We’ve spent the last two years researching a book on Olympic partnership and how to ensure it can be transformational. The research draws on direct experience with six Olympic clients, desk research (a very smart desk) and extended interviews with the programme directors of 30 Olympic partners. Here are eight insights.
1 No logo is a strength
UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Cup make great play about limiting partner numbers to reduce clutter and deliver greater value. The Olympic model sidesteps branding clutter by not offering any. The lack of media exposure forces Partners to consider more carefully how they create value. 7 of the 11 IOC’s TOP partners are signed up to 2020.
2 Think B2B, not B2C
B2B sponsorship is easier and usually more cost-effective for two simple reasons: business audiences are directly targetable; revenue potential per customer is greater. B2C brands by contrast generally over-stretch themselves to achieve reach, and lose relevance. GE billed US$750m in Beijing.
3 By the time the Games arrive, the game’s up.
The opportunity is to play a visible and commercial role in the build-up. Providing the Partner carves out a clear and credible role, its Games status gives it a relevance most brands usually lack. Conversations are easier. When else would EDF’s fleet procurement make national press?
4 The Olympic brand is in a class of its own.
2700 years of heritage, global awareness over 90%, clear association with values like hope, humanity and diversity, the sense of universal myth and symbolism that attaches to the Olympic flame – Olympic partnership offers the best brand platform there is. It works for P&G every bit as well as for Coca-Cola.
5 Local? Watch out.
First time Partners simply cannot begin to imagine the scale of the challenge they face. Even if they begin by thinking they can isolate the association from the rest of the business, the Games are simply too big to ignore, and creating an unprecedented challenge. Helen Nugent, on the Board at Macquarie: ‘My biggest personal career challenge’
6 Think: ideal client
Think of it this way: the opportunity to write your ideal case study, for the world’s best known client, visible, popular, accessible; and, to a large extent, you write your own brief. Deloitte’s Heather Hancock: ‘It’s the story we tell our clients.’
7 It’s not a promotion.
Olympic partnership can transform businesses, but if you consider it a promotional investment, you’re going to be sadly disappointed. That’s a lot of Curly Wurlys.
8 It’s a change driver
The most successful Olympic partnerships are used to accelerate organisational change: changing culture post-demutualisation (AMP in Sydney), emerging from the aegis of state protection (VW China), globalising the brand (Visa and Samsung); repositioning (Cisco); facilitating the restructuring of the sales function (GE).
For more insight, talk to us!