Sponsors spend millions to be part of 2010 Games
By Clare Ogilvie,
The Province
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The 2010 Games are a hot commodity.
And now that the Beijing Games are over, 2010 sponsors can kick into high gear using their association with the rings to market and sell their products.
National sponsors at every level have brokered deals unseen before in Olympic history to be associated with Canada's Games - putting 2010 organizers within grasp of their $760 million sponsorship goal, 18 months before the event begins.
The response was so enthusiastic the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Games pushed the goal up from the $450 million outlined in the 2002 Olympic bid book to the current total.
Now the final countdown has begun for 2010 sponsors.
"[Sponsors] have been looking forward to it for four years," said Dave Cobb, VANOC's executive vice-president of revenue, marketing and communications.
"They can't wait to come. Part of it is that it is much easier when you have the same language and similar cultures.
"They have very high expectations of us as Canadians but they know we will deliver."
Bell, a national sponsor, shocked VANOC when it bid $200 million for the right to associate with the Olympic brand in 2004. The bid was $65 million more than competitor Telus put on the table.
"You can't really . . . associate yourself with a stronger brand than the Olympics, and allowing us to strengthen our brand by associating with the rings and associate with something as important as Vancouver 2010 is incredibly important for us," said John McLarty, Bell's director of Olympic and sports marketing.
Just returned from Beijing, McLarty said the telecommunications company will now focus fully on the opportunity 2010 represents.
It's been estimated that the top sponsors and national Olympic committees will spend an estimated $2 billion here. That includes everything from hotels and catering to gifts, and the special events that will be planned by big broadcasters like NBC -- the official broadcaster of 2010 in the United States.
NBC will bring in 1,800 people and hire 1,000 to help look after their crews, and it is expected to spend $40 million in the 12 months leading up to and through the Winter Games.
For VANOC, the next few months will be critical in getting those final seven to 10 sponsors lined up.
There are several categories of sponsorship for VANOC. National Partners include Bell, HBC Company, RBC, GM Canada, Petro-Canada and Rona. There are 10 official supporters including B.C. Hydro, Air Canada and ticketing agent Jetset Sports. Official suppliers, of which there are 26, include Canada Post, Birks and YVR.
There are two print media suppliers: Canwest (parent company of The Province) and The Globe and Mail.
© The Vancouver Province 2008
