Advertisers in the UK seem to be showing very little interest in the 2004 Olympics with only 3% of marketing activity in the run-up and during the games related to the event, says a survey conducted by a global network of independent advertising agencies.
Colorado based ICOM surveyed members in more than 25 countries and found that while the UK seems to be paying very little attention, advertisers in sports-mad Australia are expected to plough 70% of marketing efforts towards the Olympic Games, which are due to be held in Greece this August.
Hot countries, which are much more sports and outdoor activities driven, seem to be taking Olympics related advertising much more seriously than those in colder climates, said managing director, Anthony Smee of Smee’s Advertising – ICOM’s UK network member.
However, not all of Europe’s advertisers seem to be as uninterested in the games as the UK. Overall, Italy ranked in second place with 60% of its marketing activity estimated to be Olympic-connected, while Holland came in at the number six spot with 30%.
| Country |
Percentage Of Olympic Related Marketing Activity |
| Australia |
70% |
| Italy |
60% |
| Guatemala |
50% |
| Argentina |
40-50% |
| Brazil |
33% |
| Holland |
30% |
| Indonesia |
30% |
| Mexico |
25-30% |
| Dominican Republic |
10-20% |
| Belgium |
15% |
| Israel |
10-15% |
| Philippines |
10-15% |
| Pakistan |
10-12% |
| Malaysia |
10% |
| New Zealand |
<10% |
| Colombia |
8-10% |
| Germany |
5-10% |
| Venezuela |
<5% |
| Spain |
3-4% |
| UK |
3% |
| Turkey |
negligible |
| Switzerland |
0% |
Speaking of the UK’s public interest in the games, Smee added: “There’s not much happening at the moment, I think everyone’s sported out because of Euro 2004 etc. The bad press has done no good in the build up, it’s about advertisers finding the right momentum.”
Members of ICOM were also asked to rank the importance they place on the pending Olympic Games with respect to advertising and promotion. As expected, Australia, Italy and Brazil placed the greatest importance. However, Korea and Switzerland faired this fairly unimportant, while the UK’s enthusiasm was just slightly ahead of this.
The US seemed to have a very mixed bag of views but overall national interest is relatively high. Hawaii ranked the games as very important but Atlanta was at the opposite end of the scale with its opinion. This may cause some concern to sponsors since 7 of the 11 international advertisers, who paid tens of millions of dollars are US based and as a result the NBC network is carrying more than 1,200 hours of coverage.
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