As IBM prepares for its last year as an IOC sponsor,
the company will "launch in early September parallel
Olympic-theme ad and marketing pushes" in the U.S. and
Sydney, with a multimedia campaign from Ogilvy & Mather
Worldwide, N.Y., according to Tobi Elkin of AD AGE. The
campaign will include TV, print, online, and direct mail
components, while "massive billboards, bus and monorail
wraps" -- bearing images from IBM's "Look of the Games"
series -- are planned for this summer in Sydney. IBM
VP/Worldwide Olympic & Sports Sponsorships Eli Primrose-
Smith said a "significant portion" of the TV spots that will
run on NBC in the U.S. will be "Olympic-themed," but she
added that the company "also expects to showcase broad
offerings under its NetGeneration business platform." Elkin
estimates that IBM will spend almost" $200M to "run
operations" during the Sydney Games. IBM, which hosts and
manages the official site of the Sydney Games, projects one
billion page views on the Sydney site over the course of the
17-day event (AD AGE, 7/10 issue).
