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Sponsorships Advertising Marketing

HEWLETT-PACKARD/NOVELL EYEING IBM'S VACATED OLYMPIC SPOT?

          IBM's decision to sever its 38-year marketing
     relationship with the IOC "is sparking competition by about
     a dozen major computer companies to fill Big Blue's shoes,"
     including Hewlett-Packard and Novell according to the AP's
     David Kalish.  Instead of signing one exclusive deal, IOC
     officials "are seeking a group of computer, software and
     networking equipment makers to handle the behind-the-scenes
     technology that IBM has been doing by itself. ... The idea
     is to spread out the multimillion-dollar cost of high-tech
     sponsorship."  USOC Dep. Sec. General John Krimsky: "Even
     before the IBM announcement, there were a number of very,
     very senior executives in information technology who had
     sent us queries."  The IOC received "several" bids that were
     "sweeter" than IBM's proposal, and IOC VP Dick Pound said,
     "The ones we'll speak to will probably include those and may
     go further than that" (AP/ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 8/8).  
          BIG BLUE REAX: IBM Dir of Olympic PR Debra Gottheimer
     called IBM's Olympic sponsorship "a good investment.  It's
     helped reposition IBM as an end-to-end (Internet) solution
     provider."  But she added, "When we looked at the value of
     in-kind contributions that would be required to sustain the
     sponsorship, we couldn't get the kind of market returns we
     needed to justify that" (Chris O'Brien, Raleigh NEWS &
     OBSERVER, 8/8).  Sports marketing consultant John Bevilaqua,
     on the IOC's creating a separate category for the Olympics'
     Internet services and Web sites: "As e-commerce continues to
     increase, it's a category that almost certainly justifies
     its own sponsorship."  But Bevilaqua added, "The Olympic
     committee can't have it both ways.  You can't continue to
     ask one company for an escalating price, while taking away
     elements of their sponsorship category" (Henry Unger,
     ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 8/8).  IBM said that "it was not
     reducing its sponsorship budget but was now looking at other
     international sporting events."  IOC Dir of Technology
     Pascal Wattiaux denied that the highly publicized technology
     problems at the Atlanta Games were the reason for the split:
     "The problems faced there have not been a major factor in
     this decision" (Harverson & Taylor, FINANCIAL TIMES, 8/8).
          SPONSOR REAX: USA TODAY's Bruce Horovitz surveyed other
     Olympic partners on IBM's pullout.  John Hancock President
     David D'Alessandro: "We spend a little over $30 million over
     four years and it's worth it.  But if these numbers got to
     be over $50 million, we'd be out."  Xerox execs said they
     "are concerned about IBM being replaced by too many
     technology sponsors."  But USOC Dir of PR Mike Moran said,
     "I don't see this as a virus that will affect the Olympic
     sponsorship" (USA TODAY, 8/10).  From the FINANCIAL TIMES'
     "Lex Column": "Are sporting events pushing their sponsors
     too hard? ... [T]he Olympics must realise that if Big Blue
     is balking at its rates, so may others" (FIN. TIMES, 8/8).

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