With the UK snowbound, it seems entirely appropriate to (b)log that the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics announced its first domestic sponsorship yesterday, a recession-busting $460m (£316m) deal in the telecommunications category with state-controlled long-distance telephone company Rostelecom and Russia’s number three mobile carrier, MegaFon.

In a departure from usual Olympic practice, the Sochi organising committee revealed the financials behind the deal – the two companies have pledged $260m (£179m) in sponsorship, plus a further $200m (£137m) to develop infrastructure in the region – thus enabling Sochi to claim early Olympic bragging rights over Beijing 2008 and London 2012 by stating that their telco sponsorship is ‘a record in Olympic history’.

Given that in its bid for the 2014 Games Sochi projected a total domestic revenue target of $350m, one can only conclude from this first deal that – perhaps deliberately? – Sochi underestimated the marketing appeal of the Games to domestic sponsors. After all, the two most recent Winter Olympics, Salt Lake 2002 and Torino 2006, raised $494m and $348m respectively from the domestic market, and Vancouver 2010 is aiming to raise $620m.

It’s also interesting to note how fast Sochi 2014 has moved by modern Olympic standards of sponsorship acquisition.  London 2012 – which set new standards for the Olympic Movement in acquiring domestic sponsors rapidly – announced its first domestic sponsorship, with Lloyds TSB, 591 days after winning the 2012 Bid. Sochi’s announcement yesterday shaves 14 days off that mark.

Recession, what recession?

By Tim Crow on February 2nd, 2009

Tags: Beijing 2008, Default, London 2012, Olympic sponsorship, Sochi 2014, Winter Olympics

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