Wednesday, January 9, 2013

An Olympic brand : What marketers can do to become one

While brands which become official partners of the Olympic games benefit hugely for the event, there are other ways too to leverage this grand event

London 2012 presents a golden opportunity for brands. Everyone naturally has a heightened level of interest in the Olympics due to their sheer exposure through multiple marketing channels (advertising, television, online, competitions, merchandise). This provides a great opportunity for businesses to strengthen or rejuvenate their brand image by associating it with an event that has universal appeal.

Brands associating themselves with the Games might focus on the atmosphere surrounding them or specific athletes or events. Choosing to link your brand to the Olympics implies brand values of high performance, competitiveness, being world-class, innovative and dynamic. In the eyes of the UK public, British brands associated with the Olympics could build an image of promoting national values, supporting British talent and encouraging a healthy lifestyle. More generally, companies can use London 2012 as a platform for building emotional attachment and relationships with customers and other relevant audiences such as employees.

For a considerable financial commitment, several brands earned the enviable status of being an Olympic partner. Lloyds was the first company to sign up as an official sponsor. Being the only sponsor of the Olympic torch relay gives Lloyds the opportunity to connect with communities all over Britain by organising local events to celebrate the arrival of the Olympic flame.

In order to mark its position as a ‘national institution’, British Airways made sure to earn the position of ‘official airline’ for the Games. A previously less well-known brand in the UK, EDF has actively used the sponsorship to increase brand awareness by being the official electricity supplier of the Games. EDF has already used its Olympic credentials to create emotional attachment and consumer engagement by launching a campaign ‘Team Green Britain’ to encourage communities to do everyday things in a more sustainable way.

Deloitte, the official professional services provider for the Games has put its staff at the heart of delivering London 2012 through secondments and advisory work. A year before the Opening Ceremony, they had already provided more than 350,000 hours of expertise and this is expected to treble by the end of the Games.

What about brands that are not officially affiliated with the Games? The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and paralympic Games (LOCOG) has gone to great lengths to ensure that non-sponsoring brands are not publicised in any way with the event by not allowing them to use the Olympic logo in communications or advertising in Olympic venues. With these restrictions, does this leave any room for other brands to capitalise on London 2012? The answer is a definite yes: brands can associate with the spirit of the Games without breaking the rules. One way is to sign up well-known athletes. Gillette has recruited Roger Federer and Sir Chris Hoy to take part in activities including coaching, workshops and training sessions at local clubs and community centres, all aiming to inspire the younger generation to take up sports earlier in life.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,