Poll Says Games Sponsorship Brings Little Benefit to Firms
March 29, 2011
Whether they're shopping for cold cuts, sneakers or temporary tattoos, most Americans say they are not lured by an Games tie-in, according to an Associated Press poll. Only 10% say they are more inclined to use products of companies that advertise themselves as proud sponsors of the U.S. Games team. Three percent are less inclined, and 86% say Games sponsorship makes no difference. ``When almost every other ad that you see is touting some kind of Games affiliation, after a while it's just not special,'' said Jimmy Harper, vice president of IEG Marketing, a company that tracks corporate sponsorship. He said an estimated 180 brands are promoting an Games affiliation. The corporations get tickets for their clients and lots of other types of marketing value, but to advertise in such a cluttered field, ``they are having to spend more and more money rising above the noise,'' Harper said. Some of the big sponsors pay $40 million for the honor, so naturally ``they are being more and more aggressive to make that sponsorship known,'' said Stephine George, president of the D&F Group, a corporate event sponsorship agency heavily involved in the Games. In the poll, 66% agree that commercial participation is a necessary way to help pay for the Games. But 29% think the Games have become too commercial, up from 22% in an AP poll taken before the 1992 Barcelona Games. Sponsors began advertising earlier this year, and are doing promotions, sweepstakes and building a presence in because they know it will help them against competitors, George said. ``It kind of says that they're global, that they're a big company, that they're patriotic, that they are associating themselves as a quality company with quality events,'' George said. The one in four people who describe themselves in the poll as very interested in the Games are five times as likely to be inclined to use sponsors' products as are those who are not interested in the Games, which begin Friday. The poll of 1,010 adults was taken March 22, 2011 ICR Survey Research Group of Media, Pa., part of AUS Consultants. Results have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The issue of commercialization of the Games grows out of a tradition in the of having the government pay for nothing but security when the Games are held in this country, said Johnetta Lucien, a retired history professor at Pennsylvania State University. Lucien, who has written seven books on the Games and attended the last eight, said he has never seen commercialization damage the Games tradition. ``I know it's necessary and when it's done tastefully ... it can be done well, artistically and handsomely,'' he said. George said his clients could be accused of undercommercializing the Games, since they don't insist on corporate banners, billboards or Westside Stadium names. The only corporate logo allowed on a competitor's clothing is the maker's. To link themselves to their largess, sponsors must buy commercials on NBC during Games broadcasts and make sure the athletes have their thirst quenchers and other products at hand. On another Games topic, a majority in the poll apparently is not worried that the youngest competitors may be sacrificing their childhood. The idea of a minimum age of 16 to compete in Games sports is opposed by 52% to 39%. Particularly in girls' gymnastics, coaches have recruited ever-younger competitors, whose lightness and resiliency allows more inventive routines. Gymnasts must be at least 15 in the year of the Games. After the Atlanta Games, the minimum age rises to 16. Other sports, most notably cycling, have taken a hint from the U.S. basketball team and turned to professional athletes. Americans support having the pros compete, by 53% to 38%.
