Team USA Dips Its Hand in the Cookie Jar -- Sponsor Spotlight

(ATR) Popular cookie and snack maker Nabisco is teaming up with the United States Olympic Committee and U.S. athletes on their road to PyeongChang 2018.

The subsidiary of Mondelēz International signs on to become the Official Cookie and Cracker Sponsor of Team USA in a multi-year deal that includes brand sponsorship support on television, digital and social media content campaigns as well as in-store recipe sampling. The deal runs through the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Team USA themes will appear on Oreo, Ritz and Chips Ahoy! packaging beginning on Jan. 21, 2018, two weeks ahead of the start of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics.

As part of the partnership, Nabisco is teaming up with U.S. athletes Ted Ligety and Chloe Kim in a promotion that seeks to feature "Can’t Miss Moments" leading up to and from the Games.

"We are thrilled to have Mondelēz as a member of the Team USA family of partners, and we look forward to celebrating Nabisco’s 'Can’t Miss Moments’ around the 2018 PyeongChang Games with them – and all the fans of Team USA," USOC vice president of marketing Mitch Poll tells Around the Rings.

There will also be a #BiteToWinSweepstakes that encourages fans to bite into their favorite cookies and crackers like their favorite Olympic and Paralympic athletes bite their medals on the podium. Fans who share photos of these moments to social media have the opportunity to win a $10,000 entertainment package or hundreds of other prizes awarded each day of the Games in South Korea. The sweepstakes begin Jan. 1.

"Team USA and the Olympic and Paralympic Games embody a long-standing tradition of celebrating outstanding moments," Mondelēz International head of NA Marketing Activation/Partnerships Stephen Chriss said in a statement. "Just like the Games, our brands bring people together – from teammates to roommates, fans to families – to share a moment, big or small.

"Through this sponsorship, we're joining the celebration and honoring those "Can't Miss Moments" that bind us, whether it's a Team USA athlete at the Olympic Winter Games or fans at home coming together to watch and cheer, while sharing a snack."

New Look for Qatar Olympic Committee

Top athletes in Qatar are recognized as new branding is launched for the Qatar Olympic Committee.

High jump world champion Mutaz Barshim was named male athlete of the year and junior sprinter Sara Al-Manaei took the female title. They were honored along with other athletes, including Paralympians, federations and organizations in a gala at the Qatar National Convention Center.

QOC President Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani led the event that also revealed a new brand and strategy. A new website, logo, a new Team Qatar Club and re-designed social media channels are included in the launch.

Click here for the full story.

ITTF Severs Ties with IT Service Provider

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is in search of a new Information Technology service provider.

The ITTF is ending its relationship with TMS International early, citing "issues with the service, and a breakdown in the relationship".

While admitting that there will be some disruption from the usual service, the ITTF says it will now be able to find a partner "to create a state-of-the-art results management system and information technology system to be able to take the promotion of table tennis to the next level."

The severing of this agreement with TMS International comes just months after the ITTF took back all its commercial rights from TMS at the start of 2017.

The ITTF will now run all commercial and IT business in house.

Written by Kevin Nutley, Ed Hula and Gerard Farek

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