Visa, Samsung Unveil App; P&G Leverages Olympics to Cut Marketing Budget

Visa, Samsung Unveil Olympics App

Visitors at the London Olympics can use a smartphone application to make payments thanks to a partnership between Samsung and Visa.

Trade publications report that the two companies plan to showcase in Barcelona next week a special edition Olympic handset that enables people to purchase items at the Games.

"London 2012 is a unique opportunity to show the future of payments coming to life and leave a lasting legacy post-2012," says Sandra Alzetta, head of innovation at Visa Europe. "The new mobile payment application is central to this showcase."

She added that Visa is working with many partners to spread the use of mobile payment technology.

"We’ve recently announced the certification of a number of major manufacturer handsets for NFC payments, which brings mainstream commercial mobile payments a step closer to reality," she said.

The application also allows people to view their balance and transaction history.

P&G Uses Olympics to Cut Marketing Budget

Olympic sponsor Procter & Gamble says its using the Olympics to "efficiently" market its brand.

According to Advertising Age, Chairman and CEO Bob McDonald said Thursday that the company will cut cost over the next five years by $10 billion, including $1 billion in external marketing.

Despite these cuts, McDonald said P&G still plans to promote its brands through initiatives that advertise multiple brands – like its London 2012 campaign – and that marketing spending this year will be similar to that of 2011.

"We want to increase reach, frequency and the effectiveness of our advertising impressions to consumers," he said.

"Even delivering a modest level of efficient each year can amount to nearly a billion of savings vs. just letting these costs grow at the same rate of sales. We’re very confident we can do this while building the number and quality of consumer impressions each year."

In January, P&G launched its program for the London Olympics, which McDonald said created 2.5 billion impressions in just the first month.

Nike Unveils 2012 Uniforms

Nike began unveiling uniformsand other athletic apparel for the London Olympics on Tuesday.

With the help of a number of athletes – including track and field star and gold medalist Carl Lewis – the company showcased footwear, uniforms and other running gear.

"Today we’ve unveiled technology we believe has the potential to change sports performance," said Nike president and CEO Mark Parker. "Nike has always been committed to bringing the best innovations to athletes at every level and we’ve done that today in a powerful way."

One of these technologies is the Nike Flyknit running shoe, which Parker described as "lightweight and virtually seamless." Also unveiled were the Olympic basketball jerseys for the U.S., Chinaand Brazil.

Olympic years provide Nike with a big opportunity to showcase its technology, president of the Nike Brand Charlie Denson told Dow Jones Newswires.

"It gives us a chance to really amplify some of the things we are working on," he said.

Another highlight is the uniform for the U.S. basketball team, which pays homage to the 1992 Dream Team. Warm-up gear features the Roman numerals for 20, in reference to the 20th anniversary of the gold medal won by what is widely considered to be the greatest basketball team ever assembled.

Suncor Backs Canadian Olympic Team

Suncor Energy will sponsor the Canadian Olympic team through 2016.

Through its Petro-Canada brand, the company plans to support athletes for both the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014 and the Rio Games in 2016.

"The real winners today are Canadian athletes," said Marcel Aubut, president of the Canadian Olympic Committee. "Once again, Suncor is stepping up and leading by example to help ensure that Canada’s Olympic heroes have the tools to compete – and to win – against the best in the world."

Suncor is a long-time supporter of Canadian sports, helping more than 2,300 Canadian athletes since 1988.

Written by Ann Cantrell .

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