When you think about it, Olympic sponsors might not get as much benefit out of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and the 2012 Olympics in London. China is a growth market, which many companies have yet to break in to. The Games hold opportunity for these companies. But London? Canada? Those markets are played out.
At least that’s what some sponsors seem to think. 4 of the 12 global sponsors for the Games have yet to sign on for 2010 and 2012. It’s an expensive buy, it makes sense you’d want to scrutinize that level of investment.
Here’s more, from MSNBC:
- Beijing 2008 is likely to go down as the high-water mark of the Olympic sponsorship program. While the Games offer unique attractions to sponsors, multinationals are already looking more critically at whether the payback will be worth it for future Games.[...]
- Among the high-profile sponsors deciding to back away is Lenovo. Its sponsorship of the 2006 Winter Games in Turin and the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing will be a one-time shot for the Chinese PC maker. Other current sponsors who so far have not committed to ponying up for the next pair of Games will be Johnson & Johnson and Manulife Financial. Even longtime Olympic supporter Eastman Kodak, a sponsor since the IOC first established its global partnership program in 1986, has pulled the plug. “It’s just not the best way for us to spend our money,” says Kodak Chief Executive Antonio Perez.
Read the rest of the story here.
