With only a matter of days to go now before the London 2012 Olympics the country is literally busting to see the opening ceremony and support our athletes to winning gold.
But marketers face a real challenge with the rules and regulations put forward by the Olympic committee this year.
In the FIFA World Cup 2010 the official sponsor Adidas, faced strong guerilla marketing from Nike who ended up gaining more gametime exposure and being better placed in the consumers mind sets but simply giving their boots to athletes to wear. These boots were often brightly coloured and dominant in both photographic and video footage.
With this in mind the “official” sponsor despite paying didn’t gain the majority of exposure despite their investment.
The Olympic committee this year has acted upon this in a very strong manner, with strict advertising standards and punishments to ensure “ambush marketing” is reduced.
This will affect even the smallest of traders who may wish to offer “Olympic Breakfasts” in their Cafes as well as the larger brand wars.
This is the first time we have really seen regulations over event marketing on this scale applied and I for one am quite keen to see whether these measures will really impact Guerilla Marketing.
And if they do, how many other events will adopt this approach.
