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LONDON – One day, the small espresso shop near the site of the London Gameswas the "Olympic" cafe. The next day, it was the "Lympic." So where did the "O' go? The manager won't say. But it's more than likely the small businessbecame another casualty in the battle against guerrilla marketers— advertisers who try to associate their products with anevent without paying to be sponsors. Protecting the Olympic brand is always a big job, and never more sothan this year. Olympic organizers say the increasingsophistication of guerrilla marketers and the rise of social mediaare putting the five rings under assault in ways barely envisioneda decade ago. That means action against anyone who infringes the Olympic brand orsponsors' deals — no matter how small. "There's no question that the rings are instantly recognizable— it's what makes it attractive," said Stephen Greyser, anemeritus professor at Harvard Business School. He compared the efforts by non-sponsors to athletes trying to findloopholes in the rules against performance-enhancing drugs. "It becomes an industry," he said. The International Olympic Committee and London organizers raisedmore than $2.4 billion from the sale of marketing rights in thefour years through the 2008 games in Beijing, providing more than44 percent of their funding during the period. The rings are among the world's most recognized symbols. Companieslike McDonald's, Coca-Cola and Samsung, which pay as much as $100million each to be official sponsors during each Olympic cycle,expect organizers to protect their rights. They expect organizers to protect their rights. If others can usethe rings and the name "Olympic," why should the big companies payso much money? "Without our sponsors, the games simply wouldn't happen," Londonorganizers said in a statement. "They provide funding, products,services and expertise to help us stage the games and with thathave purchased exclusivity in their sector." British lawmakers did their part, passing a law — describedas draconian by critics — that gives organizers the power tobar companies from using Olympic trademarks and even certaincombinations of words — such as "London 2012" — thatmay infringe on the rights of sponsors. "Where there are serious or deliberate attempts to ambush the Games... we will take swift and firm action," London organizers added. But if the crackdown on guerrilla marketers goes too far, it couldanger those attending the games or going about their business inLondon. Organizers will find it hard to tell people they can't weartheir Nike T-shirt into Olympic Stadium because adidas is thesportswear partner. "It's fine to clamp down on the threat, but where it impacts theindividual, it's going to be very difficult for (London organizers)to get it right," said Hugh Tebay, a partner at Sipara, a Britishlaw firm that specializes in trademark and branding. "If publicreaction is too strong, they'll have to backtrack." Such worries played out during another big international event, the2010 World Cup in South Africa. The Bavaria brewing companyoutfitted some 30 Dutch women in mini-dresses in its eye-poppingtrademark orange for the Netherlands' opening game against Denmark.When the ringleaders were caught and authorities in Johannesburgthreatened jail, Bavaria agreed to refrain from future marketingambushes until 2022. Four years earlier at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the brewerygave fans orange lederhosen. Guards confiscated the Alpine-inspiredpants, forcing hundreds of fans to watch a match in theirunderwear. Then there are the infamous cases, such as in 1992, whennon-sponsor Nike held news conferences with members of the U.S.basketball team. Michael Jordan, who had an endorsement deal withNike, accepted his gold medal while covering up the logo of theteam's official sponsor, Reebok. Some companies are already flying close to the sun in London. The British company Virgin, whose interests include airlines,broadband service and holiday travel, has an ad featuring Jamaicangold medal winner Usain Bolt sporting a silver goatee identical tothat of company founder Richard Branson. The campaign pushesVirgin's "super fast" broadband service, skirting the rights of BT,the games' official broadband provider. Why do otherwise upstanding companies press to see just how farthey can push the rules? It's because marketers lie awake at nighthoping to link their brand to athletes overcoming all odds to winbefore a global audience. The Summer Olympics are valuable because they occur so infrequently— once every four years — and the competition includesvirtually every country on the planet. Although soccer's World Cupis similar in terms of national fervor, it goes on for longer,diluting its appeal, and it is less popular in that market ofmarkets, the United States, Greyser said. Unlike a typical sporting event, which attracts mostly men, theOlympics draws in both men and women. And then there's social media. While Olympic officials previouslyonly had to worry about ads and billboards, now they must alsopolice Facebook, Twitter and blogs. And not just by companies, butby fans and athletes. Athletes have all sorts of personal endorsement deals, creatingmore headaches for Olympics organizers. During the games, athleteswill be barred from tweeting about sponsors. If they prefer Pepsito Coke, they had better not say so, at least not in their Twitterfeed, according to IOC rules. It's not clear what would really happen if an athlete as famous asBolt were to violate those rules. Organizers say they will take apragmatic approach and that most cases will be dealt with "in anamicable way." Still, it's a little sad to go by 61 West Ham Lane and see themaroon sign with the "O' rubbed out. "We really did put the pressure on," said regulator Steve Miller,who heads a body to standardize local regulations. The group hassince stepped away from the branding business. Cafe workers say the "O' vanished after they became tired oftalking to reporters. But even Miller confessed to being somewhatstartled, having wandered by one day to see it missing. "I thought it had fallen off," he said. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Timing Belt Pulleys , Car Timing Belts, and more. For more , please visit Motor V Belt today!
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