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Sponsors still firming up activation plans

With a year to go, some long-term sponsors seem to be relying on tried and true activations of Olympics past, while others wait to negotiate new deals or find their niche.

From Coke, which once again will co-sponsor the Olympic torch run, to McDonald’s, which will feed athletes in their villages, to GE, which will show off its technology, key TOP sponsors are beginning to roll out their Vancouver 2010 plans.

Others, such as U.S. Olympic Committee sponsor Budweiser, are still in the planning stages. Bud needs to be mindful that Molson is the official beer supplier of the Vancouver Organizing Committee.

Others still are in a holding pattern. Bank of America is in sponsorship renewal talks with the USOC at a tough time for banks and the Olympic committee. BofA’s deal expired at the end of 2008. “Discussion and consideration around activation has been put off until we finalize the renewal,” said BofA corporate spokesman Joe Goode.

Much of the on-the-ground preparation is being made out of corporations’ Canada headquarters, and sponsors are aligning some of their Olympic programs with Canadian national considerations.

Coke will once again co-sponsor
the Olympic torch run, but this
time is offering Canadians
a chance to participate.

Coke has teamed with Canadian nonprofit ParticipAction, which promotes physical activity, in a program “embracing the Olympic spirit, active living and sustainability,” said Coke Canada spokesman David Moran.

The torch run aligns with that, Moran said. The program to participate in the torch run has already begun, with online, TV and point-of-sale support.

As for the effects of the economy on any activation plans, Moran said, “The Olympic platform is our primary business opportunity for ’09. It’s not an add-on marketing initiative. We look at the Olympics as a growth opportunity.”

Coke also plans a product-promoting and party pavilion in downtown Vancouver.

GE Canada helped raise more than $2 million for Canadian Olympic athletes through a series of culinary events it has sponsored called “Gold Medal Plates.” As GE did in Beijing, the company also is showing off its large, infrastructure-focused technology.

Among its most noticeable showcase: a rooftop water filtration system installed in the Vancouver Convention Center, which will be the home of the Main Press Center and International Broadcast Center next year.

A more public facility — a new ice rink in downtown Vancouver — will be branded GE Plaza and be a focal point during the Games and after.

McDonald’s is reprising successful programs. The fast-food chain will once again feed athletes in the Olympic Villages in Vancouver and Whistler and the media at the Main Press Center. There will be various activations — specifics unknown — at the more than 40 McDonald’s restaurants in the Olympic zone.

McDonald’s Champion Kids also has been renewed, in which children from around the world are brought to Vancouver to meet athletes and attend events. There will be special menu items in Canada and TV commercials to support the sponsorship.

As activation plans among corporate partners continue to get firmed up, there’s no avoiding the challenging landscape sponsors face a year out from Vancouver. Companies are clearly watching their spending.

Even short-track speedskater and five-time Olympic medalist Apolo Ohno is having a tough time finding deals. He was in negotiations with six companies last week, but one of the nation’s best known winter sport athletes said he had no pre-Olympic sponsorships in hand.

“I think I’d be a fool to say that I wasn’t affected by what’s going on globally,” Ohno said. “I think it’s pretty clear there are many, many, many corporations and companies looking for ways to cut back on their marketing expenses.

“With that being said, there’s always going to be an interest in the Olympic Games.”

Jay Weiner is a writer in Minnesota.

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