The Olympic Movement provides unparalleled returns on the investment for sponsors. The Games provide a marketing platform that is based on ideals and values. The games provide endless opportunities for companies to improve sales, showcasing and community outreach programmes. Support from the business community and other benefactors helps the athletes and the teams promote the games. Sponsorship not only provides essential financial support to the Olympic movement but also support services such as products, technical support and staff development. Furthermore, through the promotional activities of the sponsors, public awareness and support for the Olympic Movement is increased.
In 1985, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) created The Olympic Partner (TOP) Programme to diversify the revenue base for the games and the Olympic Movement. TOP is made up of multi-national organisations. TOP partners, in return for their financial commitment, are guaranteed exclusive and worldwide marketing opportunities within an agreed category such as soft drink, television, audio and office equipment. This is a very unique benefit to Partners it ensures that their competition may not align themselves with an Olympic team or the Olympic games anywhere in the world. In addition to their exclusivity the TOP partners have the opportunity to use all the Olympic symbols including the 5 rings. Now that the IOC has created TOP there are greater benefits for the sponsors and so greater benefits for the games as well.
There have been 5 different TOP groups with the latest (2001-2004) including companies such as Coca-cola, John Hancock, Kodak, McDonalds, Panasonic, Swatch and Visa. This global support ensures the ongoing celebration of the Olympic games and the dissemination of the Olympic ideals. Without the support of the sponsors the Olympics would suffer greatly “Without the support of the business community, without its technology, expertise, people, services, products, telecommunications, its financing – the Olympic Games could not and cannot happen. Without this support, the athletes cannot compete and achieve their very best in the world’s best sporting event” quoted from Dr. Jacques Rogge, President of the IOC.
Another thing that makes the ‘festoon’ particularly, even more special is because the Olympic games are the only major sporting event where there is no advertising within the stadiums or on the competitors. One of the only and main ways of people seeing the company associated with the Olympics is to put the five rings on their products.
The revenue from TOP is shared. Following Sydney, 28% of the revenue went to the IOC, National Olympic committees and the ISF (International Sporting Federations). The remaining 72% went to the Australian Olympic committee so there is a great opportunity for profit for the host, which is another, plus point resulting from the revenue. For example at Los Angeles Olympic games in 1984 when the most successful era of corporate sponsorship began the profit from the games was £215 million dollars and it has increased since then.
Years before the corporate era set in the Olympics struggled; Montreal is a great example they are still paying the billion-dollar debt off today. However this new commercialism of the games has resulted in a great success, the games are more popular than ever, huge profits are being made and the companies are benefiting too. The worry that the games will become too commercialised have been settled by the IOC with restricting the advertising e.g. no advertisements seen in the stadium or on the sponsors. So from the information I have acquired it would seem to imply that the newer more commercial Olympics are the more successful ones.
