Olympic Sponsor Recognition Low; Paralympians Raise Dow Concerns; GE Survey

Survey: Olympic Sponsor Recognition Low

Six months out from the London 2012 Olympics, research indicates recognition of corporate sponsors is low.

According to a survey by Ipsos MORI, 59 percent of people in Great Britain could not name any Olympic sponsors.

"The Olympics represent a wonderful platform for brand building and the evidence to date is that there is more work for sponsors to do," said Milorad Ajder, managing director of the Ipsos Reputation Centre.

He added: "Building brand equity on the back of the Games cannot be achieved without awareness."

Long-term Olympic sponsors Coca-Cola and McDonald’s were the best known brands in the survey, but only one percent mentioned Panasonic and Samsung as sponsors.

A majority (73 percent) of the 1,985 respondents also said an association with the Olympics did not affect how favorably they viewed companies.

Dow, Bhopal Controversy Update

Indian artist Sayed Irshad Ali is lending his voice – and artwork–to the campaign against Dow Chemical.

Dow has been criticized for an alleged connection to the industrial disaster in 1984 in Bhopal, India where thousands were killed. In 2001, Dow bought the Union Carbide Corporation, which was a majority stake holder in the responsible company, Union Carbide India Limited.

Ali’s artwork compares two manmade disasters: the Bhopal tragedy and the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

"In the first case, human beings died, and in the other, fish. The families of 500,000 Bhopal gas victims, even after 27 years, are still waiting for justice, whereas the US made BP pay a compensation of $20 billion for dead fish and environmental damage in the Gulf of Mexico," he said.

Indian Paralympians have also recently joined the cause, calling for a boycott of the London Paralympics.

Girraj Singh, silver medalist at the Asian Games, said: "All Indian para-athletes should boycott the London 2012 Paralympics until Dow Chemical is dropped as a sponsor.The Indian Olympics Association and Sports Ministry of India should show stronger protests against this sponsorship."

Dow VP of Olympic Operations George Hamilton has labeled attempts to link the company to Union Carbide as "misinformed, misguided and misdirected". Dow acquired Union Carbide seven years after Union Carbide left India and 10 years after the Indian Supreme Court issued its final ruling in the case.

GE Study Gauges Public Opinion of Olympics

A study by General Electric shows that a low number of people believe the Olympics will leave behind beneficial technologies.

Only 25 percent of Brazilians and only 12 percent of people in the United Kingdom think the Games will leave technologies that aid society, according to the data.

In the U.K., people are skeptical about London 2012's legacy and worry that many facilities will sit unused.

The research also highlighted the sustainability of the 2012 Olympics, pointing to the fact that builders have recycled 97 percent of materials onsite and 200 electric vehicles will be used.

P&G to Cut 1,600 Employees

Olympic sponsor Procter & Gamble plans to cut 1,600 nonmanufacturing jobs.

According to Ad Age, the cuts will include marketing positions, and the company plans on using digital marketing to limit long-term spending.

P&G became a worldwide sponsor in 2010 and will use its partnership to promote its brand at the upcoming London Games.

The company also recently signed an agreement with the Italian Olympic Committee, according to the Italian news agency AGI. The partnership covers the next five Games beginning with London 2012.

Qantas Supports Australian Sevens Teams

The airline Qantas will be the title sponsor of Australia’s men’s and women’s rugby sevens teams for the next four years.

Head coach Michael O’Connor hopes the sponsorship as well as the admittance of rugby sevens into the 2016 Olympics will allow players to focus on the game and not move on to the 15-man version.

"If we are to become a serious medal contender for the Olympics in 2016, we have to try and hold onto players and be able to compete with what they'd be able to get if they went and played Super XV," O'Connor said in London's Daily Telegraph.

"This sponsorship is a great help," he added.

Written by Ann Cantrell.

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.