Companies Working On London Games Cannot Market Involvement

Companies winning work on the '12 London Games "have to sign contracts forbidding them from marketing their involvement" in the Olympics, according to Chris Tighe of the FINANCIAL TIMES. The No Marketing Rights Clauses protocol, drawn up by Olympic authorities, bars suppliers "from issuing press releases, running advertising or any marketing or public relations campaigns publicising their link to the 2012 event as well as banning them from using Olympic logos." The protocol "even seeks to specify the tone suppliers adopt in internal communications with staff about their involvement in the games, stipulating it 'should be undertaken in an understated, proportionate and regular fashion.'" Business groups said that they were "frustrated that the rules prevent them advertising to UK businesses the potential of 2012 Olympic procurement." The British Chambers of Commerce said due to the "very tight restrictions on marketing we are unable to promote that procurement opportunity. Our hands are being tied by the very people promoting it." Tighe noted the rules "mean companies cannot easily use Olympic success as a means of bidding for more work" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 2/4).