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We Tell the World What the Web is Thinking +1.512.815.8836
AUSTIN, Texas. July 18, 2012 — Of the Top Fifty Brands affiliated with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games only seventeen are official sponsors. This according to the latest Brand Affiliation Index (BAI) analysis by the Global Language Monitor, the Internet media trend tracking company. The longitudinal study began in July 2011 and tracks the top three tiers of official Olympic sponsorship, as designated by the LOGOC and the IOC.
. .
.
“Fortunately in the Olympics there is no ‘mercy rule,’ where a winner is declared in a contest to reach twenty-one, when one side scores the first 11 points,” said Paul JJ Payack, President and Chief Word Analyst of GLM. Of the top official and ‘non-affiliated marketers’ in the current study, the first twelve fall into the non-affiliated category.”
. Some seventy-five brands are studied including the twenty-five premier official sponsors divided into three tiers: The TOP partners, which pay approximately one hundred million pounds for the privilege, the Official Olympic Partners, and the Official Olympic Sponsors. Together these sponsors pay an estimated 30% of the cost of staging the games.
There are a number of other levels and forms of sponsorship including national sponsorships such as the USOC. The real cost of being a TOP partner ranges from a $500 billion to over a trillion dollar investment to companies that sign on for sponsorships spanning several Olympiads.
For these rankings GLM measured the strength of the brand affiliation for each official Olympic sponsor against those of their primary non-affiliated competitors. Though ‘ambush marketing’ is well understood to mean an organization knowingly exploiting a brand affiliation with the Games without the benefit of official sponsorship, all perceived Olympic affiliations according to their presence in the global media, and statistically linked to the London Games, qualify for GLM’s Ambush Marketing rankings.
Ambushing by ‘Non-affiliated Marketers’ is more than Michael Phelps pitching sandwiches; it is a years-long effort to create a pseudo-sponsorship to leverage the good-well generated by having the Olympics with one’s brand.
The GLM Brand Affiliation Index for this analysis,ranged from a high of 797.90 (Royal Philips} to a low of 1.50 for VisaCard. The higher the score, the closer the brand affiliation with the event.
.
The Top Twelve (all Ambushers), along with their tiers, are Listed below:
1
Royal Philips
TOP-A
2
CVC Capital
OOP-A
3
ExxonMobil
OOP-A
4
Manpower
OOS-A
5
Schroders
OOP-A
6
IBM Global
TOP-A
7
E ON Energy
OOP-A
8
KPMG
OOS-A
9
Deutsche Telekom
OOP-A
10
BASF
TOP-A
11
EI DuPont
TOP-A
12
Cable & Wireless
OOP-A
.
As you can see for the above rankings, Business-to-Business brands are being subjected to the sames ambush marketing forces as B2C marketers. ’
Royal Philips is crushing GE by over 20:1 margin; ExxonMobil bests BP by a similar margin; and BASF and DuPont are both striding past Dow.
The Top Ten Official Sponsors ranked from No. 13 to No. 39 overall. They are listed below, along with their tiers.
,
1
BT Group
OOP
2
Cadbury
OOS
3
BMW
OOP
4
Adidas
OOP
5
Panasonic
TOP
6
McDonald;s
TOP
7
Coca-Cola
TOP
8
UPS
OOS
9
P&G
TOP
10
EDF energy
OOP
11
Arcelor Mittal
OOS
12
Samsung
TOP
.
Though listed at the top official sponsor, the BT group actually ranks behind both Deutsche Telekom and Cable&Wireless.
Cadbury, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola are doing quite well for their investments in spite of the efforts to derail their sponsorships on the grounds of their contributing to a so-called ‘obesogenic’ environment. Adidas is currently doubling Nike’s number. P&G continues to excel with their ‘Moms’ campaign. Arcelor Mittal is a surprise standout for a company previously little known to the public.
GLM has been measuring the effects of Ambush marketing on the Olympic Movement for the last three Olympiads, in the process accumulating perhaps the most extensive database of its kind. For London 2012, GLM began tracking the three tiers of official sponsors since the third quarter of 2011. GLM also tracks the brand equity of the athletes before and during the Games. For more information, call +1.512.815.8836, email info@LanguageMonitor.com, or click on www.LanguageMonitor.com
Nike over Adidas; BA Trails Three Competitors; Subway and Pizza Hut Top McDonald’s
Kate Middleton ‘Brand’ Tops Coke, Adidas, and BA
Austin, Texas. Weekend May 4-6, 2012. Ambush Marketers continue to dominate the run-up to the London Summer Games. In fact ‘non-affiliated marketers’ took 27 of the top 50 spots measuring effective brand activation by the Global Language Monitor’s Brand Affiliation Index (BAI).
This despite the recent tightening of the rules by the IOC, The GLM BAI rankings are not simply a matter of pride or bragging rights but rather a battle for brand equity and the consumer’s mind and the billions of dollars committed to the IOC, which are primarily used to fund the Games.
.
“The Olympic movement it is not immune to the historic shifts in communications affecting all institutions worldwide,” said Paul JJ Payack, founding president of the Global Language Monitor. “The seemingly all-pervasive media ensure that the flow of information can be stopped neither by national boundaries nor institutional gatekeepers. There is no reason to think that marketing activities are immune from such forces. In fact, marketing has been one of the foremost purveyors of new media technology.”
For these rankings GLM measured the strength of the brand affiliation for each official Olympic sponsor against those of their primary non-affiliated competitors. Though ‘ambush marketing’ is well understood to mean an organization knowingly exploiting a brand affiliation with the Games without the benefit of official sponsorship.
All perceived Olympic affiliations according to their presence in the global media, and statistically linked to the London Games, qualify for GLM’s Ambush Marketing rankings.
The GLM Brand Affiliation Index for this analysis, ranged from a high of 524.45 to a low of 1.49. The higher the score, the closer the brand affiliation with an event.
GLM has been tracking ambush marketing at the Olympics since the Beijing Games in 2008. For London 2012, GLM began the three tiers of official sponsors since the third quarter of 2011. These results are based on a study concluded on May 1, 2012.
With its Branded Individual Index (BII) GLM also tracks the brand equity of the athletes before and during the Games.
The official Olympic sponsors are divided into three tiers: Worldwide Partners, Official Partners, and Official Supporters. GLM tracks over fifty non-affiliated companies that are direct competitors with the Official Olympic sponsors.
To schedule a confidential consultation, call +1.512.815.8836.
For these rankings, encompassing the first quarter of 2012, GLM measured the strength of the brand affiliation for each official Olympic sponsor against those of their primary non-affiliated competitors. Though ‘ambush marketing’ is well understood to mean an organization knowingly exploiting a brand affiliation with the Games without the benefit of official sponsorship.
All perceived Olympic affiliations according to their presence in the global media, and statistically linked to the London Games, qualify for GLM’s Ambush Marketing rankings.
The top findings include:
McDonald’s is in a tough fight, ranking behind Subway and Pizza Hut, but beating KFC.
Ambusher Nike leads Partner Adidas by a wide margin.
British Airways trails ambushers Lufthansa, United and Air France in the rankings.
Royal Philip outpaced ever-strong GE.
P&G continues to crush ambush competitors as it did in Vancouver.
Ambusher Ericsson Over Supporter Cisco by a 3:1 margin.
The Duchess Effect Meets the Summer Games
One interesting side note is that even the Summer Games are encountering the Duchess Effect. The GLM BAI analysis showed that when linked with London 2012, Kate Middleton had a closer brand affiliation than a number of top sponsors including Coke, Adidas, BA and Panasonic, among others.
This again demonstrates the power of the ‘Kate Middleton Brand’. A Tier 1 Olympic sponsor pays about $160 million for the privilege, plus the attendant advertising fees promoting the relationship that can cost upwards of $500 million over the four-year arrangement. This would suggest that the Kate Middleton Brand could be valued at nearly a billion dollars or more, just in relationship to Summer Games.
..
The Top Ten Official Olympic Sponsors by BAI are listed below.
1
Arcelor Mittal
Supporter
2
EDF energy
Partner
3
BT Group
Partner
4
Thomas Cook
Supporter
5
UPS
Supporter
6
Lloyds TSB
Partner
7
Cadbury
Supporter
8
BP
Partner
9
P&G
IOC
10
ATOS
IOC
..
The Top Ten non-Olympic Affiliated Marketers by BAI are listed below.
1
Centrica
AMB OP
2
Eon Energy UK
AMB OP
3
Barclaycard
AMB IOC
4
Schroders
AMB OP
5
Royal Philips
AMB IOC
6
EI DuPont
AMB IOC
7
Kraft
AMB SUP
8
Ericsson Comm
AMB SUP
9
Subway
AMB IOC
10
Lufthansa
AMB OP
.
The Top Twenty Combined Olympic Sponsors and Non-Affiliated Marketers Ranked by BAI.
1
Arcelor Mittal
Supporter
2
EDF energy
Partner
3
BT Group
Partner
4
Centrica
AMB OP
5
Eon Energy UK
AMB OP
6
Thomas Cook
Supporter
7
Barclaycard
AMB IOC
8
UPS
Supporter
9
Schroders
AMB OP
10
Lloyds TSB
Partner
11
Cadbury
Supporter
12
BP
Partner
13
Royal Philips
AMB IOC
14
P&G
IOC
15
ATOS
IOC
16
EI DuPont
AMB IOC
17
Kraft
AMB SUP
18
Ericsson Comm
AMB SUP
19
Subway
AMB IOC
20
Lufthansa
AMB OP
.
The GLM Brand Affiliation Index for this analysis, ranged from a high of 524.45 to a low of 1.49. The higher the score, the closer the brand affiliation with an event.
GLM has been tracking ambush marketing at the Olympics since the Beijing Games in 2008. For London 2012, GLM began the three tiers of official sponsors since the third quarter of 2011. These results are based on a study concluded on March 31, 2012.
With its Branded Individual Index (BII) GLM also tracks the brand equity of the athletes before and during the Games.
The official Olympic sponsors are divided into three tiers: Worldwide Partners, Official Partners, and Official Supporters. GLM tracks over fifty non-affiliated companies that are direct competitors with the Official Olympic sponsors.
Customized GLM Ambush Marketing Rankings are released monthly up to and following London 2012. The Ambush Marketing London 2012 report features dozens of charts representing the interrelationship of each company to the Olympic Brand, their competitors and their partners. In addition, the reports contain exclusive and individualized Narrative Tracker analyses, the most advanced trend tracking analytics available. For more information, individualized reports, or a monthly subscription, call +1.512.815.8836 or email info@LanguageMonitor.com
About Global Language Monitor: ”We Tell You What the Web is Thinking”
Founded in Silicon Valley, Austin, Texas-based GLM collectively documents, analyzes and tracks trends worldwide, with a particular emphasis upon the English language.
GLM employs proprietary ‘algorithmic methodologies’ such as the NarrativeTracker for global Internet and social media analysis. NarrativeTracker is based on global discourse, providing a real-time, accurate picture of what the public is saying about any topic, at any point in time.
NarrativeTracker analyzes the Internet, blogosphere, the top 175,000 print and electronic global media, as well as new media sources, as they emerge. For more information, individualized reports, or a monthly subscription, call +1.512.815.8836 or email info@LanguageMonitor.com
Nike over Adidas; BA Trails Three Competitors; Subway and Pizza Hut Top McDonald’s
Kate Middleton ‘Brand’ Tops Coke, Adidas, and BA
Austin, Texas. Weekend May 4-6, 2012. Ambush Marketers continue to dominate the run-up to the London Summer Games. In fact ‘non-affiliated marketers’ took 27 of the top 50 spots measuring effective brand activation by the Global Language Monitor’s Brand Affiliation Index (BAI).
This despite the recent tightening of the rules by the IOC, The GLM BAI rankings are not simply a matter of pride or bragging rights but rather a battle for brand equity and the consumer’s mind and the billions of dollars committed to the IOC, which are primarily used to fund the Games.
.
“The Olympic movement it is not immune to the historic shifts in communications affecting all institutions worldwide,” said Paul JJ Payack, founding president of the Global Language Monitor. “The seemingly all-pervasive media ensure that the flow of information can be stopped neither by national boundaries nor institutional gatekeepers. There is no reason to think that marketing activities are immune from such forces. In fact, marketing has been one of the foremost purveyors of new media technology.”
For these rankings GLM measured the strength of the brand affiliation for each official Olympic sponsor against those of their primary non-affiliated competitors. Though ‘ambush marketing’ is well understood to mean an organization knowingly exploiting a brand affiliation with the Games without the benefit of official sponsorship.
All perceived Olympic affiliations according to their presence in the global media, and statistically linked to the London Games, qualify for GLM’s Ambush Marketing rankings.
The GLM Brand Affiliation Index for this analysis, ranged from a high of 524.45 to a low of 1.49. The higher the score, the closer the brand affiliation with an event.
GLM has been tracking ambush marketing at the Olympics since the Beijing Games in 2008. For London 2012, GLM began the three tiers of official sponsors since the third quarter of 2011. These results are based on a study concluded on May 1, 2012.
With its Branded Individual Index (BII) GLM also tracks the brand equity of the athletes before and during the Games.
The official Olympic sponsors are divided into three tiers: Worldwide Partners, Official Partners, and Official Supporters. GLM tracks over fifty non-affiliated companies that are direct competitors with the Official Olympic sponsors.
To schedule a confidential consultation, call +1.512.815.8836.
For these rankings, encompassing the first quarter of 2012, GLM measured the strength of the brand affiliation for each official Olympic sponsor against those of their primary non-affiliated competitors. Though ‘ambush marketing’ is well understood to mean an organization knowingly exploiting a brand affiliation with the Games without the benefit of official sponsorship.
All perceived Olympic affiliations according to their presence in the global media, and statistically linked to the London Games, qualify for GLM’s Ambush Marketing rankings.
The top findings include:
McDonald’s is in a tough fight, ranking behind Subway and Pizza Hut, but beating KFC.
Ambusher Nike leads Partner Adidas by a wide margin.
British Airways trails ambushers Lufthansa, United and Air France in the rankings.
Royal Philip outpaced ever-strong GE.
P&G continues to crush ambush competitors as it did in Vancouver.
Ambusher Ericsson Over Supporter Cisco by a 3:1 margin.
The Duchess Effect Meets the Summer Games
One interesting side note is that even the Summer Games are encountering the Duchess Effect. The GLM BAI analysis showed that when linked with London 2012, Kate Middleton had a closer brand affiliation than a number of top sponsors including Coke, Adidas, BA and Panasonic, among others.
This again demonstrates the power of the ‘Kate Middleton Brand’. A Tier 1 Olympic sponsor pays about $160 million for the privilege, plus the attendant advertising fees promoting the relationship that can cost upwards of $500 million over the four-year arrangement. This would suggest that the Kate Middleton Brand could be valued at nearly a billion dollars or more, just in relationship to Summer Games. ..
The Top Ten Official Olympic Sponsors by BAI are listed below.
1
Arcelor Mittal
Supporter
2
EDF energy
Partner
3
BT Group
Partner
4
Thomas Cook
Supporter
5
UPS
Supporter
6
Lloyds TSB
Partner
7
Cadbury
Supporter
8
BP
Partner
9
P&G
IOC
10
ATOS
IOC
..
The Top Ten non-Olympic Affiliated Marketers by BAI are listed below.
1
Centrica
AMB OP
2
Eon Energy UK
AMB OP
3
Barclaycard
AMB IOC
4
Schroders
AMB OP
5
Royal Philips
AMB IOC
6
EI DuPont
AMB IOC
7
Kraft
AMB SUP
8
Ericsson Comm
AMB SUP
9
Subway
AMB IOC
10
Lufthansa
AMB OP
.
The Top Twenty Combined Olympic Sponsors and Non-Affiliated Marketers Ranked by BAI.
1
Arcelor Mittal
Supporter
2
EDF energy
Partner
3
BT Group
Partner
4
Centrica
AMB OP
5
Eon Energy UK
AMB OP
6
Thomas Cook
Supporter
7
Barclaycard
AMB IOC
8
UPS
Supporter
9
Schroders
AMB OP
10
Lloyds TSB
Partner
11
Cadbury
Supporter
12
BP
Partner
13
Royal Philips
AMB IOC
14
P&G
IOC
15
ATOS
IOC
16
EI DuPont
AMB IOC
17
Kraft
AMB SUP
18
Ericsson Comm
AMB SUP
19
Subway
AMB IOC
20
Lufthansa
AMB OP
.
The GLM Brand Affiliation Index for this analysis, ranged from a high of 524.45 to a low of 1.49. The higher the score, the closer the brand affiliation with an event.
GLM has been tracking ambush marketing at the Olympics since the Beijing Games in 2008. For London 2012, GLM began the three tiers of official sponsors since the third quarter of 2011. These results are based on a study concluded on March 31, 2012.
With its Branded Individual Index (BII) GLM also tracks the brand equity of the athletes before and during the Games.
The official Olympic sponsors are divided into three tiers: Worldwide Partners, Official Partners, and Official Supporters. GLM tracks over fifty non-affiliated companies that are direct competitors with the Official Olympic sponsors.
Customized GLM Ambush Marketing Rankings are released monthly up to and following London 2012. The Ambush Marketing London 2012 report features dozens of charts representing the interrelationship of each company to the Olympic Brand, their competitors and their partners. In addition, the reports contain exclusive and individualized Narrative Tracker analyses, the most advanced trend tracking analytics available. For more information, individualized reports, or a monthly subscription, call +1.512.815.8836 or email info@LanguageMonitor.com
About Global Language Monitor: ”We Tell You What the Web is Thinking”
Founded in Silicon Valley, Austin, Texas-based GLM collectively documents, analyzes and tracks trends worldwide, with a particular emphasis upon the English language.
GLM employs proprietary ‘algorithmic methodologies’ such as the NarrativeTracker for global Internet and social media analysis. NarrativeTracker is based on global discourse, providing a real-time, accurate picture of what the public is saying about any topic, at any point in time.
NarrativeTracker analyzes the Internet, blogosphere, the top 175,000 print and electronic global media, as well as new media sources, as they emerge. For more information, individualized reports, or a monthly subscription, call +1.512.815.8836 or email info@LanguageMonitor.com
Top “Ambush Marketers” For London Olympics: KFC, IBM Global Services, Dell, and Nike among Leaders
Non-sponsors Continue to Rank High on Brand Affiliation Index (BAI)
Austin, Texas, January 12, 2012. KFC, IBM Global Services, Dell, and Nike were among the Top “Ambush Marketers” for the London 2012 Olympics as ranked by The Global Language Monitor (GLM), the Internet and Media Trend Tracking Company. In the rankings, encompassing Q3 and Q4 of 2011, GLM measured the strength of the brand affiliation for each official Olympic sponsor as well as those of their primary competitors.
“Though ‘ambush marketing’ is well understood to mean an organization knowingly exploiting a brand affiliation with the Games — without the benefit of official sponsorship. However, all perceived Olympic sponsors according to their presence in the global media, and statistically linked to the London Games, qualify for GLM’s Ambush Marketing Index, said Paul JJ Payack; president of the Austin, Texas based Global Language Monitor. “There is more than pride at stake, since the official sponsors generate some 30% of the revenue needed to stage the Games.”
There are twenty-five top official Olympic sponsors divided into three tiers: Worldwide Partners, Official Partners, and Official Supporters. GLM tracks over fifty non-affiliated companies that are direct competitors with the Official Olympic sponsors.
Measuring each tier against their ambushers, GLM has found that for the second half of 2011, each tier of Ambushers beats their legitimate competitors according to the Tier’s Q4 Brand Affiliation Index.
Q4 BAI
Wiorldwide Partner-A 30.09
Worldwide Partner
25.39
Official Sponsor-A
55.66
Official Sponsor
52.67
Official Partner-A
50.42
Official Partner
16.38
Among Worldwide Partners, Coca-Cola, DOW, and P&G scored the highest on GLM’s Brand Affiliation Index (BAI) for Q4 2011. In terms of movement, Omega and Coca-Cola both improved their BAIs by some 350%, over the last half of 2011. Among Worldwide Partner Ambushers, IBM Global Services, Royal Phillips, HP, Barclaycard, and Dell all scored significantly higher on GLM’s BAI for Q4 2011 than their Worldwide Partner competitors. In terms of movement, IBM Global Services, Dell, and KFC all improved their BAI’s by 250% or more through the end of 2011.
Among Official Partners, EDF Energy, Lloyds TSB, and the BT Group scored the highest on GLM’s Brand Affiliation Index (BAI) for Q4 2011. In terms of movement, Lloyds TSB, the BT Group, and BP, all improved their BAI more than 100% over the last half of 2011. Among Official Partner Ambushers, UnitedContinental (BA), the 3i Group (Lloyds TSB), and all scored significantly higher on GLM’s BAI for Q4 2011 than their Worldwide Partner competitors. In terms of movement, the 3i Group (Lloyds TSB), UnitedContinental (BA), and Nike (Adidas) all improved their BAI’s by 250% or more through the end of 2011.
Among Official Supporters, Arcelor Mittal, UPS, and Cadbury scored the highest on GLM’s Brand Affiliation Index (BAI) for Q4 2011. In terms of movement, Arcelor Mittal, Cadbury, Cisco Systems, and Adecco all improved their BAI more than 200% over the last half of 2011. Among Official Supporter Ambushers, Hebie Steel (Arcelor Mittal), Kraft (Cadbury), and PricewaterhouseCoopers (Delloite) all scored significantly higher on GLM’s BAI for Q4 2011 than their Official Supporter competitors. In terms of movement, Hebie Steel (Arcelor Mittal), DHL (UPS), and Ericsson (Cisco) improved their BAI’s by 250% or more through the end of 2011.
Customized GLM Ambush Marketing Rankings are released monthly up to and following London 2012. They can also be individualized for any organization. The Ambush Marketing London 2012 report features dozens of charts representing the interrelationship of each company to the Olympic Brand, their competitors and their partners. In addition, the reports contain exclusive and individualized Narrative Tracker analyses, the most advanced trend tracking analytics available. For more information, individualized reports, or a monthly subscription, call +1.512.551.3627 or email pjjp@post.harvard.edu.
Non-sponsors Continue to Rank High on Brand Affiliation Index (BAI)
Austin, Texas, January 12, 2012. IBM Global Services, Dell, and Nike were among the Top “Ambush Marketers” for the London 2012 Olympics as ranked by The Global Language Monitor (GLM), the Internet and Media Trend Tracking Company. In the rankings, encompassing Q3 and Q4 of 2011, GLM measured the strength of the brand affiliation for each official Olympic sponsor as well as those of their primary non-affiliated competitors.
Ambush Marketing May 15 2012 Update
To schedule your confidential consultation, call +1.512.815.8836.
Remember that once you download the London 2012 Ambush Marketing Update, you are entitled to one free hour of consultation from the Ambush Marketing experts from the Global Language Monitor, which has been tracking Branded Affiliations at the Olympics for the last three Olympiads.
For these rankings GLM measured the strength of the brand affiliation for each official Olympic sponsor against those of their primary non-affiliated competitors. Though ‘ambush marketing’ is well understood to mean an organization knowingly exploiting a brand affiliation with the Games without the benefit of official sponsorship.
All perceived Olympic affiliations according to their presence in the global media, and statistically linked to the London Games, qualify for GLM’s Ambush Marketing rankings.
The GLM Brand Affiliation Index for this analysis, ranged from a high of 524.45 to a low of 1.49. The higher the score, the closer the brand affiliation with an event.
GLM has been tracking ambush marketing at the Olympics since the Beijing Games in 2008. For London 2012, GLM began the three tiers of official sponsors since the third quarter of 2011. These results are based on a study concluded on May 1, 2012.
With its Branded Individual Index (BII) GLM also tracks the brand equity of the athletes before and during the Games.
The official Olympic sponsors are divided into three tiers: Worldwide Partners, Official Partners, and Official Supporters. GLM tracks over fifty non-affiliated companies that are direct competitors with the Official Olympic sponsors.
Remember that once you download the London 2012 Ambush Marketing Update, you are entitled to one free hour of consultation from the Ambush Marketing experts from the Global Language Monitor, which has been tracking Branded Affiliations at the Olympics for the last three Olympiads.
“There is more than pride at stake, since billions of dollars in incremental revenue are at risk for the official Olympic sponsors. In turn, these same organizations fund some 30% of staging the Games,” said Paul JJ Payack, president of the Austin, Texas based Global Language Monitor. “Though ‘ambush marketing’ is well understood to mean ‘an organization knowingly exploiting a brand affiliation with the Games without the benefit of official sponsorship’, all perceived Olympic sponsors (according to their presence in the global media and statistically linked to the London Games) qualify for GLM’s Ambush Marketing Index.”
There are twenty-five top official Olympic sponsors divided into three tiers: Worldwide Partners, Official Partners, and Official Supporters. GLM tracks over fifty non-affiliated companies that are direct competitors with the Official Olympic sponsors.
Measuring each tier against their ambushers, GLM has found that, for the second half of 2011, two of the three tiers of Ambushers beat their legitimate competitors according to the Q4 2011 Brand Affiliation Index.
Comparison of London 2012 Sponsors Vs. Ambushers by Q4 2011 BAI
Among Worldwide Partners
Coca-Cola,
DOW, and
McDonald’s
scored the highest on GLM’s Brand Affiliation Index (BAI) for Q4 2011.
In terms of movement, Omega and Coca-Cola both improved their BAIs by some 350%, over the last half of 2011.
Among Worldwide Partner Ambushers
IBM Global Services (Atos),
Royal Phillips (General Electric),
HP (Acer),
Barclaycard (Visa), and
Dell (Acer)
all scored significantly higher on GLM’s BAI for Q4 2011 than their Worldwide Partner competitors. In terms of movement, IBM Global Services, Dell, and KFC all improved their BAI’s by 250% or more through the end of 2011.
Among Official Partners
EDF Energy,
Lloyds TSB, and
the BT Group
scored the highest on GLM’s Brand Affiliation Index (BAI) for Q4 2011. In terms of movement, Lloyds TSB, the BT Group, and BP, all improved their BAI more than 100% over the last half of 2011.
Among Official Partner Ambushers
UnitedContinental (BA),
the 3i Group (Lloyds TSB)
Nike (Adidas)
all scored significantly higher on GLM’s BAI for Q4 2011 than their Worldwide Partner competitors. In terms of movement, the 3i Group (Lloyds TSB), UnitedContinental (BA), and Nike (Adidas) all improved their BAI’s by 250% or more through the end of 2011.
Among Official Supporters,
Arcelor Mittal,
UPS
Cadbury
scored the highest on GLM’s Brand Affiliation Index (BAI) for Q4 2011.
In terms of movement, Arcelor Mittal, Cadbury, Cisco Systems, and Adecco all improved their BAI more than 200% over the last half of 2011.
Among Official Supporter Ambushers,
Hebie Steel (Arcelor Mittal)
Kraft (Cadbury)
PricewaterhouseCoopers (Deloitte)
all scored significantly higher on GLM’s BAI for Q4 2011 than their Official Supporter competitors.
In terms of movement, Hebie Steel (Arcelor Mittal), DHL (UPS), and Ericsson (Cisco) improved their BAI’s by 250% or more through the end of 2011.
Customized GLM Ambush Marketing Rankings are released monthly up to and following London 2012. They can also be individualized for any organization. The Ambush Marketing London 2012 report features dozens of charts representing the interrelationship of each company to the Olympic Brand, their competitors and their partners. In addition, the reports contain exclusive and individualized Narrative Tracker analyses, the most advanced trend tracking analytics available. For more information, individualized reports, or a monthly subscription, call +1.512.518.8836 or email info@LanguageMonitor.com.
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Sometimes perception is better than reality, and so it is for the brands that have managed to associate themselves with the Olympic Games without paying the exorbitant rights fees that come with official sponsorship.
They’re commonly referred to as “ambush marketers”, and though the London Games are still nearly a year away, some ambush marketers are making more of an impression on Olympic fans than the official sponsors.
That’s according to the first ambush marketing rankings for the London 2012 Olympic Games, released by The Global Language Monitor (GLM), which measures the strength of the brand affiliation between each of the worldwide partners, official partners, and official sponsors and the London Games and then compares it to competing companies that are not officially affiliated with the Games
Sony, Subway, DuPont, Barclay Card and Lenovo are the top five companies with the highest unofficial London brand affiliation.
All have a stronger association with the Games than the official sponsors they compete against.
They’ve achieved this by incorporating Olympic imagery into their ads, such as athletes competing in the sports being contested in London.
Though some object to the term “ambush”, it’s clear that their intention is to gain the positive affiliation with the Games without paying the sponsorship fees, which cost in the nine-figure range for top-level sponsorship.
“Few things in top-tier consumer-facing companies occur ‘naturally’ or ‘spontaneously,’ especially when they are engineered to look that way,” says Paul JJ Payack, president of GLM.
“This is why advertisers adept at associating themselves with an event, even though they are not ‘official’ sponsors of that event, can often out-perform official sponsors.”
Subway, for instance, is roughly two times as likely as official Olympics sponsor McDonald’s to be associated with the Games.
That’s mainly because swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Summer Olympian ever, appears in Subway ads.
“Subway is acknowledged as a leader in this regard [ambush marketing] with their close ties to Michael Phelps, who in many minds personifies the Olympic brand and spirit: clean-living, hard-work, pulling himself up by his own bootstraps,” says Payack.
Some sponsors are still reaping the benefits of past sponsorship. Lenovo, for example, ended its sponsorship deal after the 2008 Beijing Games, but the company is three times as likely as the computer vendor that took its place, Acer, to be associated with the Olympics.
The benefit to these ambush marketers is clear.
They get all of the positives of Olympic sponsorship – the feel-good vibes, the legitimacy, the eyeballs – at a much lower expense.
The International Olympic Committee is not happy about this, of course.
During last year’s Vancouver Games, it successfully lobbied the Canadian Parliament to pass a bill restricting the use of certain combinations of words and numbers in advertising, such as snow, winter and games, to prevent non-sponsors from piggybacking on the Games.
Still, clever advertisers always find a way around that.
Red Bull, which consistently ranks near the top of the ambush list, recently bought naming rights to the new velodrome in London that will house the indoor bicycle events, ensuring the brand name will be heard in broadcasts even if its ads will not.
