The IOC has entered into an agreement with Grand Leisure
Group to create the first Olympic theme park, according to AD
AGE. The park will be in Munich and is part of the IOC's effort
to position the Games as a 365-day-a-year "movement" rather than
a "biennial event." The $50M complex is scheduled to open in
early '98. The IOC sees Munich as a model for other parks, and
if "pleased" with the results, other parks will likely follow in
Sydney, and another European location. IOC Dir of Marketing
Michael Payne said they will approach past and present global
sponsors with marketing opportunities tied to the parks, as well
as requests for technical assistance. Eastman Kodak, IBM and
Matsushita/Panasonic are all on the list, since, according to
Payne, "the Olympic story we tell will be done through cutting
edge technology." According to AD AGE's Jeff Jensen, the IOC's
"strategic move" toward longer-term agreements (Coca-Cola, NBC)
was done to designed to bring "marketing muscle" to the give the
Olympics the desired "ubiquity and relevancy" (ADVERTISING AGE,
8/12 issue).
