Synopses & Reviews
The Olympic Games EffectHow Sports Marketing Builds Strong Brands
The Olympics are the quintessential athletic competition. But beyond athletics lies a network of investment, organization, and case studies in leadership. For sponsors, a key byproduct of these networks is a strong brand halo—the focus of John Davis’ interesting new book. Davis brings a keen academic and business eye to the brand halo associated with the competition. And this book will be an important resource and practical guide for firms in evaluating Olympic sponsorship.
—Glenn Hubbard, Dean and Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics, Columbia Business School
John Davis’ new book provides a treasure of information to guide companies as they evaluate marketing in sports in general and the Olympics in particular. Highly constructive checklists throughout the book will help companies evaluate the potential of their sponsorship investments. And the coverage of the lows as wells as the highs of Olympic-related marketing reinforces the realism and credibility of this well-written book.
—George Foster, Paul L. and Phyllis Wattis Professor of Management, Director of the Executive Program for Growing Companies, Stanford University Graduate School of Business
Interweaving history and economics with vignettes of heroes ancient and modern, John Davis illustrates how the Olympic Games have become the premier “heritage brand” in the era of experiential marketing. Differentiating and managing brands are perennial priorities for Marketing Science Institute’s corporate sponsors. Davis details why so many have chosen to be major Olympic sponsors. Importantly, he provides a comprehensive checklist of questions to help other companies explore the potential and pitfalls of such sponsorships.
—Earl L. Taylor, PhD, Chief Marketing Officer, Marketing Science Institute
This book is worth its weight in gold medals. Learn how Coca-Cola, Visa and other great companies took wing and flew to even greater success on the high power updraft of the Olympics. A must-read for any company wanting to become a top global brand.
—Rod Beckstrom, Co-author, The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations
John Davis’ book brings to life the history and intricacies of the Olympic Games, and illustrates the best practices of sports marketing and sports sponsorship that are relevant in today’s dynamic sports scene. This book deserves to be widely read.
—Oon Jin Teik, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Sports Council, Singapore Olympian, 23rd Olympic Games, 1984 Los Angeles, USA
Review
"John Davis' book,
The Olympic Games Effect, made a key contribution to understanding the economics of the Olympics, marketing of the Olympics, and the Olympic Games as a brand. The second edition of this important and readable volume offers new case studies and insights on social media. It should be required reading for corporate marketers tied to sport."
—
Glenn Hubbard, Dean and Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics, Columbia Business School
"Olympic marketing is fundamentally different from what is taught in traditional marketing texts, which is why this book is such a welcome addition to marketing knowledge. This edition contains updates with new observations from the Beijing and Vancouver Olympics. It explores the significance of the latest shifts in marketing derived from such trends as the rise in social media."
—Lynn Kahle, Giustina Professor and Head, Dept. of Marketing, Lundquist College of Business, University of Oregon
"The sponsorship of the Olympics has been a critical part of the marketing success of many global companies including Samsung. As South Korea prepares for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics Samsung and scores of potential sponsors will be debating the right strategy on how to leverage those Games to help communicate their brands. Worry no more as John Davis' The Olympic Games Effect will become the key 'go to' resource for these companies."
—Dae Ryun Chang, Professor of Marketing, Yonsei University
"As a fellow International Olympic Academy faculty member and professor of sport management, I can write that John Davis' book should stand as a required companion piece to Dick Pound's Inside the Olympics in helping a very wide population grasp the Olympic Games' magnitude and global importance. The Olympic Games Effect is well written, thoroughly researched, and greatly adds to the canon of Olympic literature. It is heroic, like a true Olympian, in its commitment and achievement."
—Rick Burton, David B. Falk Professor of Sport Management at Syracuse University and author of the historical thriller The Darkest Mission
"Just follow John Davis into the fascinating world of the Olympic Games and the enormous potentials they offer as a powerful global brand. Learn more about the opportunities and risks of Olympic sponsorship and how the pure idea and image of the Olympic Games create value for everyone involved."
—Professor Dr. Anton Meyer, Head of Marketing Department, Munich School of Management, LMU
Synopsis
Designed to be ready for publication before the 2012 London Olympics, this book will be energetically paced, providing interesting sports marketing and branding insights about the marketing of the Olympic Games themselves, and the unique attraction of the Olympics for corporations in particular. The important lessons of past Olympics will be used to show a 100 year-plus modern tradition based on a several thousand year old testament to the love of sports and competition and how, in recent years, this has evolved into seductively attractive vehicle for a wide range of audiences, from consumers to corporations.
Synopsis
Marketing at the Olympics, the attraction and the rewardsEssential reading in preparation for the 2012 London Olympics, the newly revised and fully updated second edition of The Olympic Games Effect offers fascinating sports marketing and branding insights into the promotion of the Games themselves, and their unique attraction for corporations in particular.
The important lessons of past Olympics will be used to show a hundred year-plus tradition based on a several thousand year old testament to the love of sports and competition, revealing how, in recent years, this has evolved into a seductively attractive vehicle for a wide range of audiences, from consumers to corporations.
- Loaded with historical information on the Olympics, the book traces the history of the Olympics back to 776 BC. This legacy is vital to the ongoing success of the Olympics, and is at the heart of why brands care so much
- Packed with illustrations that illustrate how the Games have become arguably the world's most successful sports event and the marketing opportunities this has led to
- Includes relevant business strategies and recommendations to help companies understand how to make more effective sports sponsorship decisions
This timely new edition of The Olympic Games Effect shows the value contributed by sponsoring the world's premier sporting event, and explains how, by extension, other global sports events have the potential to generate similarly impressive results for their sponsors.
Synopsis
At their core, the Olympic Games are about athletes and athletic competition. But the Olympics have evolved into a much larger phenomenon that extends beyond the boundaries of sport. Combining a potential viewing audience of over 4.5 billion people with such an historical event, the Olympics are a unique and highly beneficial sponsorship opportunity for companies striving to set themselves apart from the competition.
This new edition of The Olympic Games Effect, revised and updated for the 2012 London Games, builds on the theme of its predecessor while adding fresh content and data from the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, and the first Youth Olympic Games. Along the way, author John Davis:
Provides more in-depth insights about The Olympic Partner (TOP) sponsorsthe highest level of Olympic sponsorshipand what they are doing to make their Olympic investments productive and value adding
Discusses the impact each Olympics had on the city and nation where the Games were hosted
Examines the lessons of companies that have benefited from sponsoring the Olympics and reveals how these lessons can be applied to other sports sponsorships
The Olympic Games offer a global stage that reaches one of the largest audiences of any event in the world. With The Olympic Games Effect, you'll discover how to leverage this unique opportunity to create a long-lasting impression that will positively impact your brandfrom both an image and an economic standpoint.
Synopsis
Praise for
The Olympic Games Effect"John Davis' book, The Olympic Games Effect, made a key contribution to understanding the economics of the Olympics, marketing of the Olympics, and the Olympic Games as a brand. The second edition of this important and readable volume offers new case studies and insights on social media. It should be required reading for corporate marketers tied to sport." Glenn Hubbard, Dean and Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics, Columbia Business School
"Olympic marketing is fundamentally different from what is taught in traditional marketing texts, which is why this book is such a welcome addition to marketing knowledge. This edition contains updates with new observations from the Beijing and Vancouver Olympics. It explores the significance of the latest shifts in marketing derived from such trends as the rise in social media." Lynn Kahle, Giustina Professor and Head, Dept. of Marketing, Lundquist College of Business, University of Oregon
"The sponsorship of the Olympics has been a critical part of the marketing success of many global companies including Samsung. As South Korea prepares for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics Samsung and scores of potential sponsors will be debating the right strategy on how to leverage those Games to help communicate their brands. Worry no more as John Davis' The Olympic Games Effect will become the key 'go to' resource for these companies." Dae Ryun Chang, Professor of Marketing, Yonsei University
"As a fellow International Olympic Academy faculty member and professor of sport management, I can write that John Davis' book should stand as a required companion piece to Dick Pound's Inside the Olympics in helping a very wide population grasp the Olympic Games' magnitude and global importance. The Olympic Games Effect is well written, thoroughly researched, and greatly adds to the canon of Olympic literature. It is heroic, like a true Olympian, in its commitment and achievement." Rick Burton, David B. Falk Professor of Sport Management at Syracuse University and author of the historical thriller The Darkest Mission
"Just follow John Davis into the fascinating world of the Olympic Games and the enormous potentials they offer as a powerful global brand. Learn more about the opportunities and risks of Olympic sponsorship and how the pure idea and image of the Olympic Games create value for everyone involved." Professor Dr. Anton Meyer, Head of Marketing Department, Munich School of Management, LMU
Synopsis
The Olympic Games attract fans from all over the world with a diverse range of interests, from a passionate love of sports, to fervent nationalism, to the thrill of athletic competition. This book explains and examines why companies vie to be Olympic sponsors and the tangible and intangible returns they reap for their investment.
Starting with a brief history of the Olympics, from the Ancient Greeks to now (including interesting parallels between the ancient and modern games), the author then shows why and how the Olympic Games have become one of the world’s most powerful brands, and the resulting impact for companies that are Olympic sponsors. The book also examines why cities, including Beijing in 2008, invest billions in hosting the Games. From tragedy to astounding success, the Olympics have been the source of some of the most important stories of our times. Readers are provided with a clear understanding of the traditions that have shaped this unique event, as well as the risks involved for stakeholders. Throughout, this compelling book offers invaluable lessons for companies considering almost any type of sports sponsorship investment.
About the Author
John A. Davis is the author of several acclaimed marketing books:
The Olympic Games Effect;
Competitive Success;
Measuring Marketing;
Magic Numbers for Sales Management; and
Magic Numbers for Consumer Marketing. He is a member of the marketing faculty at the Lundquist College of Business, University of Oregon. Previously, he was Dean, Global MBA Program, and Professor of Marketing at SP Jain, with campuses in Singapore, Dubai, and Sydney. In 2010, he was the recipient of the "Best Professor in Marketing" honor, awarded by CMO Asia and Asia's Best Business School Awards. Before SP Jain, he was Department Chair and Professor of Marketing at Emerson College, and Professor of Marketing Practice at Singapore Management University, where he received the "Most Inspiring Teacher" award and Dean's Teaching Honors. John regularly consults with leading global companies and is a sought-after conference speaker, including: TEDx, YPOs, Global Brand Forum, World Knowledge Forum, American Marketing Association, the Lausanne Sports Management Conference, and Entrepreneur's Organization. He has founded two award-winning companies and has led marketing teams at Nike, Informix, and Transamerica. He received his MBA from Columbia University and his BA from Stanford University.
John and his wife, Barb, have three terrific children, Katie, Chris, and Bridget. They also have two dogs, Milo and Grinner, and two cats, Spike and Zola. Grinner thinks she rules the world, and the other family pets support this delusion.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Section I: 100 Years of Olympic Marketing
1. The Olympic dream
a. Pinnacle of sport
b. Authenticity
2. How the Olympics make us feel
a. The thrill of competition
b. Hero worship and Inspiration
3. The sports and politics cocktail: drinking from the Olympic firehouse
a. Politics, nationalism, sports
b. Olympic bidding
4. The ever-changing Olympics
a. Rise of athletes as stars
b. New sports and events
Section II: When Things Go Well…
4. Global stage
5. Olympic halo effect: short-term
a. New product launches
b. Possible direct sales impact
6. Olympic halo effect: long-term
a. Prestige
b. Reputation
c. Awareness
d. Market share
e. Positioning
7. David vs. Goliath: Those Delightful Surprises
a. The Miracle on Ice team of 1980
b. Eddie the Eagle
c. Eric Moussambani
d. Jamaican bobsled team
e. More…
Section III: When Things Go Wrong…
8. Marketing disasters
9. Jekyll and Hyde: Those Unpleasant Surprises
a. Judging scandals: figure skating, gymnastics
b. Athlete scandals: Tonya Harding, Ben Wallace, Bode Miller, others
c. Political crises
d. More, where relevant…
Section IV: Winning Marketing Gold: Work Like Crazy
10. Official sponsorship
a. Sponsorship levels
b. Costs
11. Unofficial sponsorship
a. Ambush marketing
b. Costs
12. Customers
a. Profile of Olympics audience
i. Events attendees
ii. Viewing fans
iii. Businesses
b. What do they want?
13. Creative execution
a. Message
b. Imagery
c. Imagination, relevance and resonance
d. Stunning, memorable examples of creativity
14. Marketing communications
a. Advertising
b. Integrated marketing
15. Traditional marketing
a. Corporate identity
b. Logos
c. Mascots
d. Merchandising
16. Non-traditional marketing
a. Digital media
b. Viral
c. Web
d. Entertainment
Section V: Training for Olympic Marketing Victory
17. Is your company in shape for Olympics marketing?
a. Your company's competitive fitness
b. Marketing check-list
18. Key lessons from 100 years of Olympic marketing
a. Benefits to Olympic and non-Olympic marketers
Endnotes and Credits
Index