Olympic Games Act puts off potential sponsors: survey

The latest Marketing Trends Survey from The Chartered Institute of Marketing, conducted by Ipsos MORI, reveals that many marketers still lack awareness about the legality of Olympic-related marketing activities three years after the relevant Act was passed. The London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act was published in 2006. Yet today, 43 per cent of marketers polled said they had "no understanding" of the Act. The same proportion — 43 per cent — said they had only a "very poor" or "poor" understanding of the Act. Just 13 per cent of respondents described their knowledge as "good".

As a result, says the survey, interest in undertaking marketing activities connected to the London Olympic Games in 2012 is at its lowest since September 2006. Only 18 per cent of respondents say they are "certain" or "very likely" to undertake some activities, down five percentage points from twelve months ago. Glamour The findings do not come as a surprise to direct marketing guru Drayton Bird of Drayton Bird Associates and expert contributor to Marketing Donut, the website aimed at SMEs. "I am deeply cynical about many promotional opportunities — especially those linked to events of universal interest", he says. "People get involved in these things because of the glamour and excitement. When times are hard, they're rather more interested in results. But I have seen very little intelligent analysis of the relationship between investment and return on such investments — and to me that's all that matters". Relevance Bird questions the relevance of large events like the Olympic Games to SMEs. "What makes marketing succeed is relevance", he says. "That is well known. Mass events like the Olympics are only — in my view — relevant to people selling things that appeal to everyone, or products to do with sport or athletics". Not surprisingly then, the research shows that those most willing to take on Olympic Games-related marketing     activities are larger companies, those with over £100 million turnover and those based in the south. Warning Commenting on the findings, David Thorp, director of research and professional development at The Chartered Institute of Marketing, says: "The 2012 London Olympic Games should be a fantastic opportunity for UK marketers to participate and raise their profile worldwide but with sponsorship limited to a select few global brands, the vast majority of UK plc is likely to miss out". And Thorp has a warning for any businesses that plan Olympic Games-related promotions. "Those marketers planning activities must be fully aware of the Olympic Games Act, otherwise we are likely to see a string of court cases brought against the ill-informed".

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