The Olympic Torch Relay fiasco has led to a lot of discussion about business brands and protecting them. Yesterday I looked at branding from the sponsors' point of view.
Let's take a look at the Olympics brand
itself...a huge multi million dollar brand with a long history.
Part of its value proposition to the billions of viewers and participants is that it is an event representing harmony and global unity.
Apart from the feel good elements, the Olympics is big business... very big business. Were sound decisions made about holding the relay given the political climate?
Glenda Korporaal in the Australian in an article I referred to yesterday says
...the real marketing lesson to be learned from the 2008 torch relay fiasco is that owners of a brand need to make the decisions to protect that brand and should not be dominated by either the wishes of the sponsors or the prospect of even higher sponsorship revenues.
The IOC is already considering abandoning the Olympics Torch Relay for the 2012 London Olympics.
- Is this a marketing lesson learned too late or will all be forgotten if the Olympics themselves go smoothly?
- Has the Olympics brand been permanently damaged?
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