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Marketing and Sponsorship

Former Coke GB Marketing Director Says Firm's Olympic Backing Is A Disadvantage

Former Coke GB Marketing Dir Bobby Brittain said that being a "top sponsor for global events such as the Olympics has put Coca-Cola at a competitive disadvantage," according to Leonie Roderick of MARKETING WEEK. Brittain said that the brand originally got involved with the Olympics in '28. At the time, the brand’s ambition was to be "as global as possible." He acknowledged, however, that the original sponsorship model "no longer functions." Brittain: "In today’s world, at risk of sounding both heretical and like a bitter ex-Coke employee -- and I’m neither -- the model doesn’t function. Partly because competitively, it must be the easiest job in the world to be the Pepsi marketing director. Commercially, it’s tough as your competitor knows what you’re up to [in being an Olympic sponsor every four years]." Despite Brittain’s doubts, Coca-Cola "performed well at the Rio Olympics," according to a recent Brand Agility Index study by PR firm Waggener Edstrom Communications (WE). It had the "second most effective campaign among the headline Rio Olympic sponsors," creating 17,405 mentions globally over the two-week duration of the Games. This was "only outdone by Samsung, which managed to amass 20,635 mentions." But "despite this positive performance, Coca-Cola still has weaknesses in its sponsorship model." Namely, its "inability to tie itself to healthy living," according to WE Head of Digital & Insight Gareth Davies. He said, "Coke is losing out on engagement and sentiment scores simply because they are not challenging the issue head on and aren’t addressing negative feedback at all" (MARKETING WEEK, 9/14). THE DRUM's Natalie Mortimer reported Brittain revealed that "internally at the drinks business Coca-Cola’s main motivation for sponsoring the Olympics is for its association with the torch relay," something that the brand is "unashamed" about pushing hard. However, he called the 2008 Beijing relay "traumatic" for those Coca-Cola employees involved, given that it traveled through 21 countries in the lead up to the Games, and was "hijacked" wherever it went. Brittain has "now taken up the role of marketing and partnerships director at Godolphin horse racing stable" (THE DRUM, 9/14).

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