James Christie in the Toronto GLOBE & MAIL looks at
reaction to a recent Harris poll that showed only one Summer
Olympic sponsor was recognized as such. Patrick Walshe, a
media analyst with Toronto-based Harrison Young Pesonen and
Newell: "Some like Nike or Adidas, okay: that's the event
and the business their in. ... But what is an insurance
company like John Hancock doing being an Olympic sponsor in
the first place?" Elliott Kerr, president of the Toronto-
based Landmark Group, an athlete-marketing agency, notes,
"Recognition numbers are important, but beyond that there's
client entertainment, employee motivation, consumer
incentives. All those variables are factored in when a
company internally gauges the return on an investment"
(Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 2/25).
PUT ON A HAPPY FACE: In Salt Lake, SLOC President Tom
Welch says he is not worried about the poll results in his
attempt to line up sponsors for the Salt Lake Games: "I have
been pleasantly surprised by the eagerness we are finding."
Lisa Riley Roche notes none of the 14 companies approached
so far have signed up (DESERET NEWS, 2/23).
