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It is hard to argue the case for Olympic sponsorship from any effect it has on the share prices of the TOPs (see chart). But the companies must believe they are getting a good deal; otherwise they wouldn't keep doing it, and indeed upping the ante. The IOC's revenue from TOP sponsors rose 10.5% in the 2009-12 quadrennium. Visa ran Olympic-themed promotions in 45 countries in 2008; this year it has 71 in its sights. It is also passing on the rights to use the Olympic brand to the banks that issue its charge cards: some 950 financial institutions will join its marketing push.
拋開贊助對于 TOP 公司股價的影響（見圖表），很難論證奧運贊助的事例。但必須讓各公司相信它們在做一筆劃算的交易；否則它們就不會繼續贊助，這在實際上抬高了贊助金額。在2009至2012的四年間，國際奧委會從 TOP 贊助商處獲得的資金上漲了10.5%。2008年，Visa 公司在45個國家開展了奧運主題的促銷活動；今年它在71個國家進行了促銷。該公司還把使用奧運商標的權利轉給了發行其信用卡的銀行：約有950家金融機構將加入 Visa 公司的營銷推廣。
Visa's first Olympic campaign was brutal. Having displaced American Express as the official payment card, its ads crowed: "At the 1988 Winter Olympics, they will honour speed, stamina and skill-but not American Express." Its recent Olympic ads conform more closely to the generic feel-good norm. One shows Nadia Comaneci, a gymnast, scoring a perfect 10. Morgan Freeman's soothing voice-over encourages viewers to cheer for perfection.
Visa 公司的首次奧運活動比較蠻橫無禮。當年它取代美國運通（American Express）成了官方支付卡公司，曾在廣告中自鳴得意："1988年冬奧會上，人們將向速度、耐力和技巧致敬——但不會像美國運通致敬。"Visa 公司近年來的奧運廣告則較為遵守一般的好感標準。其中一條廣告展現了體操運動員 Nadia Comaneci 獲得滿分10分的英姿。Morgan Freeman 那給人以安慰的畫外音鼓勵觀眾為這種完美歡呼。
Big boys' games
大亨的運動會
Because the games are truly global, they offer a plausible springboard for regional brands that want to conquer the world. Samsung is perhaps the best example. It was once a big dog only in its native South Korea. In 1997 it pipped Motorola to become a global Olympic sponsor. The American mobile-phone maker, a longtime second-tier sponsor, wanted to upgrade but demanded a big discount. The IOC was so annoyed that it turned to Samsung, which quickly agreed to pay full whack. Motorola's managers realised they had been supplanted only when they read the headlines. Such ruthlessness keeps sponsors in line.
由于奧運會具有確實的全球性，它為想要掌控世界的地區品牌提供了一塊合適的跳板。或許三星就是最好的例子。該公司曾經只在本土韓國有較大影響⑤。1997年，它以微弱優勢擊敗了摩托羅拉，成了全球性奧運贊助商。作為長期的二線贊助商，摩托羅拉這家美國手機生產商想要躋身一線行列，但要求獲得大筆折扣。于是國際奧委會在盛怒之下轉向三星，后者迅速答應支付全額贊助金。摩托羅拉的管理人員在讀到報紙頭條時才意識到該公司被擠出了市場。這種競爭的殘酷性使得各贊助商彼此通氣，共享信息。
Samsung's sponsorship covers just mobile phones. But if the Olympics burnish the Samsung brand, that should help the Samsung Group sell televisions, ships and insurance, too. It is now the second-most-valuable Asian brand (after Toyota), according to Interbrand, a consultancy. "Being seen alongside Coke gives them global credibility. It shows they are at the top table," says Clifford Bloxham of Octagon, a consultancy. Indeed, five out of the 11 top-tier Olympic sponsors are in Interbrand's global top 20.
三星的贊助僅僅涵蓋手機方面。但如果三星的品牌被奧運會擦的锃光瓦亮，該集團電視、船只和保險的銷量也會有所上升。根據咨詢公司 Interbrand 的資料，三星如今已成為僅次于豐田的第二高價值亞洲品牌。咨詢公司 Octagon 的 Clifford Bloxham 表示："和可口可樂的品牌列在一起增加了三星的信譽。這表明三星也坐到了各公司的榜首位置。"的確，在十一家奧運一線贊助商里，有五家位于 Interbrand 的全球前20名之中。
Below the global sponsors are the domestic ones: some 44 companies, from BP to Cadbury, have signed deals with LOCOG that cover only Britain. As well as dealing with these domestic sponsors, LOCOG hires contractors to help stage the games. A separate body, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), is in charge of building the venue
在全球贊助商下面還有國內贊助商：約有44家公司與倫敦奧組委簽署了只覆蓋英國本土的交易協議，包括英國石油公司（BP）和吉百利等。倫敦奧組委不但同這些國內贊助商交易，還雇傭了承包商來幫助舉辦賽事。一家獨立機構——奧運會籌建局（the Olympic Delivery Authority, ODA）負責建造比賽場館。
Between them, LOCOG and the ODA have awarded more than 2,000 contracts, big and small. Some firms follow the games wherever they are staged: Mondo, an Italian maker of running tracks, is there every four years. For others, it may be a one-off. Touch of Ginger, a British design firm with 12 staff, is making Olympic-themed trinkets such as stainless-steel fish-and-chip forks that pop out of a credit-card-sized piece of steel. Gary Moore, the co-founder, laments that retail sales have been slow. But corporate sales have been brisk. Sponsors such as Lloyds Bank are snapping them up to hand out as gifts.
倫敦奧組委與 ODA 之間已有2000多份大小合同生效。有些公司在每屆奧運會舉辦時都同主辦方做生意：比如 Mondo，一家意大利跑道生產商，每四年來從未缺席。對于其他公司來說，可能只進行一次性交易。一家只有12名員工的英國設計公司 Touch of Ginger 將制造奧運主題的小件物品，比如能折疊成信用卡大小的不銹鋼快餐叉。聯合創始人 Gary Moore 悲嘆最近零售銷售額不佳。但整體銷售額較為喜人。萊斯銀行（Lloyds Bank） 等贊助商正在進行搶購以分發禮品。
