By Theresa Howard
USA TODAY
Beijing Olympics will set stage for clash of sponsors
WHILE advertisers vie here this week for Gold, Silver and Bronze awards at the Cannes Lions, the ad industry’s global contest, many already are looking ahead to going for the real gold at the Beijing Olympics, sports’ biggest global competition.
While events of the spring had many holding back, now that protests that trailed the Olympic Torch Relay have muffled and China is recovering from the devastating earthquake, marketers are getting game ready for the Aug. 8 start of the games.
A dozen of them – including U.S. companies such as Coca-Cola, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Kodak and Visa – have spent about $40 million just to be a top-level Games sponsor and will spend up to 10 times that to exploit the tie-in with ads, promotions, contests and events in the USA and China, as well as other world markets.
“It’s a lot of money but it’s got breadth and depth and will run all summer,” says Kevin Lane Keller, professor of marketing at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. “The potential is there. It’s what marketers decide to do with it.”
WHAT SOME ARE DOING:
Coca-Cola. In the USA, Coke has a mix of three Olympic-themed packaging designs. Some using a foreign language or multiple foreign languages and some with Olympic athletes. Swimmer Natalie Coughlin, track competitor Sanya Richards and basketball player LeBron James are among six athletes who will appear on packages and in TV ads.
In China, after curbing its marketing earlier, Coca-Cola has resumed its schedule of ads. “Out of respect for the victims and families of those affected by the earthquake… for one month Coca-Cola did not run celebratory advertising and toned down the activities along the Olympic Torch Relay. There was no music or dancing,” says Coke spokesman Petro Kacur.
McDonald’s. The theme for the fast food giant’s Olympic marketing is “Bringing People Together Like Never Before.” The company already has online and alternate reality game – The Lost Ring (www.thelostring.com) – that has had 2 million people register to play in its first few weeks ago. Plans in Beijing include bringing 1,400 global employees to serve food at the Games and hosting 200 kids from 40 countries who won local McDonald’s contests.
“Our brand reaches across all agencies, people and geographies,” says Mary Dillon, global chief marketer. “It’s a perfect fit.”
Visa. The Olympics will be the credit card issuer’s first big marketing event since becoming a publicly-traded company. With the theme “Go World”, plans include contests for trips to the Games and TV ads, plus ATMs at the Olympic Village.
“This is a very special year for us,” says Antonio Lucio, chief marketing officer. “It’s the first year we became public and our first campaign out of the gate is to be associated with the values that go with the Olympics. In this case it’s important for us… to show our bank members that we are going to raise the bar.”