Sponsor Spotlight - USOC Tackles Ambush Marketing; Triathlon Rebrands Champs

USOC Stages Anti-Ambush Marketing Panel

The United States Olympic Committee is standing with its sponsors against ambush marketing.

On Tuesday, the USOC hosted a panel with representatives from McDonald’s, Visa, AT&T and Kellogg on the negative effect of advertisers associating themselves with the Olympics without paying sponsorship dues.

The USOC relies on donors and sponsors to support its athletes, and chief marketing officer Lisa Baird said the NOC is committed to protecting these contributors.

"We are charged with protecting the Olympic brand, and this event today is part of a broad effort by the USOC and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic family to uphold the Olympic ideals and create stronger ambush protection for sponsors," she said.

"When ambush marketing hurts our sponsors, it hurts America's elite athletes."

Held inside the Capitol Building in Washington D.C., the aim of the panel was to educate Congress members on the topic. Senator Michael Bennet from Colorado underscored the importance of sponsors to American athletes.

"All Americans have a great sense of pride in our Olympic and Paralympic athletes and we all want to make sure there are no barriers to their success at the Games, either this summer or at future Games," he said.

"Corporate sponsorships are one important element of the recipe for success. I am glad we had this briefing today to discuss ambush marketing and ways to curb its practice."

New Name for Triathlon Champs

Triathlon’s mouthful of a world championship is now a bit easier to swallow.

As of late Tuesday, the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series will be known as the ITU World Triathlon Series.

As part of the rebranding done in collaboration with ITU global marketing partner Upsolut Sports, the flagship event will now feature two main sponsors, Dextro Energy and Samsung, alongside four category-specific sponsors.

"This new structure not only gives our premier series a cleaner image, it also gives us greater flexibility to raise the profile of the series and increase its commercial success," says ITU president Marisol Casado.

With eight events in eight different countries, the 2012 ITU World Triathlon Series kicks off April 14 in Sydney and wraps up Oct. 20 with a grand final in Auckland, New Zealand.

Hilton HHonors Supports USA Volleyball

USA Volleyball announced Wednesday that Hilton HHonors is its exclusive hotel partner.

Through this two-year sponsorship, the loyalty program will provide athletes and fans with a portal for discount booking.

"Hilton HHonors is a valued partner of USA Volleyball, and we are excited to announce the partnership, one element of which provides significant savings for our members and supporters," said USA Volleyball secretary general Kerry Klostermann.

DB Schenker, Sailing Federation Team Up

Schenker Limited is now the official supplier of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).

In this role, the company will provide logistics and shipping services over the next three years and will support competitions like the sailing world championships currently underway in Perth, Australia.

"Sailing is a global sport and transport of equipment plays a major part in what we do so to be working with one of the World's leading shipping and logistics companies is a significant benefit for us," said ISAF secretary general Jerome Pels.

Written by Ann Cantrell.

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