Leading marketers have predicted that the rise of "socialisation" as marketers' main focus at the London Olympics will "mark the end of the 30-second television advertisement as the staple of brand communications," according to Simon Canning of THE AUSTRALIAN. The marketing frenzy "is well and truly under way." Meanwhile, the traditional approach of non-Games sponsors "jumping on the bandwagon with their ambush campaigns has attained a new level of sophistication." Sports and entertainment marketer Octagon Head of Strategy Adam Hodge said that there was a "clear shift in Olympic campaigns." Hodge: "Athletes are being treated like media outlets and any athlete with a mobile phone is a media outlet. Social media is more established, and there is a real opportunity for Australian marketers." Since the mid-'90s ambush marketing has been a "major concern" for Games organizers and sponsors that have paid tens of millions of dollars for the "rights to be associated with the Olympic rings." This type of marketing "may finally be evolving" as a result of the tough measures put in place for the London Games. Hodge said these measures had forced an evolution in the sector and smart advertisers, rather than partaking in lazy ambush marketing, "are having to be really creative" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 7/9).
