Insider Q&A -- Olympic Sponsorship Guru Rob Prazmark of 21 Marketing

Coke, Johnson & Johnson and Visa were big Olympic winners, says 21 Marketing founder and CEO Rob Prazmark. (ATR) For nearly a quarter century, Olympic Games sponsorship and Rob Prazmark have been inseparable.

Through his Connecticut-based agency, 21 Marketing, Prazmark is renewing and brokering sponsor deals on behalf of the U.S. Olympic Committee after previously handling those duties as an executive with IMG.

With the agency ISL in the 1980s, Prazmark helped launch The Olympic Program (TOP) that opened the floodgates of worldwide sponsorship revenue for the International Olympic Committee.

Just back from Beijing, he responded to questions from ATR by e-mail.

ATR: What are you hearing from sponsor reps on the ground in Beijing with regard to NBC's mammoth TV and internet numbers and how those translate to eyeballs for their ad campaigns?

RP: The sponsors who supported the broadcast are over the top, especially some of them who “heavied up” on the opening ceremony. The big investors got big returns. However, many of the TOP sponsors and USOC sponsors do not participate in the telecast. I believe these strong numbers may open their eyes to the value of media and why veteran Olympic sponsors integrate the media and the marketing. The big winners this year are those who invested in both marketing AND the media.

ATR: What are some examples you have seen of effective, visible sponsor activation in Beijing since the start of the Games?

RP: I thought Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola and Visa were big winners, locally. The J&J pavilion that featured the Terracotta Warriors took sponsor activation and relevance to another level and will be the benchmark for years to come. Terracotta warriors from the Qin dynasty were big hits with visitors to the Johnson and Johnson pavilion on the Olympic Green. (ATR)

UPS, while not a USOC sponsor, was a BOCOG sponsor, giving them rights in China. UPS did a great job and dominated areas like the airport and on the ground around the Olympic Green. Coke was Coke, and Visa was everywhere you wanted to be.

ATR: The Olympic Green appeared to be a flop in the first week, but reports indicate greater foot traffic in the area of late? What were you seeing in this regard?

RP: Again, my hat is off to J&J who diplomatically pushed the IOC to take their case, and that of all of the Olympic sponsors, to the City of Beijing and the government. The companies that spent as much as US$20 million to build these pavilions, did so at the request of BOCOG and were assured large amounts of foot traffic. These sponsors did everything that was asked of them. I believe that once BOCOG felt secure with the larger crowds, they developed a “day pass” program allowing the local Chinese a way to access something very special.

The plan involved distributing tickets at local community centers and meant so much to the people. By the 4th day, an extra 50,000 people were on the Green and, by the 5th day, an extra 100,000 people were on the Green. The lines at the pavilions were long. As one sponsor told me, “Be careful what you wish for.”

ATR: The consumption of Olympics related information via the internet and mobile platforms has surpassed even NBC's expectations. How will Consumers got tired of an oversold Mary Lou Retton, Prazmark says. (Getty Images)this impact sponsor strategies going forward, post-2008?

RP: Future Olympic marketing programs will include ALL forms of media. What is fascinating to me is that these Games on NBC proved that mainstream network media can still attract the big numbers. Build it with better (live) programming and they will find it.

ATR: What is the over/under on how long sponsors like Visa and Speedo, and perhaps some newcomers yet TBA, can ride the wave of Phelpsmania after the Games conclude?

RP: One year. It will be interesting if Phelps and his people study what happened to Mary Lou Retton. We had so much of her, consumers revolted in the end.

It was sad (in 1984). Her managers over-exposed her. She deserved people who had a long term plan, not what it turned out to be, which was get all you can, as quickly as you can for as much as you can.

ATR: Was so-called ambush marketing by non-sponsors rampant in Beijing?

RP: Non-existent. Didn’t even see a can of Pepsi while I was there. I tried to use “another card” at the IOC hotel and they called security and escorted me to the door. A company told me that they had purchased billboards along the route coming from the airport into the city. When they arrived a week before the games, their signs were GONE. Not just covered up, but GONE.

The Chinese took sponsor protection to a whole new level.

Written by Steve Woodward

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