Our top 5 sponsorship gripes: 3. Lack of activation – casualties of the Olympic cauldron

DESPITE BEING a Frontiers bugbear, there can often be unavoidable reasons for sponsors to keep a lid on their involvement. Sponsorships, especially those sold for a major games, are put in place months or even years ahead of time. In the intervening period lots can change. Those who signed the deal may have moved on (sometimes, dare we say, having reaped the personal dividend that doing the deal promised) taking their strategy with them; new technologies can render a category or sponsorship meaningless; or corporate takeovers can mean a complete change of focus or direction.