The 2012 Conference of the European Association for Sport Management

Abstract

Aim of the paper Sport consumers continue to embrace new ways to interact with global sporting events, such as through social media sites and using mobile technology. Simultaneously, the Olympic media environment and resulting sponsorship opportunities are also changing rapidly. During the Beijing Olympic Games, for example, 15 percent of viewers used mobile devices to watch the Games. Just 18 months later, as mobile usage became more mainstream, that number rose to 27 percent in Vancouver (Kaplan, 2010). The Vancouver Olympics also experienced phenomenal growth with 1.2 million app users (Kaplan, 2010). This paper uses examples of marketing campaigns from the 2010 Vancouver Games and upcoming 2012 London Games to discuss the legal challenges and sponsorship opportunities resulting from increased uses of new media, specifically mobile technology. The paper also analyzes the impact of new media on the practice of ambush marketing. New media presents a "unique platform for promotion" that "offers direct access to, and interaction with, consumers" (Séguin, 2010). Through discussion of the legal and sport marketing issues, a balanced perspective informed by scholarly and industry sources will shed light on the role of new media in Olympic sponsorship protection.