Acer "Concentrates" on London, Deflects Renewal Talk

(ATR) IOC TOP sponsor Acer tells Around the Rings no decision has been made on whether to renew its Olympic sponsorship.

The Taiwanese computer manufacturer joined TOP following the Beijing Games, but only for Vancouver and London.

"Now we really concentrate on London," said Anton Mitsyuk, Acer Head of Olympic Sponsorship.

"It’s a lot of work, and we really grab these Olympic days to do as many things as we possibly can. We’ve had some discussions, some dialogues going on with the IOC about this and we’ll see what is the progress."

It was first reported in June that Acer would not renew its partnership past London. The decision came as the IOC decided to change its computer category, currently held by Acer, to a broader, more encompassing technology category. That would pit Acer in a potential competition with current TOP sponsors Panasonic and Samsung, and other interested partners.

For London, Mitsyuk says Acer hopes to use the London Olympics to springboard into corporate accounts.

He stressed that Acer’s focus remains the consumer segment but that he's mindful of new business opportunities, particularly with corporate accounts.

"We are already quite a big player in the consumer market," he said.

"The corporate market is a very big opportunity for us. If you ask what are the opportunities, for sure we see small to medium businesses and the corporate marketplace.

"For corporate accounts, the fact that Acer is running the computer system of London 2012 is a very important sign that we are ready for big projects and projects of the highest complexity."

Other business-end outreach includes engaging Acer’s distribution channels in its activation by bringing them to its hospitality events, explaining their role as an Olympic sponsor and other outreach efforts.

Acer also has a worldwide vision for its activation program, Mitsyuk said.

"The goal is really to unite countries under this Olympic activation program. We know very well that the Olympics is a global activityand at the same time very local because every country has a team, so we try to engage many countries with the activation.

Remi Saint-Jean, Acer channel marketing coordinator for the Olympics, said the company has chiefly engaged National Olympic Committees to "activate the Olympic brand". Saint-Jean listed several examples including sponsoring the Chinese national swimming team, partnering with Australian, U.S. and Polish Olympians among other worldwide activities.

Acer has four goals with its sponsorship: brand building, creating an "internal spirit", business development and channel/partner loyalty.

The brand building is done through its various advertising campaigns, and corporate spirit came from its intranet and employee incentives (including winning torch-bearer slots).

Consumer-end activation comes from four major Olympic special edition items: a desktop PC, a notebook, a tablet and a monitor.

Saint-Jean said they will be available in "most markets across the world."

"We need to associate our product with the experience of the Games," he added.

"We try to leverage on the emotion of the Olympic Rings while offering a device that is available to all."

Mitsyuk said: "the idea is to celebrate the Games and give people the opportunity to have Olympic memorabilia.

He says, ultimately, that Acer hopes to differentiate itself in "the price-performance world" for consumers.

Acer’s most visible presence at these Games is the "Acer Journey" pavilion. Located next to the Basketball Arena in London Olympic Park, Mitsyuk says Acer wanted theirs to be the most interactive sponsor pavilion for London 2012.

"The key thing here is interactivity," he said. "Every device can interact with the visitor."

The 1,200 square meter, three-floor pavilion contains hundreds of Acer products loaded with interactive games and displays, with a competition to win an Acer tablet.

Homepage photo from Acer.

Written by Ed Hula III.

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