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Creative Marketing Strategies in Olympic Regions

We are NOT affiliated with the IOC, VANOC or Olympic organizations - we're on YOUR side.

Politicians claim the 2010 Olympics will save companies in our Host region from the recession, and in some cases they may be right, but why don't you feel saved?

If you're confused about how to promote and market your company in an Olympic region, welcome to the club. You are not alone or stupid. Most people have a very hard time understanding what should be a relatively simple and common operation.

One of the reasons you're confused is because local mainstream news media (your favorite newspaper and television companies) are Olympic partners, and they fill the market with so much useless information you can't easily understand what you can or cannot do. Mostly, news media promote what you can't do and rarely share with you your legal and ethical options and possibilities. Yes, they eventually report interesting information, but by the time they do Olympic opportunities have long passed.

Why?

Well for starters, just like in all business relationships, Olympic partners and suppliers protect each other, and in a billion years and just as many dollars they will not share with you in a timely manner information that would allow you to compete with them and Olympic organizations, including IOC sponsors.

News media are so adamant about not letting you into the private IOC club that in the beginning they report over and over you are not authorized to play in their sandbox - even though your tax dollars bought the sand.

After a while, people start to believe it and meekly back away.

Well not everyone ... I'll share in a bit who knows the score and leverages Olympic momentum profitably and consistently. You're going to be surprised when you find out how many companies without any Olympic affiliation whatsoever, some of them huge, but many also small, leverage Olympic momentum in a very lucrative manner.

For example, NIKE is currently an Olympic sponsor, but they weren't always affiliated with the Games. NIKE jumped back and forth over the fence a number of times, and even though they committed what local newspapers want you to think is a mortal sin, ambush marketing, the IOC welcomed NIKE back into their fold with open arms.

If ambush marketing is such a sin, why did the IOC sign NIKE back on as a sponsor?

NIKE is the most successful ambush marketer in the history of the Olympics.

When they were NOT affiliated they leveraged the Olympics from a position outside the rings specifically to grow their company to huge proportion - keep reading to see the long list of big and small companies also leveraging Olympic momentum.

Think about it ... can you blame your local newspapers and television companies for monopolizing the market and keeping you out? Why share information with your competitors? Let them figure it out themselves. It's what competition is all about.

The company that has the most current knowledge wins.

The rub here though is that while it is common, and seems to even be legal for news media to be biased and not report information in a timely manner, it's not ethical or fair.

But then again, when did you ever know news media to be fair, or ethical?
There is a reason many are going bankrupt. If it walks like a duck ... quack

Local mainstream news media poison the air with all kinds of misinformation and fear mongering. They start almost as soon as the bid is won and in the beginning primarily report only information that keeps non-sponsor businesses in the Olympic Host region intimidated and scared to experiment. They do it because in the past we never had access to social media like we do today.

Mainstream news media used to own the monopoly on information, but no more.

Social media, blogs, and Twitter killed the news monopoly.

Without a hint of exaggeration, the IOC and their partners do not want you to know what we share here, and they go to great lengths to keep you in the dark.

The biggest secret they hide is that you have to compete with Olympic organizations - in a pseudo-friendly manner of course. NIKE, and many much smaller companies do it successfully and you can too. As they say, "Just Do It!" ... but first, learn the rules.

The most important rule is to accurately understand the term "ambush marketing."

Olympic organizations and news media want you to think ambush marketing is a mortal sin, but it is completely legal, ethical, and practiced by many companies.


Canadian law, recently and specifically rewritten for the 2010 Olympics, states very transparently that ambush marketing is legal and ethical.


Some government legislators want business owners to clearly understand that ambush marketing is part of regular commerce. Unfortunately, local news media (Olympic partners) completely failed to report about it, let alone in a timely manner.

Ambush marketing is a simple marketing strategy that many companies use in a variety of ways across a wide number of industries, but somehow, when your local newspaper or television company apply it to anything Olympics, it magically becomes a dirty word. Is it any wonder newspapers are going bankrupt?

Nancy A. Miller, a lawyer with Fogler Rubinoff LLP, Toronto wrote the following about Olympic ambush marketing in "International Legal News"

"There is no unanimity of view that the practice of ambush marketing is an unfair and unethical marketing tactic rather than a creative, effective and legal marketing practice."

Basically, Ms. Miller is stating that not all members of the legal profession or business community consider ambush marketing to be illegal or unethical. Some, and probably way more than you think, regard ambush marketing as legal and effective.

She goes on to say, "Instances of ambush marketing, unlike activities such as counterfeiting that involve the unauthorized use of a registered trademark on merchandise, are rarely actionable or amenable to the traditional intellectual property remedies of trademark infringement. ... there are so few instances where Courts have had an opportunity to deal directly with the issue of ambush marketing."

In lay terms, companies that properly and creatively use ambush marketing strategies are rarely challenged legally because they are not breaking any laws.

If you believe local news media though, you'd think companies are constantly sued.

Ms. Miller also writes; "... ambush marketers may seek to ensure protection from liability by including in all advertising materials an unambiguous disclaimer stating that they are not affiliated with or endorsed by the International Olympic Committee, the Canadian Olympic Committee or the Olympic Committee of the host city."

Section 4(1) of the Olympic and Paralympic Marks Act states; no person shall, during any period prescribed by regulation, in association with a trademark or other mark, promote or otherwise direct public attention to their business, wares or services in a manner that misleads or is likely to mislead the public into believing that (a) the person’s business, wares or services are approved, authorized or endorsed by an organizing committee, the Canadian Olympic Committee or the Canadian Paralympic Committee; or (b) a business association exists between the person’s business and the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, an organizing Committee, the Canadian Olympic Committee or the Canadian Paralympic Committee."

Basically, all this means is do not use Olympic trademarks, create a trademark or do anything that fools anyone into thinking you are connected with the Olympics.

Anything legal in the realm of creative marketing is acceptable and ethical.

"HOW" you use the word "Olympics" defines its essence of legality.

Generally, if you use it as a "descriptor" it is acceptable, but check with a lawyer.

Granted, Olympic organizations can interpret your actions loosely and threaten to file a Slapp Suit (strategic lawsuit against public participation) or an injunction attempting to intimidate you from doing something that is in fact completely legal, but it is usually pure bluff and very rarely ever makes it to court. If they do follow through, note that it would be your responsibility to prove you are not harming the IOC and its agents.

However, today, if the IOC were to recklessly file a Slapp Suit against a marketer operating within legal parameters, the marketer's social media network can now easily use blogs and Twitter to demonstrate the action is spiteful and meant to impede legal commerce. Considering that news media has lost its monopoly, and would not be able to protect its partner, it would be in the IOC's best interest to play fairly to protect its already challenged reputation. If local mainstream news media is no longer able to protect the IOC, it would be foolish of them to pursue this unethical course of action.

NIKE always had the capacity to leverage this marketing strategy and use their financial weight to defend themselves against actions in a court of law, but instead they primarily relied on promotion to win in the court of public opinion - a court now easily accessible and affordable to anyone with a blog and free Twitter account.

Just as importantly, the Olympic and Paralympic Act does not cover the publication of news. Partly because news in our modern social media era is hard to define. Who is to say today whether your blog is a news or advertising medium? Newspapers blurred the lines between news and advertising with a deceptive tool they call advertorial. Considering that mainstream news media constantly blurs the lines, the courts would be hard pressed to rule that a blogger is subject to different rules. Can you tell today if you are reading an advertisement, editorial, or opinion piece? Not many can.

Keep this in mind too; if you create a marketing strategy the IOC objects to, and they launch a frivolous lawsuit, by the time it gets to court the 2010 Olympics will be long gone. We already know VANOC is out of money, so when Canadian taxpayers are beating down their doors post 2010 where will VANOC find funds to pursue a questionable legal action that shouldn't have been launched in the first place?

If they have no money they can't play poker. Don't fall for their bluff.



The Origin of Ambush Marketing

The term ambush marketing was coined by Jerry Welsh, who was at the time Executive Vice President, Worldwide Marketing and Communications, at American Express Company.

He now runs a marketing agency


AMEX was also at one time an Olympic sponsor. Today Mr. Welsh feels strongly the phrase he coined, ambush marketing, is being maligned and unfairly interpreted.

We think so too.

Ambush marketing is simply a legal and ethical way to leverage Olympic momentum.

Here's what Mr. Welsh writes on his website; "Companies routinely compete, mostly, we hope and expect, honestly and hard; and Ambush Marketing, correctly understood and rightly practiced, is an important, ethically correct, competitive tool in a non-sponsoring company's arsenal of business - and image-building - weapons. To think otherwise is either not to understand - or willfully to misrepresent - the meaning of Ambush Marketing and its significance for good - and winning - marketing practice."

Basically, Mr. Welsh is saying organizations have maliciously interpreted a legal, ethical advertising and promotion device and turned it into a concept wrongfully promoted by a group of companies selfishly intent on protecting their own economic interests.

Ironically, the IOC "ambushed" the term ambush marketing and twisted it to mean something quite a bit different. They ambush ... but say you cannot.

Mr. Welsh goes on to say, "Successful ambush strategies feed on ill-conceived sponsorships and inept sponsors; in that regard, Ambush Marketing is the natural result of healthy competition and has the long-range effect of making sponsored properties more valuable, not less, in that successful ambushes, over time, help to weed out inferior sponsorship propositions."

To loosely paraphrase; companies, including Olympic organizations, that feel negatively impacted by ambush marketing, had created weak sponsorship campaigns that left them open to legal and fair marketing strategies by third parties.

Hence our term leverage Olympic momentum - the title of our book.

Where exactly, is this "ill-conceived" weakness in today's IOC business model?

It's on your doorstep in the fact that Olympic events are no longer economically beneficial to the Host community, and have not been in every single case over the last decade. That's a pretty big weakness. i.e. The deficit in Salt Lake City 2000 was reported by the CBC (an Olympic partner) as $1.2 billion; in Athens 2004 $12 billion; Turin 2006 is still counting although they threatened bankruptcy just two months before their big event unless taxpayers bailed them out; Beijing 2008 was a financial farce from start to finish; Vancouver is already in dire financial straits, and London 2012 reports $16 billion in overrun costs and they are still over two years away.

Mr. Welsh maintains, and rightly so, that ambush marketing is actually good because it raises the visibility of the sponsor companies over the long run.

He also writes, "What Ambush Marketing is not, clearly, is some underhanded attempt to take advantage of sponsored properties without paying the associated fees. ... This is but another way to ask the simple question of whether or not the sponsorship, as offered, is really commercially viable, or worth anything approximating its cost in the marketplace of available marketing propositions."

In simpler terms, he feels if sponsors of campaigns had real value, there would not be cause for third parties to leverage their momentum, and he is absolutely right.

He concludes, "In the world of modern marketing, sponsor and ambusher are not moral labels to be assigned by the self-appointed arbiters of ethics, but merely the names to be given to two different - and complementary, if competing - roles played by competitors vying for consumer loyalty and recognition in the same thematic space."

In other words, the field is open to all who want to play by legal rules.

You can read more about Jerry Welsh and ambush marketing on his website.



Companies Already Successfully Leveraging Olympic Momentum


The list is long of companies that in fact have used ambush marketing, or as we refer to it, leveraged Olympic momentum successfully.

When they do it legally, none have ever been prevented from doing so by the courts in their respective countries even though Olympic organizations falsely and often aggressively accuse them of improprieties.

The following list is long, but relatively speaking, it's a small example of companies that very successfully leveraged Olympic momentum. Thousands of companies over the years do it at all Olympics Games. You just don't hear about it because they have no incentive to tell you. News media (official Olympic sponsors) keep it buried too.


First, here's a 2005 excerpt from our blog, OlyBLOG.com
quickly describing some of the companies and their strategies;

"Large corporations leverage Olympic momentum regularly. What Olympic organizations call ambush marketing, other members of the business world call leveraging momentum. For example one of the most memorable "leveraging" campaigns came from Nike when they said, "You don't win silver. You lose Gold." Boy do they have that right. The Mars chocolate bar company also did it and so did AMEX and Qantas Airlines, plus many more over the years. Even more recently, do you remember the Air Canada and Toyo Tire commercials that ran last summer during Athens 2004?

Air Canada ran a sports-related ad on television featuring synchronized swimmers and at the end of the spot in barely legible typeface they said, "We are proud sponsors of this broadcast." Have you ever seen synchronized swimmers associated with anything but the Olympics? Brilliant. The tag line "We are proud sponsors of" draws people into finishing the line with "the Olympics." TOYO Tires also had a tag line at the end of a television spot that said, "Proud sponsors of the Canadian Track and Field team". Gotcha again. Because the ad ran during the 2004 Games in Athens viewers mistakenly assumed it was Olympic related. It is a fine art.

Even The Vancouver Sun got into the game last spring with SUNRUN 2005. In the heat of Olympic frenzy they used a 2005 logo with interlocking different colored "00's" between the 2 and the 5 and a picture of running athletes to represent the run. Do you also remember the Telus campaign in the spring of 2005 with the Toucan bird holding a gold medal in its beak? The accompanying slogan was, "Turn Paper into Gold." This campaign was launched when it was announced Bell won an Olympic sponsorship bid. Talk about leveraging Olympic momentum. Everyone is doing it.

The reality of owning and operating a business in an Olympic region is finally starting to hit home for Vancouverites and Vancouvians. VANOC's first response in each case has been to bully, intimidate and embarrass, and unfortunately some media still foolishly provide them with a platform to do so. It happens in almost every single Olympic region. It is a formula. VANOC also knows that the more noise they make clashing with large corporations, the least likely small and midsize businesses will try similar marketing strategies. When the king of the castle makes a lot of noise and threatens to cut off heads it washes through the fiefdom like a tsunami. It's old school that worked well in pre-internet era, but those days are slipping away. My advice is, now that you know how they operate learn to leverage it.

Here's the twist. Esso got the publicly they wanted; i.e. 1/ everyone in Canada was reminded or now knows Esso has supported Hockey Canada for over two decades; 2/ we all now know about the Esso Torino 2006 promotion; 3/ Esso looks like the good guy for acknowledging and backing off after making a silly little mistake; and 3/ VANOC defended elite athletes . . . everyone saved face and one of Canada's largest gas companies still looks good considering gas is going up to $1.65. LOL!"

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Another OlyBLOG excerpt;

"Don't misinterpret what I'm saying above, outright ambush marketing isn't good for the overall health of the Olympic industry, but if Olympic organizations selfishly monopolize and shut everyone out (especially SMBs - small and midsize businesses) they will suffer consequences similar to what record companies did when consumers went online. Smaller players now have direct access to consumers.

I don't support the concept of ambush marketing in it's pure state, but there certainly is much you can do to leverage your company against Olympic energy using innovative marketing momentum strategies."

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Excerpt from BusinessWeek Online Magazine Re Beijing 2008;

"The problem for sponsors is that plenty of other companies think the Olympics are just as attractive—and are finding unofficial ways to link their brands to the Games. Nike (NKE) has endorsement deals with Athens gold medal hurdler Liu Xiang and other Chinese athletes. Sneaker-maker Li Ning (named after its founder, an Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics) runs TV spots featuring gymnasts and basketball players and is sponsoring the U.S. Olympic Ping-Pong team. PepsiCo (PEP) got 160 million online votes from mainlanders in a contest ranking mug shots sent in by fans; the winning entries will be printed on cans cheering on Team China. And Pepsi has replaced its traditional blue cans in the mainland with red ones "to show our respect to the year of China," says Harry Hui, Pepsi's marketing chief in China.

Such "ambush marketing" is paying off, as many consumers believe nonsponsors have an official link to the Games. While the Beijing organizers have gone after dozens of Chinese companies for illegally using the five-ring logo in ads, most ambush marketers simply deploy images of athletes. Nonetheless, thousands of Chinese polled by research firm Ipsos say they believe Pepsi, Nokia, and Li Ning are linked to the games, though they aren't. That's important because roughly three-quarters of Chinese consumers say they would give preference to products they associate with the Olympics, Beijing consultancy R3 reports.

Ambush tactics aren't unique to China. In Sydney, Australia's Qantas Airways got endorsements from Olympic athletes such as triple-gold-medal swimmer Ian Thorpe even though rival Ansett Airlines was the official carrier for the games. And although Adidas sponsored the 2002 and 2006 World Cup tournaments in soccer, the 2002 winner, Brazil, wore Nike."

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Excerpt from - Ambush Effectiveness - Huffington Post

"Finally, it is worth nothing that some of the most impressive Olympic efforts were undertaken by non-sponsors. China Merchant's Bank, by coincidence or design no one knows, highlighted "harmony" (he), the same theme as the spectacularly well-received opening ceremony.

Athletic wear manufacturers did nicely. Nike, Li Ning and Anta -- the latter two large local brands -- tapped into the spirit of Beijing 2008 without crossing ethical intellectual property lines. Nike's efforts were, in a Western sense, typically individualistic (a bold "competition comes first"). Time will tell whether the message resonated deeply with the public, particularly society's more conservative strata. However, its response to Liu Xiang's withdrawal from the 110 meter hurdle race was brilliant. Riding a wave of mass sympathy, Nike quickly produced an ad that turned his failure into something approaching heroism: "Because I love sports," it said, "I love the pain that comes with sports." Nike applied balm to a nation's wounded pride without debasing its brand's values."

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Excerpt from - Independent UK - Barcelona 1992

"Although Visa is an official sponsor and Amex is not, the dispute is not exactly a case of ambush marketing.

Last week, Amex unveiled new television and print advertising that coyly mentions Barcelona and 'fun and games'. It reminds travelers to bring their passports and American Express card. 'And remember, to visit Spain, you don't need a visa.'

Visa has paid dollars 20m ( pounds 10.4m) for the right to call itself the official sponsor of the games, and the International Olympic Committee - worried that sponsorship will lose its allure - has charged Amex with 'parasite marketing' and attempting to 'get a free ride off Visa, which is helping put on the event and helping to support American athletes'.

As Amex points out, however, Visa has taken advantage of its sponsorship of the games, which designates its card as the only one accepted at the ticket office, to run adverts that could easily be interpreted to mean that rival cards are refused everywhere else in Barcelona. Executives at the Amex advertising agency Chiat/Day say the 'counter-ads' merely correct untruths spread by Visa's ads, which boast that the Olympics 'don't take American Express'.

In March, Amex went on the offensive against Visa, demanding that Dick Pound, the IOC's global marketing director, 'put a halt to their odious campaign'. But Visa has refused the IOC's appeal to stop attacking Amex in the Olympic ads, and Mr Pound has been obliged to repeat earlier threats to sue Amex along with other alleged copyright violators such as Pepsi.

Amex claims it would not have launched its campaign if Visa had not attacked it first. But the charge card and travel service company - like other Olympic fellow travellers - also defended its right to use Olympic imagery and references.

The conflict leaves the IOC and national Olympic teams in a quandary, even if they could legally enforce their ambushing claims. Many of those accused of 'piggybacking' on the Olympic sponsorship of their rivals are valuable backers of individual teams. An IOC crackdown would therefore amount to cannibalism, according to marketing analysts.

Meanwhile, the growth in sponsorship has led to confusion, even without ambushing."

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Excerpt from - Mengniu Milk

"Paris-based market study house Ipsos has carried out a tracking survey since October 2007 on Olympic-themed marketing initiatives by both Beijing 2008 sponsors and non-sponsors. It ranks brands in line with Sponsorship Performance Indexes (SPIs), including sponsor identity recognition, sponsor voice, wrong recognition, sponsorship fitness, brand image and enhanced willingness to purchase.

According to the fourth edition released early March, Yili's SPIs reached 30.7 and were boosted from the previous edition's fourth to third. Meanwhile, Mengniu has become the first non-sponsor of the 2008 Beijing Olympics to force its way into the top five with a rating at 28.9.

"Yili is facing a particularly tough battle in the months ahead, with Mengniu's focused approach clearly beginning to pay dividends partly to a popular national program 'Around the cities', a multi-city skills contest," says Jia Yanli, deputy director of Ipsos's public affairs research department.

Mengniu's ambush marketing strategy seems to be working, and Yili should be more focused, she suggests."


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Excerpt from our book - Leverage Olympic Momentum

"All businesses have to appreciate fully that the region grinds to a halt about a month before the Games and during the spectacle. Olympic organizations buy up all the signage, including billboards in the region. They do it to prevent companies that compete with their sponsors from advertising during the Games, plus to prevent protestors from spreading negative information. They also buy up the side of every bus, taxi, and public transportation vehicle.

SMBs can’t get a word in edgewise using traditional space if they tried. However, private vehicles like trucks and cars, clothing, the internet are all viable solutions to reach the hundreds of thousands of people coming into the region.

If SMBs use the internet beforehand to prime spectators the chances for mental recall of alternative branding will increase dramatically when Olympic fans see something on the street. To offer a very simplistic example, ‘Flash Mobs’ wearing the same blank colored t-shirt and shouting the same message, or using laser pointers and making the same choreographed movement can be incredibly effective.

Gawker Stalker, a celebrity spotting/monitoring service, exploded out of nowhere in early 2006 and is a model that can be easily modified to work in an Olympic region.

Thanks to text messaging and easy internet access, Flash Mobs can be assembled anywhere, including inside Olympic facilities. In order for it to work you have to prime the viewer to recognize what a simplified message/logo/icon means. People who text message develop short forms that use only a few letters. For example, ‘R U 4 it’ and a thousand other ‘sms’ abbreviations say a lot with only a few strokes.

Conditioning consumers to recognize the message online is the first step in managing the space. Once people know what to look for SMBs can Flash Mob the side of a ski hill or a swimming pool gallery. Adding colour to the mix gives you another recognition factor. And having a hundred or a thousand people perform the same move simultaneously turns into a branding event.

Also take it mobile and emblazon the sides of truck tractor-trailers in Flash Mob style."


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Excerpt from - South China Morning Post - Beijing 2008 & Pepsi


"Such surprise campaigns are the stuff of marketing legend. At the 2002 Barcelona Games basketball final, between the US "dream team" and Croatia, the Croatian coach was encouraged to smuggle Gatorade-branded water bottles onto the "clean" court. Two years later at the Lillehammer Winter Olympics, American Express ran an ad campaign against Visa by promoting the fact that Americans did not need a "visa" to travel to Norway.

One of the sharpest Olympics ambushes, perpetrated in Atlanta by Pepsi-Cola, almost cost Costa Rica its first Olympic medal. The Costa Rican flag resembles the Pepsi logo, and swimmer Claudia Poll wore a cap most believed sported her national flag. Only after close inspection of post-race photos was Pepsi's ad coup discovered. The IOC backed down from enforcing a disqualification, a gesture interpreted by some as weak.

Sponsors of the 2008 Games are aware smash-and-grab marketing raids can destroy carefully crafted strategies. Already, non-sponsors are jumping on the official bandwagon. Nike commercials on CCTV have featured basketball superstar Yao Ming , and Pepsi is producing "patriotic" red drink cans. The moves have antagonized adidas and Coca-Cola, each of which has paid at least US$80 million to be associated with the Games.

"The cost of IOC and Bocog sponsorships has made being an official partner financially out of reach for all but a handful of the biggest sponsors in the world," said Kim Skildum-Reid, a sports marketing specialist who worked on ambush campaigns during the Sydney Olympics. "For companies that want to be involved but simply can't afford the entry fees, ambush is a viable option."

Legal recourse for sponsors is sketchy at best, however, as ambush marketing is not illegal. "It's just a fact of life that all brands are trying to do things like this to promote themselves," said Andre Gorgemous, the IOC's point man on ambush marketing. "But it's not any more or any less here than any other cities I've witnessed since my first Olympics in 1980 in Moscow."

At previous Games, creative ambushers had been "very smart", said Mr Gorgemous. He said that at the Atlanta Olympics, Nike had bought up billboards advertising its products, even though adidas was an official Games sponsor. "They were at the fringe of legality, but they couldn't be punished," he said.

Mr French said, however, that although ambush marketing at major events was usually the preserve of global brands, "the presence of advertisers, both official and ambush, will be greater at Beijing due to the plethora of domestic sponsors".

This view is supported by data from a poll run in China in January, which found 87 per cent of respondents thought that "hosting the Olympics is an opportunity for Chinese brands to become international"."

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Excerpt from - China IP Magazine - Beijing 2008

"Ambush marketing is everywhere. You may be surprised when ordering the traditional Beijing snack, pea cake, at the Hua Jia Yi Yuan Restaurant, because it is now called the “Gold and Silver Medal Cake.” In preparation for the upcoming Olympics, many restaurants in Beijing are introducing Olympic-themed dishes, with names closely related to Olympic events. On the menu at the Quan Ju De’s branch near the “Bird Nest” Stadium, you find dishes with names like “Short Track Speed Skating Sprint,” “Baseball Baby Corn,” “Discus Mushroom,” and “Javelin Bamboo Shoots.” While the diners are savoring the taste of the Olympics, few notice if these restaurants are not Olympic sponsors. As the Olympics approach, non-sponsoring companies are busy deploying their Olympic marketing strategies. Even on the official Olympic channel CCTV 5, a non-Olympic sponsor Li Ning’s logo is clearly seen on the shirts of sportscasters.

The “2008 Olympics Sponsorship Follow-up Effects Research” conducted by Ipsos shows that 63% of the consumers confuse non-Olympic sponsors for the real thing. By way of example, 76% of the consumers consider China Telecom as an Olympic sponsor, while only 73% are aware that China Netcom is the official Olympic sponsor. 70% of the consumers consider Nike as an Olympic sponsor; Li Ning’s slogan “anything is possible”, has had greater success than the Adidas slogan “impossible is nothing”. 82% of the consumers regard Li Ning as an Olympic sponsor, while in actuality, sponsor Adidas is only recognized by 69%."

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Why Do Official Olympic Sponsors Do It? ... Money !!

Excerpt from - RumorMill News

"Olympic sponsors make a fortune while Host regions suffer increased taxes

Samsung Electronics, meanwhile, says it has forecast a threefold return on a $200 million investment in sponsorship fees, marketing and advertising linked to the Olympics.

It expects its brand recognition in the mobile telephony market to increase four to six percent as a result of the Games, said Jay Kim, a spokesman for the South Korean-based company.

The Australian airline Qantas, which has no official link to the Games, ran a huge advertising campaign in the build-up to the Olympics using some of Australia's best known sporting stars.

It also got massive exposure in the United States with a film showcasing Australia that U.S. broadcasting rights holder NBC used to open its Olympics television coverage last week.

Ansett Australia, the official Olympic airline for the Sydney Games, settled out of court with Qantas in two cases of alleged ambush marketing that Ansett's lawyers pursued.

An Ansett spokesman, Michael Rolnick, said the company was not too concerned by Qantas's success. He said Ansett was using its Olympic involvement to target the corporate account market and did not fly to the United States anyway.

"We're projecting a return of at least four to five times our investment," Rolnick said. "I don't think you'll find anyone in Ansett who is displeased with that." REUTERS@"

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Excerpt from - Sports at 3PM - BLOG

"Nike, on the other hand, has long been a firm believer that spending millions of dollars on sponsorship fees was a waste of money and that they could outsmart and outdistance the competition by investing that money on elite teams, athletes and ambush marketing. (BTW, NIKE in 2009 is an Olympic sponsor - again!)

Phil Knight believes that the sponsorship game is won and lost on the pitch - associating the Swoosh with jaw-dropping performances and heart-moving stories of the athletes instead.

Nike's emphasis on the authenticity and respect for the game is probably what drove its incredible growth in the early years. They managed to make strong statements about their creativity through a number of ambush antics as well.

Surely, it also invites debates about their ethical orientation, but the majority of its core target don't seem to care..."

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Excerpt from - NORTHWESTERN JOURNAL of
TECHNOLOGY & INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PDF


"Supporters of ambush marketing, including the author, see it as smart business.

Arguably, ambush marketing provides a positive free market force.

By exposing to official sponsors and event organizers the true scope of exclusivity that any sponsor can reasonably expect to enjoy, ambushers in effect help quantify the true market value of Olympic sponsorship while participating in the marketing blitz in a manner they deem most cost effective for their company.

As it becomes clear to potential sponsors of future Olympic Games that event organizers will not be able to stop all ambush marketing efforts, this should be a factor that is accounted for in determining the fees to be paid for official sponsorship."

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Excerpt from - Beijing 2008 MoonWalk

"Of the four billion or so people watching the spectacular Olympics opening ceremony, its hard to imagine anyone being more nonplussed than Adidas chairman and CEO Herbert Hainer. Poor guy, sitting there in his air conditioned VIP box for the biggest show on earth when former Olympic champion Li Ning—and chairman of a rival sports company by the same name, took to the air in the most audacious torch lighting ceremony ever.

Perhaps Hainer can take some small comfort in the fact that when Li Ning did his aerial moon walk he was wearing the Adidas official uniform, but we aren’t sure about the shoes.

Interestingly, Li Ning’s face has not been used in company campaigns for a couple of years. After all, it has been 24 years since he clinched his gold medals in Los Angeles, and Li Ning has tried to style itself as a young hip brand by inking endorsement deals with foreign athletes like Shaquille O’Neal, and creating edgy ad spots based on its “Anything is Possible” slogan. For more about how Li Ning is going toe-to-toe with Nike and Adidas, click here.

Li Ning is a public company with shares listed in Hong Kong, but is still partially owned by various Chinese state stakeholders and Li Ning himself owns a substantial chunk, of course. No wonder they wanted to keep the details of the ceremony under wraps until the last moment.

But don’t get me wrong: I have tremendous respect for Li Ning’s accomplishments both as an athlete and a businessman, and every Chinese person has the right to be proud of him. And I’m NOT saying he’s a bad choice. Clearly he’s a great choice. But that doesn’t alter the fact that his company gets a huge amount of free publicity and goodwill from his appearance, and I applaud it as a brilliant piece of ambush marketing.


COMMENTS

Flashback ... 1996 Summer Olympic Games, opening ceremonies;

McDonald's uses a GIANT CRANE to lift an enormous GOLDEN ARCH into the 'beauty shot' of the opening ceremonies- ambush marketing by a top level sponsor...

NIKE and Adidas set up visitor experience attractions adjacent to Centennial Olympic Park and get hundreds of thousands of visitors without paying the $40 million sponsorship "entrance fee".

PEPSI pays hundreds of 'kids' to wear PEPSI shirts into the Olympic Venues, in direct violation of the clean venue rules...

EVERYBODY does it if they can - they spend millions of dollars finding the right companies to do the ambushing for them.

I pay attention to these things and I didn't feel ambushed at all in China. No more than I did seeing Mohamed Ali lighting the torch and thinking he might say something about roaches (OK a very old reference) or the Aussie girl standing there freezing in the waterfall (summer 2000), all the time knowing she was a NIKE sponsored athlete."


... end of excerpts ....................................


The above examples represent just a short list of companies that have legally and ethically leveraged Olympic momentum profitably.

Ironically though, the two examples we listed above that were "unethical" were perpetrated by Olympic sponsors while they were sponsors. McDonalds orchestrated the flying arches and the Mars candy bar company hung signage in Olympic facilities.

If Olympic sponsors push the envelope, what are you waiting for?

You don't even have to do anything unethical. Our advice is to keep it legal and fair.

Thanks to the internet and social media, it is easy and cheap to do.

The only reason more companies do not leverage Olympic momentum is because they mistakenly and unconditionally trust local news media (Olympic partners) that have fooled companies in local regions into regarding this common ethical marketing practice as illegal, and that mistakenly, it will somehow hurt the Olympics.

As you can see, nothing could be further from the truth.

Our suggestion is to learn the rules and get in the game.

If you want to learn more about companies that successfully leverage Olympic momentum click this link - Google search - Pepsi ambush Olympics and prepare yourself for an eye-opening modern day experience.

The moral here - don't trust local news media. They are Olympic partners.


If you decide to get in the game you will need trusted
knowledgeable partners, and we'd like to be one of them.

Talk to us before you talk to them . . . 604.739.6796

Retailers & Restaurateurs have a tremendous opportunity, and some are already quietly capitalizing on it, but unless you take proactive steps to leverage the momentum it will pass you by. Sitting and waiting will not work.

The solution, fortunately, is relatively simple ...

You have to reach out online through your website to Olympic athletes, their entourages, and sports spectators, and make sure they know that you and your products and services exist.

Historical data indicates athletes and spectators don't easily find neighborhoods outside the Olympic Zone, which means most retailers won't experience the big crowds that will roll through very select areas of our region in 2010 ... the secret is to reach out before they arrive and entice them with unique offers.


You need to do only two things to promote yourself to
Olympic Athletes, their Support Teams, and Spectators.

The first is to make sure your website represents you in the best possible light,
and the second is to reach out via Social Media through Blogs, Twitter & Video.

Make Olympic Athletes & Tourists offers they cannot resist.

Olympic regions are extremely chaotic, and get more so as the big event approaches.

Twitter is a fast growing and powerful online tool to keep customers apprised daily of your offerings, and when you combine it with short video clips on a blog it can raise your visibility and quickly set you apart.

Tread carefully here though because social media is not for everyone - ask us why.

Your company can also QUICKLY tap into the 2010 Olympic stream by advertising on websites that target Olympic crowds. All you have to do is create a simple ad and link it back to your website. It is incredibly easy, cheap, and effective to manage.

2010 will be nothing like Expo '86 ... Olympic crowds rush in, jump around in a frenzy, and leave as fast as they arrived. If you're not ready, the whirlwind opportunity passes right by and you miss the big payoff. People will be here to PARTY!

Learn more about Olympic crowds and their
idiosyncrasies here ... a 2010 Case Study

Our Media CLOUD a short list of NEWS MEDIA who have covered our Olympic story

Grocer Today - Opportunities
BC Business - Construction
ESPN - Overrun Costs
Globe & Mail - 2010 Tickets
Globe & Mail - Business
Seattle Times - 1 Year to GO!
Business Edge - Strategies
CityTV - Leverage The Games
Wired - Social Media

*Private Consulting & Workshops - One Day Sessions to get you up to speed quickly

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