Sleep Well: Hilton Renews U.S. Olympic Team Deal Through 2012
By Tripp Mickle, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal
Hilton Hotels Corp. today announced the renewal of its sponsorship of the U.S. Olympic team through the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The agreement makes the Hilton Family of Hotels -- Hilton, Conrad, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Grand Vacations Club and Homewood Suites -- the official family of hotels for the U.S. Olympic team and allows it to use the team’s five-ring logo in all advertising and marketing materials. The deal also gives the company an exclusive negotiating window during which it can secure a partnership with the Chicago 2016 organizing committee if the city is awarded the Games next year, said Hilton Senior VP/Brand Management Jeffrey Diskin during the USOC’s media summit in Chicago. Sources valued the deal at approximately $10M in value-in-kind support, a 20% increase from what the company reportedly paid for its '05-08 relationship with the USOC. Diskin said, “The Olympics as a brand and platform is universally understood. I can’t think of anything that could give us the bump in awareness that it has (over the past three years).” Internal research found a 50% increase among people who preferred, recommended, trusted and stayed in Hilton hotels because of the company’s Olympic relationship, Diskin said. He added the return on investment through bookings on Hilton Web sites connected to NGBs made the deal an obvious “equity builder.” Diskin: “Overall, we’ve gotten more value than we anticipated." Hilton has bought the right to be the exclusive hotel advertiser on NBC during the Beijing Games and will roll out its advertising program in May or June. It also will host 100 hotel owners and their guests when the Games begin in August. The deal was negotiated by USOC COO Norman Bellingham and marketing exec Susan Goldsmith.
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