Lloyds Tsb Close To 2012 Contract

Lloyds TSB has been linked heavily with having secured the first domestic
sponsorship package for the London 2012 Olympics with a deal worth a reputed
£80m reported to be close to finalisation.

Although neither party is willing to confirm any such agreement, Lloyds TSB’s
believed acquisition of the exclusive rights to the retail banking category
would represent a significant feather in the cap for the brand.

Bank of America, Citigroup and HSBC were all known to have held negotiations
with organising committee LOCOG over the contract while Barclays was approached
but preferred to commit to its title sponsorship of the FA Premier League.

The lowering of the asking price for the contract is also a notable coup for
Lloyds should it prove accurate given that LOCOG had set its stall out for a
minimum of £100m for the rights.

Lloyds’ stance was no doubt helped by the emergence of availability of an
insurance category at the domestic partner level after International Olympic
Committee top-tier partner John Hancock Financial Services announced that
Beijing 2008 would be its last Games as a sponsor.

With LOCOG able to sell a insurance package to a rival brand to those in
negotiations for the retail banking category, the exclusivity of the latter
sponsorship was clearly affected, consequently knocking down the asking price.

LOCOG is currently focusing on sponsorship sales for six domestic partner
categories – retail banking, insurance, telecommunications, automotive,
petroleum and utilities.