Olympic sponsors are "missing from Rio," marking the second straight Games in which big corporations that "pay billions to associate their brands with the Olympics have a smaller-than-usual presence," according to Jonathon Gatehouse of MACLEANS. There is a McDonald’s in the Athletes Village, but the chain’s sole outlet on the Olympic plaza in Barra "sells only ice cream." While fellow IOC TOP sponsors Samsung, Visa and Coca-Cola, among others, have a corporate pavilion, they "don’t seem to have brought along the tens of thousands of clients, suppliers and guests that they have entertained in the past" (MACLEANS.ca, 8/10).
MOTHERS' DAY: Author and brand-building consultant Denise Lee Yohn said IOC TOP sponsor P&G has “done the best job of any brand" around the Rio Games with their “Thank You, Mom” campaign. The effort, which has been running for several Olympics, is a "really great way for them to use the Olympic athletes, but in a very human way that speaks to moms, the actual customers of P&G products.” Yohn said, "What’s happened on social media is that all these athletes, as well as other people, are posting their own tributes saying, ‘Thank you, mom,’ to their own moms, which has created this whole social campaign that’s a complement to their TV campaign. It’s just made it more effective for that brand” ("Trending Business," Bloomberg TV, 8/10).
TAKING TO THE AIR: CNBC's Carl Quintanilla noted Airbnb has joined the "list of Olympic sponsorships," as it is the official alternate accommodation service for the Games. There will be 66,000 Airbnb guests during the Olympics, which equates to "about $25 million in income for hosts, and of course a lot more in residual spending." Quintanilla: "They're calling this the first major Olympics in the sharing economy age, so we may see the companies like Airbnb and Uber try to leverage that in the years to come” ("Power Lunch," CNBC, 8/10).
