Gail Bower, one of my favorite sponsorship experts, has been watching the Olympics and counting up the wins and losses on the sponsorship front.
In 2012 Olympics Sponsorship: the good, the bad, and the ugly, Gail notes:
- the strange marriage of "bad food" companies such as McDonald's and Coca-Cola with the Olympics.
- that Dow Chemical problem (remember Bhopal?).
- the paranoia of the IOC when it comes to use of the name and logo of the Games, and the nitpicking over small businesses.
- the mess over the US team's Ralph Lauren uniforms that were made in China.
Gail draws some good lessons for sponsors and their nonprofit partners. As Gail says, "We can't spurn audiences, send wrong messages, nor become so overly controlling that we take the joy out of the event."
There have been plenty of sponsorship bright moments though, especially the heart-warming Thank You, Mom campaign from P&G, which was also included in The 12 Best Ads of the 2012 Olympics from Fast Company.
Related:
- Olympic-Size Marketing Tips for Nonprofits
- Corporate Sponsorships: Getting and Keeping Them When Times Are Tough
- How Can My Small Charity Get Corporate Sponsorships?
Photo Credit: Patrick Hausding and Sascha Klein (R) of Germany compete in the Men's Synchronised 10m Platform Diving on Day 3 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre on July 30, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
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