Corporate Clock Is Ticking In The Heart Of China
IMG’s Charles Jefferson checks out what’s going in the city centre of Beijing as the Olympic Games begins to unfold…
Took time out to check Tiananmen Square and glad to remove myself from the bombardment of commercialism that seems to have enveloped Beijing… finally a clean venue! Well not quite. Since a 1,000 days out Omega’s Countdown clock has been ticking…beside Chairman Mao’s resting place. However on reflection it felt right.. Omega has heritage with the Games (since 1932) and has stature that doesn’t desecrate such a venerable site.
What this demonstrates is the power of an Olympic contract. Omega can depend on the fact that the IOC mandates to any Organizing Committee that an Olympic countdown clock has to be branded by Omega. And what does every Organizing Committee need to focus attention… a countdown clock!
It’s becoming more difficult to differentiate. We all know that to drive awareness of Olympic sponsorship you have to spend. And in Beijing the TOP and BOCOG sponsors are spending big time. Every bus, every bus shelter, every outdoor, every subway billboard is someway associated to an Olympic Games sponsor. And who wants to have to escalate against Coke, Visa, Panasonic…
So think creatively and negotiate upfront whether it be with the IOC so that they have to deliver though the OCOG or with the OCOG itself. Omega are not the only brand to negotiate contractual obligations through the IOC. Visa mandate that they are the only payment mechanism within Olympic sites – Visa delivers an exclusive ATM service for the duration of the Games configured only to accept Visa through a partnership with the Bank of China.
Coca-Cola have exclusive right to supply hot and cold drinks to all Olympic Venues and in the run up to the Games if you want to ship anything to the Olympic Green you can only use UPS. In fact no other courier can deliver to any Olympic venue. Negotiating cast iron supply contracts help to protect brand platforms, reinforce capability credentials and help deliver business
