LONDON (Brand Republic) – The official sponsors of the Olympic Games in Sydney, which between them spent an estimated £520m on advertising and marketing their brands, wasted their money, according to a survey by CIA Medialab.
The CIA said unofficial brands advertising during the Olympics successfully “hi-jacked” the games because consumers could not tell the difference between them and their official rivals.
Only half of 500 people it questioned as part of a survey into the brand strategy of the games could name an official sponsor, even though more than 80% said they had watched at least some of the games on television.
Of those surveyed, only 6% could name Visa as an official sponsor. Exactly the same number of people thought -– incorrectly -– that its rival American Express was the official sponsor.
Consumers were also confused about the role of Nike and Adidas, the sportswear companies, with 22% of respondents convinced both were official sponsors.
Among those who watched the Olympics every day, 32% thought Adidas was the official sponsor. Only 30% thought Nike, which had paid £12.5m for the honour, was officially linked to the games. Adidas spent a fraction of the price to supply kit for the UK team.
CIA said the research may make some large companies rethink their sponsorship programmes before the 2004 games in Athens.
However, fast food chain McDonald’s, which spent $40m to be an official partner, had the satisfaction of 17% of respondents recalling it as such.