Apparently the 12 global sponsors of the Olympics have spent over $6 billion for ads targeted at the Chinese market alone but according to the Wall Street Journal it is the brands using ingenious social network based activity that are showing some real results.
Guerilla activity from companies such as Volkswagen with "Honk for China", and Pepsi with “Everyone can be on the can for China” shows tha social media is fast becoming the experiential marketing of the Athens Games
Of course the Global sponsors are hitting back with Coca Cola's Design the World a Coke, McDonald's Lost Ring activity and Lenovo's Olympic competitors blogging platform as well as Samsung and Panasonic with photo and video uploads but according to Paul French, founder of Access Asia, a market research firm based in Shanghat, writing in the LA Times "Everyone thinks everyone is an Olympic sponsor,"
This dilution and clutter have left some analysts wondering whether Olympic sponsorship -- or even advertising at all during the Games -- was worth the hefty fees. Eastman Kodak Co., an Olympic regular for decades, said this would be its last Games sponsorship. Computer maker Lenovo Group also is dropping its global partnership after Beijing.
It will be very interesting to see what London 2012 brings !