Month: October 2011

Wrong. Age can be a number that creates frustration and complications for sports marketers.

I am an avid spectator of the Olympic Games – more so due to the uncontainable patriotism than superior knowledge of competitive athletics, but I can still clearly remember the phenomenon that was the Chinese gymnasts in 2008. As a person of Chinese ethnicity, Beijing being awarded the bid many years ago was a unprecedented acknowledgement of the Communist country in a world dominated by democratic societies. China’s rise both economically and politically was undeniable, and I’m sure the IOC was pleased to be able to expand their Olympic brand, and their Olympics sponsors (such as Coca Cola) into untouched territory.

One of the key accomplishments of the Chinese Olympic team was showcased in the gymnastics disciplines. Their dominance was incredible – winning more medals than the following four ranking nations combined. They also achieved more gold medals than the United States won in gold, silver, and bronze medals totalled.


Then, controversy erupted.

Spectators and coaches of other teams suggested that female Chinese gymnasts were under 14 years of age, which violates the IOC guidelines that competitors must be at least 16 years of age while competing. Documentation discrepancies for some athletes were blamed on team-switching logistical errors, and eventually, the IOC appointed the FIG (Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique) to investigate the eligibility of the athletes. The situation was not resolved until October, 2008, when medal reshuffling was determined unnecessary.

This is only one of the marketing nightmares that arose out of the Beijing 2008 Games. Before the games, protests were ignited across the globe in response to Tibet’s cry for independence, and countries were even pressured to boycott the Games in defence of human rights. After a spectacular Opening Ceremonies, rumours that firework footage was pre-recorded and that a key performer was really lip-syncing to someone else’s voice broke out. These scandals are preventable. If Beijing had a more comprehensive and experienced marketing team, they could have avoided the controversy from their Opening Ceremonies which, for many people, overshadowed the very real fact that it was a spectacularly entertaining and aesthetically beautiful show.

To me, the apex of the sports marketing ladder is the Olympic Games. No matter how much money you earn working in the NHL, MBA, or NFL, you will never experience the same kind of excitement, energy, and enthusiasm working for the International Olympic Committee‘s Marketing Commission.



Running a successful Olympic Games is akin to driving through Disneyland on the 4th of July blindfolded and still managing to grab autographs from each and every Disney character – in a roller coaster cart. It’s nearly impossible! A million different issues may arise, and do arise, throughout the two week period which everyone behind-the-scenes has been working tirelessly towards for 4 years.

One thing that generally does happen year after year, and to no correlation to the marketing team (yet still highly influential to the overall aura of the Games in question), is ‘medal stripping’. Before each Olympic Games, countries are supposed to conduct their own tests of athletes, and later on, samples are given to the WADA who will review the samples and unveil results to the IOC.

Since the 70s, the appearance of doping and subsequent medal stripping has had a strong presence after every Olympic Games. Particularly in the Sydney Summer Games of 2000, two prominent athletes were stripped of their medals. Romanian Andreea Răducan was the first gymnast to be stripped of her medal for taking an over-the-counter medication for a fever (the substance is no longer on the WADA Prohibited List, it is now in the Monitoring List), and American Marion Jones was stripped of her individual and team medals won in five different events.

As the saying goes, “not all press is good press”. When these events occur, the legacy and reputation of the Games are tarnished, and often even dwarfs over the success and hard work ethic of other inspirational athletes. While this doesn’t seem to directly affect the marketing team behind the specific Games, protecting the Olympic brand is a mission that the team needs to constantly be focused on, and in this case, preventing future occurrences of the same nature and working closely with media outlets and PR firms is key to sustaining the brand that everyone in the world recognizes.

Vancouver 2010 Marketing Report