Is It Worth It?

According to a recent Forbes article, many of the Olympic advertisers are wasting their money on big time advertisement slots that are not reaching their target audience in a successful way.


Each time a new Olypmic Games comes around, the sponsorship and advertising cost rise significantly. As of the last two Olympics, the top level of advertising cost up to $200 million dollars, with different tiers of sponsorship levels as you work downward.  With this amount of money being spent, these companies should expect a huge return on their investment, but for most for most of them they are not. According to the article, Adidad spent $200 million dollars to be a top sponsor, but polls form after the event revealed that only 24% of people identified Adidas as a sponsor. The article states that the few companies who did generate a return on their investment were those who sought to make an emotional connection with the everyday consumer. For example, Nike was only a third tier sponsor, but fared significantly better than Adidas because they focused on connecting with normal people rather than promote elite athletes and the games like Adidas did. What do you think: Is it worth it to shell out top dollar for these spots when it has been proven to be hard to earn a return, and what are some successful ways to reach consumers in large events such as the Olympics.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/deniselyohn/2016/08/03/olympics-advertisers-are-wasting-their-sponsorship-dollars/#3223c51c2070

Small Business Marketing within the Olympic Games

Generally with the Olympics we see some of the biggest names in marketing making huge appearances throughout the games. Brands like McDonald's and Coca Cola can be seen several times a minute and thinking of the Olympics tied to these names is always synonymous.

However, the Olympics are a very long event with ample time for businesses to get a chance to strut their stuff on a this global marketing stage. However, smaller brands can't go at this all willy-nilly. To be impactful they need a plan. Having smaller budgets than the big kahuna's this is ever more important on this grand stage.

Essentially it comes down to a few main guidelines to make an impact during the games. Speak the language, provide incentives, get social, curate unique experiences, and host a watch party - in the grand scheme of things all these may seem very insignificant and a waste of time, but for a company trying to make a name for themselves this could mean the difference between sinking and swimming.
The question here is, how many people can this type of mentality truly impact? And taking that one step further, is it in their best interest and worth the pretty penny these companies are sacrificing to get their chance in the limelight amongst the heavy weights of marketing.

On a personal note, do you know any techniques not mentioned that could be effective in marketing during the Olympics for the smaller companies of the world? If so, do explain.

- Tristan Crimmins

Official Sponsors

It's easy to watch the Olympics and not think about all of the work that goes on beforehand to ensure everything runs smoothly. The athletes endure months, even years, of training, the venue needs to be set up, and the sponsors must be orchestrated to ensure money is coming in from somewhere.

Sponsors are one of the most important aspects of the Olympics Games. As they state on their website, "Revenue generated by commercial partnerships accounts for more than 40% of Olympic revenues and partners provide vital technical services and product support to the whole of the Olympic Family" (Olympic.Org). Clearly sponsors are on the key components to ensuring the Games run smoothly and efficiently. 

Some of the more famous sponsors that they have worked with in the past are: 

Coca Cola: One of the oldest and most successful relationships they have maintained. This spsonroship serves to be successful to both sides, as Coke has had some famous campaigns because of the Games, and the Games are proud to be sponsored by them. 

In addition, they have had a long standing sponsorship with McDonald's, Visa, and Samsung. What sponsors do you think of when you hear Olympics? Let us know below!

https://www.olympic.org/sponsors