Ambush Marketing Revisited

Corporate sponso~ship of events has become a multi-bil- lion War promotional enteqnise. Some companies have sought methods of gaining the benefits of official spansorship while subvdng the esca- lating s m h i p fees charged by most major events. This approach has come to be known as ambush marketing. One event that is a traditional target for ambushers is the Olympic Games. Ambush marketers have found that by purchasing large amounts of advertising during these events they enjoy as much (or more) brand awareness as official sponsors incur- ring much greater costs. The results of this experimental study shed light on existing sponsorship questions, partic+rly ambush marketing in the Olympic context. Among the key finbgs are that coIlsumers seem unable to distinguish between official and ambush sponciors. This confu- sion has implications in terms of attibdinal measures, as study data indicate that sponsors rarely gain oompetitive advantage here, either. Measures of purchase intention also indicate that ambushers consistently do as well, or ktlw, than official sponsors.     

北京奥运会隐性营销分析与规避策略

隐性营销是困扰奥组委、赞助商以及举办地政府的一个难题。本文通过对历届奥运会中出现的隐性营销现象的类型、主要原因以及采用的规避措施进行回顾分析,探究北京奥运会可能出现的一些侵权情况,提出其规避与防范隐性营销行为的策略。     

Ambush marketing: Is confusion to blame for the flickering of the flame?

Previous studies about the use of ambush marketing during major global sports events like the Olympics concentrated on the battle between ambush marketers versus official sponsors, and their success or failure to create a high level of recall or recognition. Almost no attention has been paid to the role event organizers are playing in this battle. This article presents the view that the Olympic event organizers are partially to blame for the growing use of ambush marketing, and the indifference that consumers exhibit to the use of ambush marketing. Data collected from a random sample of 1,500 consumers following the conclusion of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games reveal that consumers exhibit a lack of knowledge and confusion about the rights of official sponsors, the different levels of sponsorship, and the commitment to the event that is associated with each sponsorship level. Furthermore, the results demonstrate consumers' apathy to the use of ambush marketing. Some implications and actions that event organizers should take to improve consumer knowledge about the role of sponsors and to increase consumer public opinion against ambushers are suggested. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Event sponsorship and ambush marketing: Lessons from the Beijing Olympics

Sponsorship of large sporting and cultural events has become a major marketing communication tool, particularly when firms obtain exclusive rights and garner the hype associated with this honor. Concomitantly, ambush marketing—defined as attempts by competitors to exploit the event—has also increased in prominence. This article outlines what is known as the Li Ning affair, whereby major Olympic sponsor Adidas was ambushed by lesser-known Chinese sportswear company Li Ning, whose namesake founder was the most decorated Chinese Olympian and who lit the Olympic flame at the 2008 Beijing Olympiad. Data collected immediately following the closing of the Beijing Games isolates what we call the Li Ning effect—or, being incorrectly identified as an official sponsor—and the positive effects this has on measures of brand attitude and recommendation likelihood. As presented herein, seven lessons about ambush marketing can be derived from the Li Ning affair, which sponsors and those considering sponsorship opportunity might wish to learn.     

对澳大利亚国家旅游品牌全球营销策略分析

悉尼奥运会的成功举办,产生了巨大的“奥运品牌效应”,带动了澳大利亚经济,推动了其树立奥运旅游的战略目标及旅游品牌营销与传播的整合。树立与推广澳大利亚国家旅游品牌全球营销策略,可加快中国旅游品牌化进程。应借鉴澳对目标市场细分,目标市场的确定以及整合各种媒体新品牌营销活动的成功经验,实施奥运阶段品牌营销策略和奥运旅游地区品牌营销策略,为中国充分利用举办北京奥运会之机,促进中国旅游向品牌化进程发展奠定基础。     

浅议北京奥运会产品营销的策略与对策

随着2008年北京奥运会的日益临近,越来越多的企业以前所未有的热情,投入到奥运营销热潮中来。与国际成熟品牌的奥运营销经验相比,国内企业对于奥运营销的真正实施策略缺乏透彻的了解,没有领会到奥运营销与企业品牌传播之间的真正内在联系,没有建立起一套适合奥运营销规律的整合传播策略体系。     

Ambush marketing: The ethical issues

Ambush marketing is now, for some companies, a strategic alternative to formal association through the purchase of legitimate sponsorship rights. Research evidence indicates that this ambush activity may damage sponsors' events and even the interests of sports governing bodies and individual sports people. Legal issues clearly arise, but the body of case law is as yet slight. Discussion often focuses on property rights, but these too can be problematic if a major sports event of popular cultural significance is concerned. Four ethical perspectives—utilitarianism, duty-based ethics, stakeholder analysis, and virtue ethics—can provide a framework for the debate on the ethics of ambush marketing. A range of possible actions to create more ethical commercial sponsorship are identified and briefly evaluated. In particular an international code of conduct for event sponsorship seems to be an idea whose time has come. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The legal and practical prevention of ambush marketing in sports

Ambush marketing has emerged in recent years as an effective, if controversial, weapon in the arsenal of marketing departments seeking to associate themselves with sports events without the official authorization or endorsement of the event organizer. This article highlights the dangers posed by ambush marketing to owners of commercial rights in these events and examines the legal mechanisms available to prevent and minimize the likelihood of suffering damage to marketing campaigns by third-party ambush tactics. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Partners

At Olympic times, many business giants try to expand their influence by sponsoring the Games. The Games is an opportunity for them to turn from a national to an international brand. Here are brief introductions to some of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games partners.     

Ethics, the Olympics and the Search for Global Values

The backlash against the Olympic Games reflects the failure of the major global institutions in dealing with the social and ethical consequences of globalisation in areas such as the environment, poverty, terrorism and natural disasters. Disillusionment with the Olympic Games mirrors the disenchantment with the perceived values of globalisation, including winning at any price, commercial exploitation by MNCs, intense national rivalry, cronyism, cheating and corruption and the competitive advantage of advanced nations. How could the Olympic Movement reverse this perception? The most important change would be in the area of leadership. Revitalising the Olympic spirit will require a revolution at the IOC. Character, credibility and communication will be the critical success factors. Before appointing the next President of the IOC, there is an exciting opportunity to reconceptualise the Games as a platform for building a framework of global values to counter-balance the naked economic priorities currently dictating the pattern of globalisation. In reinventing the Olympic Games, it is important to recognise that the modern Games are based upon an anachronism. The idea that amateur sport is both the key to individual moral development and world harmony is largely an invention of the British aristocracy, whereas the original Greek Games not only celebrated the classical ideal of `a sound mind in a sound body', but also involved professional athletes and commercial activity. In making the Olympic Charter relevant to the 21st century, and in making the Olympics more than just a speculator sporting event, there is a strong case for the Games to include a wider spectrum of activities, including arts programs and policy forums, which address the well-being of all humanity in a competitive global economy.     

探析奥运物流运作在体育赛事中应用的可行性研究

2008年北京奥运会的成功举办给我国体育产业带来了无限的契机和积极的影响,提升了开拓体育产业发展的空间。本文以奥运物流为出发点,论述了奥运物流理论对大型体育赛事举办的重要作用、必要性、物流运作的具体应用和特点等进行了深入探讨和研究。     

Evaluating sponsorship through the lens of the resource-based view: The potential for sustained competitive advantage

The resource-based view (RBV) of the firm has become a prominent management theory that firms can use to analyze resources as potential sources of competitive advantage. Theorists have suggested sponsorship of sport properties as one such resource, yet specific cases of sponsorship's role in a firm's achievement of a sustained advantage over competitors have yet to be explored. This article illuminates the case of Visa's longstanding global sponsorship of the Olympic Games, which was initiated and leveraged to counteract competitor American Express’ advantage with global business travelers. Evidence is presented that supports Visa's achievement of a competitive advantage during the term of the sponsorship. The case is then used to develop a conceptual model based on the RBV to identify the key characteristics of sponsored properties capable of assisting the sponsoring firm in achieving a sustained competitive advantage. From a managerial perspective, the model is designed to assist marketing managers tasked with the identification and evaluation of potential sponsorship properties.     

奥运会营销中的知识产权保护与特许权运用

现代奥运会营销的成功得力于对奥林匹克知识产权的保护和市场化运作,其中完整的知识产权体系的建立和日趋完备的法律保护,为国际奥委会和各组办国以特许经营的形式运用奥林匹克知识产权,提高现代奥运会的经济价值和社会价值发挥了重要作用,对促进特许经营在我国的健康发展也具有重要的意义。     

Olympic Partner Programme

The Olympic Partner Programme (TOP) is an international Olympic marketing programme created by the International Olympic Committee (IOC),which includes the Organising Committees of the Games,the National Olympic Committees and the TOP Partners.     

China Mobile's SWOT for the Olympics

This is the first time the Olympic Games held in China. The Beijing Olympics are a golden opportunity for Chinese companies to promote their products around the world. On the other hand, it is also a great challenge. Take ChinaMobile, the mobilecommunication partner for the ⅩⅩⅨ Olympics, as an example. His marketing performance in this Olympic feast could be analyzed by S.W.O.T.     

Universal Coverage, Pinpoint Illustration and Profound Impact HTC 2008 Intermedia Recommendation and Introduction Meeting

Holding 88 percent of train media resources across China, based on "Time Cube", on the 2008 Intermedia Recommendation and Introduction Meeting on December 19, 2007, HTC announced its high-profile strategy of tour marketing and tapping the immeasurable potentials on the train. Meanwhile, HTC officially launched its brand new product Olympic Train on the meeting, providing a fabulous platform for all the brands that are prepared to do a smart marketing on the occasion of 2008 Olympic Games.     

Memory Effects of Different Relational Links between Brands and Sponsored Events

Sport sponsorship is an important marketing communication tool, and stakes in sponsorship deals are high. Therefore, sponsors strive to ensure that their investments are effective and protected from competitors—that is, ambusher marketers’ attacks. Still, little is known about how ambush marketing affects sponsor identification and misidentification of ambushers as sponsors. This study investigates levels of sponsor and ambusher identification in three experimental settings, controlling for the presence/absence of an ambusher, communication modality, and response formats. A field study in the context of a large sports event demonstrates the external validity of the findings. The results provide evidence of a nondestructive interference of ambush marketing, indicating that ambush marketing does not necessarily harm sponsor identification. Misidentification of nonsponsors as sponsors occurs because of the indirect link established between the event and the company through ambush marketing, but not as a consequence of other communication activities by a competitor with no link to the event. Finally, a combined sponsor–ambusher perspective indicates that sponsors do not necessarily have a consistent “official sponsor” advantage over ambushers. Findings are discussed with emphasis on implications for sponsors, ambushers, and marketing researchers.     

Supply management for major sport events: The case of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games

In examining the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games (OG), we show that supply management in major sports events (MSEs) has interesting characteristics both in terms of operationalization and resources required. We show that while supply managers must consider local development, they cannot lose sight of efficiency in delivering on other objectives. The multifaceted nature of supply, which includes sponsorship, value in kind, and so forth, requires specific supply management approaches for each stage of the OG management lifecycle. Specifically, supply management differs from other business contexts in three main areas: (a) supplier identification and selection; (b) contract negotiation and the process of acquiring goods; (c) supplier relationship management. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

北京市商务服务业发展对策研究

本文认为,发展商务服务业,是北京市产业结构升级的需要,是提升制造业核心竞争力的需要,是解决北京产业“空心化”的现实选择,对其他产业具有巨大的乘数效应和辐射作用;加入WTO,为北京发展商务服务业提供了广阔的舞台,2008年奥运会为北京商务服务业带来了巨大商机,区域经济合作的快速升温,为北京发展商务服务业形成了良好的区域优势。北京商务服务行业规模初显,但存在规模小,分布散,科技含量低,市场机制不够完善等问题。文章提出,加快北京商务服务业发展,应坚持优先发展的原则,培育重点商务服务业;坚持产业集群与扩散的原则,形成有效的多赢格局;坚持科技创新的原则,打造世界级商务服务品牌;坚持以市场为导向的原则,完善市场机制;坚持以引资为突破口的原则,全力打造“总部经济”和“写字楼经济”。     

Party time: recreation rituals in the world of B2B

Abstract

We examine the role of business parties in business markets: why do B2B companies spend such large amounts of money to sponsor events meant for public consumption, such as sporting events, when most of their activity involves selling to other organisations? Drawing from extensive qualitative fieldwork in the world of tennis tournaments, we detail the specific universe of parties that happen backstage, between companies sponsoring these events. This context helps illuminate the critical role of business parties in business networks. Far from being mere recreation at the company’s expense, business parties are important opportunities for executives to develop and manage their relationships. We show that a business party functions as a particular kind of ritual by creating a distinct universe with its own language, gestures, and other modes of interaction.

Summary statement of contribution Our theoretical contribution to the literature on relationship marketing is to detail the unifying function of business parties in local business markets, where relationships with a variety of organisations are key to a company’s success. Our methodological contribution is to illustrate the relevance of anthropological approaches and concepts, such as rituals, to the world of B2B.