Comcast Chair & CEO Brian Roberts said NBC has generated $1.2B in ad sales for its coverage of the London Games, marking a record for the network. Roberts: “It’s better than what we had thought. It’s a good start and now we just have to make it all happen” ("Power Lunch," NBC, 7/27).
BRINGING GOOD THINGS TO LIFE: In London, Russell Lynch reports IOC TOP sponsor GE "won sales of more than $100M as it helped to get London ready for the Olympics." The company has garnered $1B in "infrastructure sales since it became associated with the Olympics in 2006." GE CEO Jeff Immelt said, "It is perfect for us. We are so global, it is a great global brand and it takes us to places that are important for the company: China, London, Brazil and Russia. These are places where the company has a big footprint so the sponsorship has made a lot of sense for us" (London INDEPENDENT, 7/30).
TIME FOR A CHANGE: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Shirley Wang notes as an IOC TOP sponsor and the "official timekeeper of the Olympics, Omega's timepieces will hang in the All England Lawn Tennis Club where the London Games' tennis competition" began Saturday. The deal is a "loss for Rolex, who has served as the official timekeeper for the Wimbledon tennis tournament since 1978." Rolex-branded clocks "around the famed sporting grounds will be covered up for the duration of the Games." Omega President Stephen Urquhart said, "Obviously I think that Rolex cannot be happy. It's their patrimony, and we'll be there for two weeks" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/30).
BRANCHING OUT: In St. Louis, Matthew Hibbard notes Enterprise Holdings will "be running 30-second and 60-second versions of a TV commercial a total of 40 times over the span of the summer Olympics, including the closing ceremony." The company will "promote its Enterprise 50 Million Tree Pledge, a campaign launched" in '07 by the Enterprise Foundation in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service to "pledge $50 million to plant 50 million trees over the next 50 years." Enterprise Brand Dir Jim Stoeppler said, "We looked at other ways to extend our campaign and wanted to align ourselves with big time events like the Super Bowl, Academy Awards and the Grammy's. The Olympics rose to the top really quickly" (ST. LOUIS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/27 issue). Also in St. Louis, Lisa Brown noted as part of Enterprise's Olympic campaign, "viewers can visit the Facebook page to have a tree dedicated in someone's honor" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 7/29).
WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR THE OLYMPICS? AD AGE's Mallory Russell noted during the London Games, UPS "is responsible for receiving, warehousing, and delivering every item used." By the end of the Games, UPS "will have moved 30 million items in and out of the Olympic Village and all the Olympic venues." UPS U.K., Ireland & Nordics Managing Dir Cindy Miller said, "I believe that to the small customer or to the medium customer, and certainly to the global customer, the Olympics really is a great opportunity where UPS can showcase what we can do on a grand scale (ADAGE.com, 7/27).
FASHION ON THE FIELD: NBC’s Willie Geist asked soccer analyst Cat Whitehill during halftime of the Colombia-U.S. women's soccer game Saturday for her thoughts about the Nike-produced U.S. jerseys. Geist asked, "What do you think of the ‘Where’s Waldo?’ jerseys today? Do we like these?” Whitehill: “I have to give mad props to Nike. They do an excellent job for the U.S. national team, and it is a bit different. A lot of times women are afraid of stripes, but they look good and I like the pop of the blue. At least you can find them on the field. That’s all that matters” (NBC Sports Network, 7/28).
