Latest Thinking from IEG

Non-Sponsors Take On The Olympics To Align Their Brands With Fair Play
The extreme approach taken by the London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) to enforcing IOC marketing rules has not only not protected official sponsors, I’d argue it has hurt them. Each time the brand police tape over the logo of a non-sponsor, or warn the public about wearing a Pepsi T-shirt to the Games, or insist policemen carry their snacks in unbranded plastic bags, they drag down the brands of the sponsors.

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Filed under: backlash, London 2012, olympics, ambush marketing

Ambush Marketing At London 2012
Non-sponsors during the Olympic Games got noticed through a variety of tactics, including making news around related topics (Nike, Specsavers, Tetley Tea), championing human-interest stories (Red Bull, Virgin Media, Beats), sponsored Tweets (Nike), and pop-up venues in London (Puma, Mizuno, Karl Lagerfeld, Opening Ceremony).

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Filed under: London 2012, olympics, ambush marketing

Will The Olympic Movement Change Its Marketing Rules? (It Better)
A key issue between the end of the London 2012 Olympic Games this Sunday and the beginning of the Sochi Winter Games 18 months from now will be what, if anything, the IOC will do regarding the restrictions placed on sponsors, non-sponsors, athletes and others.

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Filed under: backlash, London 2012, olympics, ambush marketing

The IOC’s Big Blunders (And How to Fix Them)
Much of the world is buckling under economic recession, but Olympic finances have never been better.

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Filed under: London 2012, olympics, servicing, ambush marketing

Time to End Ambush Marketing
As the London Olympic Games prepare to open, can we all agree to put the issue of ambush marketing to rest? Please.

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Filed under: London 2012, olympics, ambush marketing

10 Olympic Sponsors to Watch—and Why
In case you missed the article I wrote for Business Insider, here’s my pre-Games take on which marketers were poised to succeed at London 2012:

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Filed under: ambush marketing, endorsements, international, London 2012, olympics, activation

Sponsorship Issues: Are Recent Government Moves Protection Or Interference?
Two developments within the last month raise some fascinating questions over the involvement of government in the affairs of private rightsholders and their partnerships.

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Filed under: Canada, government/municipal, IEG conference, legislation, pro sports, sports, telecommunications, trends, ambush marketing

Is Social Media The Greatest Ambush Marketing Technique Ever?
A recent blog post on valuing social media as a sponsorship benefit prompted a thought-provoking response from my old pal Dan Schorr of Start2Finish Marketing.

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Filed under: ambush marketing, social media, activation

Ambush Marketing Amongst Cosponsors?

I was watching the NBA Slam Dunk contest on Saturday night when Blake Griffin made his event-winning dunk over a Kia Optima. It got me wondering – can a cosponsor ambush another cosponsor? Kia appeared to receive the most post-event buzz on the twitter-sphere despite Sprite being the event title sponsor and newspaper/website headline pictures all featured Griffin’s dunk over the car. Yet, was this necessarily a bad thing for Sprite?

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Filed under: ambush marketing, automotive, product placement, soft drink, sports, activation

Highlights from the European Sponsorship Assn. Conference

More than 150 delegates gathered in Amsterdam last week for the European Sponsorship Assn.’s Future Sponsorship conference.

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Filed under: backlash, digital media, international, trends, ambush marketing