The Olympic Games 2012 is a great world-famous sports event. The Olympic Games attract not only sportsmen from the whole world but also the companies who want to be the sponsors of this affair. As the use of the Olympic brand is carefully protected, many companies try to earn the official status of the sponsor of the Olympic Games. The Olympic Games have always been a great financial investment to the sponsors and suppliers.
Sebastian Coe, London 2012 Chairman, said that ‘We are now at the business end of organizing the Games and our Tier Three deals are very important as we source world-class companies to provide goods and services in order to deliver truly memorable Games in 2012’ (Airwave named as London 2012 Tier Three Supplier 2009). The same source provides us with the information of the Worldwide Olympic Partners, who has already signed up contracts for the Olympic Games 2012. They are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos Origin, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Samsung and Visa. (Airwave named as London 2012 Tier Three Supplier 2009).
The Coca-Cola Company has been an official supplier of the Olympics for many years and does not want to miss the Olympic Games 2012. The Coca-Cola Company is the only company that provides the longest and most continuous relationships with the Olympic Games. The Coca-Cola Company is the leading company in distributing the exclusive non-alcoholic beverages in the world. It achieved its reputation as the traditional creator of entertaining programs and creating merry mood and spirit on different events.
The company has been the official supplier of beverages in the Olympic Games since 1928, when Olympic Games were held in Amsterdam. National Olympic Committees and Coca-Cola work closely to support athletes and sports teams in approximately 190 countries. 1986 was the year when Coca-Cola Company became a charter member of the TOP Program as the exclusive product in the category of non-alcoholic beverages (Marketing and Events).
Mr. Isdell, the chairman of soft drinks Coca-Cola, insists that the sponsorship strategy of Coca-Cola has always been based on moral principles. He says that in spite of some negative publishing, the Coca-Cola Company is going to be the sponsor of the Olympic Games as the agreements have already been achieved (Coca-Cola defends Olympics deal 2008). Vice versa, the Coca Cola is proud to be the supplier of the beverages to such great sport event and do not want to lose the opportunity to advertise extensively its products to the whole world.
The official site of Coca Cola announces that relying on ‘our [the Coca Cola Company’s] enormous respect for the integrity of the Olympic Movement and the values of Olympism, we have renewed our historic bond with the IOC through 2020, extending this extraordinary relationship to nearly a full century’ (The Coca Cola Company).
We should be familiar with some statistics which will help us to select suitable target markets, to select a positioning concept. The 70% profit from sales of Coca-Cola products comes from the outside countries (not including the United States of America). The researches showed that the BRIC nations: Brazil, Russia, India and China are the markets which grow fast and they should be our main consideration to the next advertising campaign. The leading markets outside the United States are Mexico and Brazil, the Coca-Cola Company receives from them the biggest income (Coca-Cola: Olympic Sponsorship is a Profitable Tradition 2008).
China has not been the leading consumer of the Coca-Cola products for many years; it should be specified that it was lagging behind. The tendency has changed since the last Olympic Games 2008 in Beijing. The advertising campaign gave its results and our purpose today is to support that market, to consolidate our positions there and to extend it as far as we can.
The target of the Coca-Cola Company is the youth. Of course, we should not reject the huge percentage of the population who are under 25. The advertising campaign should be segmented into parts and as a result the advertising campaigns should be different. We are going to represent the readers with our ideas about these advertising campaigns in the next part of our report.
Our company is not a company that will give ‘the explosive growth, but will take 4%-5% annual volume growth and 6%-8% operating income growth any day if we are talking about stability and long-term performance’ (Coca-Cola: Olympic Sponsorship is a Profitable Tradition 2008).
The financial situation in the world is not stable now. The world crisis can change some activities. Developing any marketing plan we should be aware that the dollar is weak now. But still a favorable currency exchange, which ‘helps the company deal with the negative effects of high commodity prices, and recent data suggests that Coca Cola is doing well’ (Coca Cola: Olympic Sponsorship is a Profitable Tradition 2008).
Some sponsors of the Olympic Games 2012 are not sure whether the cost has been worth it. The negotiations continue to persuade the sponsors to finance the event. The Coca-Cola Company does not hesitate in this question as stopping now will break the relationships, which lasted for more than 80 years, and will cause the drop in its global marketing budget. (The British are out in front, but London 2012 is still chasing sponsors 2008).
The changes in prices of the products of The Coca Cola Company in New York Stock Exchange in 2007 – 2008 may be seen on the diagram (Coca Cola: Olympic Sponsorship is a Profitable Tradition 2008).
The burst is observed at the turn of 2007 and 2008. The Olympic Games 2008 played one of the main parts here. So, the design of the advertising campaign should take into consideration the burst of tourism.
The burst of tourism provides the greatest opportunities for sponsorship. The huge amount of people is eager to see the advertisements and buy our products. As it was mentioned the advertising campaign should be segmented between two age factors: youth and those who are under 25.
The advertising campaign for youth should be oriented on movement and emotions. “Open Happiness” is the new global integrated marketing campaign that is going to be the leading idea of advertising on the Olympic Games 2012 (New Coca-Cola Ad Campaign 2009). As we have no access to television advertising, our main goals are newspapers, radio and big boards.
The Olympic Games 2012 is the event where the music and radio advertisements are going to be the main consideration. The signboards should be posted on the stadiums and places where the sports events will take place. The sighs should contain the phrase “Open Happiness” and the photos of fans that support their countries and are happy when they win. The groups of young people could be shown with the equipment of the Olympic Games 2012 and the bottles of Coca Cola products in their hands. The big boards and signboards should express the happiness. The advertising campaign should be very emotional. People should be occupied with the emotions and happiness and they should want to experience the same emotions. This is going to be the promotional argument for the advertising campaign for youth.
Some different feelings should provoke and arisen the advertising campaign intended for people under 25. The family feelings and nostalgia should be the main consideration here. It may sound primitive today but the first advertising slogan “Delicious, Refreshing, Exhilarating” was provided by John Styth Pemberton, the Coke inventor. (Jacobs 2006). This may be one of the main ideas: nostalgia. We may show people how everything began. The advertising campaign can be organized in a way that people are reminded about the past, about the very beginning and roots. People are very sensitive and the history subject can be the main consideration here.
The other idea is to use the family connections. The Coca-Cola Company has always been the supporter of family relations and traditions. Let the Coca Cola be a tradition in your family – may be the slogan of our advertising campaign in the Olympic Games 2012.
So, the Coca-Cola Company is one of the main official suppliers in the Olympic Games 2012. The history shows that the Olympics for more than 80 years were organized with the financial support and product supply of the Coca-Cola Company, and the next Olympic Games is not going to be an exception.
Works Cited
“Airwave named as London 2012 Tier Three Supplier.” 2009. Web.
“Coca-Cola defends Olympics deal.” BBC News. 2008. Web.
“Coca Cola: Olympic Sponsorship is a Profitable Tradition” Seeking Alfa. 2008. Web.
Jacobs, Ben. “History of Coca-Cola and Their Advertising Campaign” Associated Content. 2006. Web.
“Marketing and Events.” The Association of Police and Public Security Suppliers. Web.
“New Coca-Cola Ad Campaign: Open Happiness.” 2009. Web.
“The British are out in front, but London 2012 is still chasing sponsors.” 2008. The Independent. Web.
The Coca Cola Company. Web.