UNFORTUNATELY THE biggest Olympic stories of the last few weeks have been negative ones surrounding infrastructure, communications (the O2 mobile network failure), G4S and something about the M4 (what’s new?).
The G4S ‘debacle’ highlights a few interesting points…
- The importance of sponsor service provision/value in kind to LOCOG – how heavily reliant LOCOG are on sponsors to deliver critical services. The pressure G4S were put under goes to show that it’s not just about the cheque, LOCOG will want product, lots of it,and they’ll keep asking for more and more.
- The ‘great British press’ are consistently desperate for negative news stories – ‘build it up and knock it down’
- The need for effective crisis communications. As far as I could tell, G4S fell on its sword.
- The power of a sponsorship/major event story. How sponsorship can be a double edged sword – it can make reputations and damage them in equal measure.
Sponsorship – the ultimate, engaging service case study:
G4S’s service provision could have been their perfect case study. Showcasing their services as the ‘world's leading international security solutions group’ they ‘help to create safer and better environments in which people live and work’.
Sponsorship delivers tangible commercial benefits to companies. In order to highlight this, let’s look at the G4S story in reverse…
As Official Security Services Provider and a tier three sponsor of London 2012 it was a contract to supply the biggest and most complex sporting event the UK has ever seen, and most importantly the ability to showcase this to new and current customers, bagging a £284m contract along the way.
The partnership gives compelling sales material: ‘would you like to hear how we secured the Olympic Games?’
Marketing: increased awareness and prestige, money can buy hospitality finished off with a ‘if we can do this with the Olympics just imagine what we can do for your business, or car park’.
Internal engagement: increased employee motivation and education, recruitment and talent, new processes and innovations developed and learnt.
Direct commercial return: ‘plus don’t forget we made a tidy profit’. A perfect sponsorship case study waiting to happen unfortunately blighted by its high-profile failure.
It’s easy to criticise
G4S stepped up to ‘an Olympic challenge’ and fell short, maybe through no fault of their own and for every G4S there are thousands of sponsorship success stories.
The G4S success story could have easily happened, but for their ‘client’ coming back and putting huge additional demands on them that they couldn’t meet.
By Rupert Pratt – MD of Generate Sponsorship
Follow Rupert on Twitter: @RupertPratt