s Bay Company/Zellers, Strickland oversaw the media buying campaign for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens; and as Vice-President of Business Development for Enbridge Inc., he led the retail division’s sponsorship of the 2008 Toronto Olympic Bid. Strickland has also worked in leadership roles at Toronto Raptors Basketball, Labatt Breweries of Canada, and Pepsico. Most recently, he was a business consultant, with numerous clients including the CFL, JWT Advertising and Maclaren McCann.
Ashton, on the other hand, will lead and integrate the strategic marketing and promotional activity across a broad spectrum of internal media assets with a focus on the Olympic consortium’s brand plan, creative, advertising, communications, hospitality, licensing, promotions and sponsor integration. Ashton will also manage the marketing relationship with VANOC to enhance and protect the Olympic brand while maximizing a consistent Olympic broadcast experience for all stakeholders. 
With 13 years experience, Ashton (right) has risen through the ranks at TSN and was most recently vice-president of marketing for the national sports specialty network, where he oversaw the consumer marketing strategy, which included consumer advertising, on-air promotion, communications and event marketing. Throughout his 10 years at TSN, Ashton worked in partnership with numerous sports organizations including the NHL, Hockey Canada, CFL, NFL and the Canadian Curling Association. Ashton also co-launched and managed TSN Events, a business division that extended the TSN brand through event sponsorship, licensing and new broadcast opportunities, and played a key role in acquiring the NASCAR marketing rights in Canada and creating NASCAR’s first international operation.
