Ambush Marketing

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Ambush Marketing

• Douglas J. Wood
• Partner
• Reed Smith LLP

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Investment in sponsorship fees

• Location Amount
• Seoul (1988) US 338 Million
• Barcelona (1992) US 700 Million
• Turin (2006) US 4 Billion
• Beijing (2008)
• Main Sponsors US 80 Million (2005-2008)
  each

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What is ambush marketing?

• Origin
• Circa the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles (first
  Olympic games to market sponsorship)
• Created by frustrated marketers (non sponsors)
  who turned to ambush marketing to
• maintain some association with the event

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What is ambush marketing?

• Generally defined as
• marketing and promotional activities that
• seek an association with a sponsored event
• without the authorization or consent of the
  organizer of the event or sponsor, and
• without paying the requisite fee

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What is ambush marketing?

• Goal
• to misappropriate or capitalize on the goodwill
  and popularity of the sponsored event
• intentionally confuse the public into thinking
  that the ambush marketer is the official sponsor
  of the event

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What is ambush marketing?

• to deflect some attention away from the competing
  sponsors
• to reduce the effectiveness of their
  communication while also undermining the value
  and the quality of the sponsorship opportunity
  that was sold

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What is ambush marketing?

• The result
• consumers may be confused as to who is the
  official sponsor of the event
• ambush marketing may impact negatively on
  sponsorship rights
• Therefore
• sponsors seek some guarantee from the organizer
  of the event that offenders will be pursued (in
  the sponsorship agreement)

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Forms of ambush marketing

• Simultaneous promotions (for example
  sample/free product distribution at sponsored
  event, billboard advertising or flying blimp with
  advertisers mark over venue)
• Purchase of sub-category rights (for example
  broadcast rights purchased from a TV network from
  marketers who are not official sponsors of the
  event for the duration of the sponsored event)

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Forms of ambush marketing

• May involve the misappropriation of trademarks
  available to official sponsors by the use of
  logos or images associated with the event
  (example Olympic rings) or involve design
  variations of protected logos
• Often done by using city, country or even generic
  names to avoid trademark infringement
• May involve the use of official tickets or prizes
  in sweepstakes to imply an association with the
  organization or event

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AMBUSHERS
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Special Teams
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Soccer European Championship 2000
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Athletics World Championship 2001
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What is allowed?
Best Media Markt ever We will get the Title!
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What is allowed?
There is only one attraction in 2006 Why dont
you drive there?
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What is allowed?
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THE 2006 EXPERIENCE
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ItalyThe Specific law No. 167 of August 17th,
2005

• Introduces measures to protect the Olympic
  symbols during the Turin 2006 Olympic Winter
  Games
• Reserves all rights concerning use of Olympic
  symbols to
• Italian National Olympic Committee
• Organizing Committee for the 20th Winter Games,
  and
• Executive Agency of the 20th Winter Games
• Allows use by third parties on prior authorization

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Italy

• The Law
• Prohibits
• publication, commercial distribution and sales of
  products or services with distinctive signs
  likely to suggest the existence of a license,
  authorization or other form of association,
• explicitly bans ambush marketing (i.e.
  activities for profit performed in parallel to
  those properly licensed or authorized.

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Italy

• The Law
• Provides (aside from ordinary remedies available
  for TM infringement, unfair competition and
  misleading advertising)
• administrative sanctions (fines) from Euro 1,000
  up to Euro 100,000,
• enforcement through Financial State Police and
  competent Legal Authorities,
• possibility of obtaining seizure of all
  infringing products,
• protection coverage until December 31st, 2006.

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How did it work?

• No Olympic Pizza or Cake on sale in Turin
• No fly zone over sports venues
• Bar Olympic (pub in central location) had to
  cover the logo
• Same obligation for a sports apparel and
  equipment shop

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How did it work?

• At sports venues
• Special sponsor brand protection teams asked
  reporters
• to cover the logos on their laptops with black
  electrical tape,
• to strip of logos from their beverage bottles, or
• to put them under the desk.
• Logos on porcelain in venues restrooms were also
  tape covered

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How did it work?

• Despite huge efforts some teams run afoul

Logo on the helmet, duly covered
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The TARGET Express Train

• A moving billboard
• Spectators approaching the sports venues
  travelled on special Target Express trains
• red and white bulls-eye logos everywhere
• when leaving at stations connecting to Olympic
  locations, riders were provided with wooden train
  whistles, air horns, and large foam gloves shaped
  as hands, all with Targets logo
• Riders were greeted with the slogan Target helps
  you express your passion. Get ready to make some
  noise!"

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What else has been allowed?

• Examples
• Our lemonade for the World Cup ...
• For the World Cup, we are presenting ...
• We are flying you to the soccer World Cup 2006
• Our World Cup special ...
• For the soccer World Cup 2006, we are dropping
  our prices for the period from ...

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WHATS COMING UP?
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London 2012

• In discussion, protection on
• Other words as games, medal, gold,
  silver, bronze
• 2012, sponsor, summer
• While a fierce struggle takes place between
• Sponsors/Organizers (in favour of maximum
  protection)
• Business and Advertising Industry (worried about
  excessive barriers/restrictions)

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London 2012

• Relaxed Italian last-minute approach
• a new law 6 months prior to the OWGs in Turin
• Pragmatic British way of dealing with money
  issues
• a draft bill 6 years ahead of the 2012 Games in
  London

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London 2012

• Draft bill proposes protection on
• Words Olympic, Olympiad, Olympian/Olympic
  rings
• Team GB BOA logo, British Paralympic Ass.
  team logos
• Words London 2012, London's bid logo
  derivatives of London2012.com,
• 2012 Games logo and mascots (not designed yet),
• Olympic motto Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster,
  Higher, Stronger)

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London 2012

• Tactics like this wont be allowed in London.

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CHINAAMBUSH MARKETING

• 2008 Beijing Olympics

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• China is poised to become the worlds second
  largest consumer market by 2014
• From 1979 to 2005, Chinas real GDP grew at an
  average annual rate of 9.6
• GDP hit 18.2 trillion yuan (US2.3 trillion) in
  2005
• Retail sales in 2005 reached US827 billion

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China Laws Regulations

• No specific laws or regulations on ambush
  marketing.
• Laws that have some effect are
• Article 21 of the Advertising Law of the PRC
• Article 2 of the Law Against Unfair Competition
  of the PRC

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Chinas Fight Against Ambush Marketing

• Beijing Regulations on the Intellectual Property
  Protection of Olympics-related IPRs
• Regulations on the Protection of Olympic Symbols
• Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Sponsorship Program

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Are the Measures Enough? Beijing Beijing
Regulations on the Intellectual Property
Protection of Olympics-related Intellectual
Property Rights China State Council Regulations
on the Protection of Olympic Symbols ?Olympic
symbols and emblems ?Mascots ?Olympic
Games ?Green Olympics Beijing 2008,
?Implied commercial purposes Organizing
Committee (BOCOG) ?No advertisements allowed
in any Olympic venue without BOCOG
approval ?Size and location of logos on
athletes apparel strictly regulated ?All
outdoor advertisements in the host and co-host
cities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Qingdao,
Shenyang and Qinhuangdao) are managed by BOCOG
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• Lacoste vs. Niannian Gao, et. al.
• Seizure of infringing goods
• Apology in China newspapers
• Stop to production and sale
• Fine of Rmb760,000, roughly US100,000
• Retailer liability

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Finding Balance in Ambush Marketing

• Review the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Sponsorship
  Program
• Adopt a comprehensive sponsorship package
• Consolidate, enhance and protect the rights and
  privileges of the sponsoring corporations
• Find balance in the anti-ambush marketing
  program of BOCOG

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Thank You