olympic sponsorship: winners and losers of THE London 2012 olympics Research findings from thinktank international august

About this presentation  The London Olympics 2012 became the biggest sponsorship show on Earth with brands spending hundreds of millions of dollars  At Thinktank International Research we were at the very heart of this event and could not miss this opportunity to find out more about:  what people associate with the Olympics  which sponsors people remember  and most importantly - what lessons sponsors can learn from London

So we followed the news paying particular attention to brand and sponsor stories 3

But most importantly – hit the streets to talk to over 30 locals and visitors 4 LondonersTourists Office workersFull time mums

Surprise!  We found that a majority of people in the streets struggled to name any sponsor apart from Coca-Cola (and they were probably guessing!)  In fact, a recent study showed that 24% of Britons could not name a single Olympic sponsor with further 33% saying they could hazard a guess, but would be unsure if they were correct  Here are our 4 key lessons on what works and what doesn’t for the sponsors of the London 2012 Olympics 5

Lesson 1. Be Generous – Not Restrictive! 6

Be Generous – Not Restrictive!  We live in an age where people expect brands to give rather than take  Sponsors need to protect their Olympic territory (and London 2012 is certainly the most territorial Games we’ve seen so far!) but they need to do it in a way that doesn’t leave regular people excluded  Visa kindly taught other brands this lesson, restricting all tickets purchases to Visa and taking only Visa or cash at the Olympic venues. All ended with a system crash at Wembley stadium where people couldn’t buy any food or drinks unless they had cash  If you become an Olympic sponsor, make sure you give! Restricting is antithetical to the spirit of the Olympics 7

Be Generous - What People Say 8 The only sponsor I can remember is Coke because they were giving cans of Coca- Cola at the Torch Relay. That was nice! The Olympic Games are about being together! You can’t put up a screen in the middle of the street and charge £20 to watch it. And then sell Heineken to people – this is just nonsense.

Lesson 2. Be ready for Sponsor Bashing – Olympic spectator sport of the 21st Century 9

Be ready for Sponsor Bashing –Olympic spectator sport of the 21st Century  There is a growing anti-sponsor and anti-corporate sentiment – both in social and traditional media  But when we spoke to people in the streets we realised that sponsor bashing isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the brand - as long as you can hold your own  A lot of people we spoke to remembered McDonald’s as a sponsor because of the controversy that surrounded it  Interestingly, most people didn’t really mind a fast food sponsor as much as you would expect if you read the newspapers 10

Controversial sponsors - what people say 11 It’s a bit controversial, but beer brands always sponsor football – everyone got used to that. I think McDonald’s are one of the sponsors. Newspapers moaned about it, but I don’t really mind. At least they invest in sport.

Lesson 3. Create Stories and Celebrate the Atmosphere! 12

Create Stories and Celebrate the Atmosphere!  Don’t forget that the Olympics special!  The Games is one of the few truly global events with lots of positive connotations: achievement, energy, vitality, fair play, excitement and aspirations – and community  Brands are well placed to add to the buzz, celebrate the Games and share the excitement with the general public!  Adidas managed to catch the mood in their Beckham viral where regular shoppers who popped into the photo booth to support Team GB were greeted by David 13

What people say 14 It is exciting! There’s a real buzz in the city and I absolutely love it. Everyone is positive, cheering for the athletes from different nations and enjoying the Games! It was good seeing Beckham taking pictures with people in that shopping centre!

Lesson 4 Don’t Forget The Link to Your Brand! 15

Don’t forget The Link to Your Brand  So the Olympics have a host of connotations that brands want to tie into: global, festive, the best, exciting, exclusive, big, proud etc.  The real creative challenge is to come up with the right angle for your comms to make sure that…  the link between your brand and the Olympics exists not only in marketing departments  people remember your brand and its communications – rather than the fact that this was an Olympic ad  the effect stays after the Olympics.  P&G ‘Thank you mom’ ad stood out creatively and has been in the ‘top 10 most shared Youtube ads’ in June and July 16

What people say 17 P&G had an Olympic ad… something about moms – that’s right! There’s a mom behind every Olympic champion. Can’t remember any other ads though…

A Few Words About Us  Thinktank is an international qualitative research consultancy based in London  We pride ourselves on marketing thinking inspired by real people  For more see our website, blog or follow us on TwitterTwitter

Thank you! Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Konstantin Pinaev