Olympic Sponsorship Revisited

Just like beauty, the payback for Olympic sponsors lies in the eyes of the beholder. Worldwide Olympic sponsors -- of which there are only 12 -- paid an average of $72 million in sponsorship fees for the four-year period culminating with the Beijing Games, but two (Lenovo and Kodak) have already signaled their discontinuation going forward, and two others (Johnson & Johnson and Manulife), have yet to commit for the upcoming four-year cycle leading to the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Lenovo and Kodak are studies in contrast: the Chinese computer maker that in 2005 bought IBM's PC division is a one-time-only sponsor, while Kodak's sponsorship dates back to founding of the "Modern" Olympic Games in 1896. Kodak CEO Antonio Perez said about its continuing Olympic sponsorship: "At this point in time, it doesn't make sense." Meanwhile, eight global sponsors have already renewed their Olympic sponsorships, and Coca-Cola has inked its deal through 2020. While business reasons for spending tens of millions on sport sponsorship vary -- from enhancing brand awareness to preventing corporate rivals from treading on Olympic turf -- the clutter of national, team and individual sponsors makes it increasingly difficult for the consumer to discern official Olympic sponsors from the those that are not. For example, in a survey of Beijingers, only 15% could name two out of the dozen global sponsors . . . although in a city of 16 million, that still accounts for a lot of people!

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