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Can't really find a historical list of top sponsors anywhere so I thought I'd try to make a list and would be grateful if others can fill in in the gaps and go back further for the games I'm not so familiar with!

I believe that top sponsorship came in in 1988 so I'm not going further back than that. I know LA84 had a whole different sponsor setup! I know coca cola have been sponsoring since the 1920s but we are starting in 1988 here with the top sponsorship programme.

Sometimes it's the same company with a different name so I've used a / to indicate that it's not a true new contract just a name change.

Photographic and imaging

Kodak 1988 - 2008

Soft drinks

Coca-cola 1988 - present

Computer

Acer 2009 - 2012

Lenovo 2005 - 2008

IT

Atos / Atos Origin / Schlumberger 2001 - present

IBM 1988 - 2000

Reprographics

Xerox ? - 2000?

Chemistry

Dow chemical 2010 - present

Beauty?

Johnson and Johnson 2007 - 2008 (shortest ever sponsorship?!)

P&G 2011 - present

Wireless communications

Samsung 1998? - present

Audio - visual

Panasonic 1988? - present

Payment systems

Visa 1988? - present

Category ?

Philips? 1988 - ?

General Electric 2007? - present

Restaurants

McDonald's 1988? - present

Timing

Swatch / Omega 2002? - present

Insurance

John Hancock / Manulife ? - 2008

Logistics

FedEx 1988 - ?

UPS ? - 2004

Magazine

Time / sports illustrated ? - 2004

Category ?

Brother industries 1988 - ?

Category ?

Matsushita 1988 - ?

Category?

3M 1988 - ?

Edited by 4gamesandcounting
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Good attempt, 4Games. I think where you get tripped is that...as of the present, being a TOP Sponsor, they don't slot you into a category anymore. But if you are just 'buying a sponsorship into ONE Games,' then you can earn the Official ______ and/or Supplier' title. That way they can double up sponsorship even of rival products in the same line.

* Like I believe "Brother Industries" was Official Office Products (Supplier) for 1988.

*Samsung is Official Wireless Communications'? I thought they were "Official Electronics Products."

*John Hancock dropped out after 1996; then returned to the fold in 2000 - 2004. ManuLife bought in for 2006-08 only.

Omega is the 2nd oldest sponsor after Coke; but intermittent (i.e., they've skipped some Games).

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Thanks baron

Actually the TOP sponsors still have a category - although I do have some of the labels wrong at the moment. See the IOC website for the current category titles: http://www.olympic.org/sponsors/coca-cola.

Samsung are definitely wireless communications only because Panasonic have audio visual. One of them couldn't be electronic as it is too generic. These electronics categories becoming increasingly hard to police. Tablet pcs for instance - is that Samsung or acer?!

I guess what I'm trying to do here is to get a definite list of the TOP sponsors only. In other words the companies that pay the IOC the rights for the rings, rather than pay the OCOG the rights for the games logo.

You are right that omega are second longest - but for a long time they were a games only partner - re signing for each games. Hence their TOP sponsorship only being listed as starting in 2002 I think.

Manulife bought out John Hancock which is why they inherited the end of their contract - they didn't sign a new one I don't think just didn't renew once the John Hancock one ran out in 2008. Thanks for the tip off on start date though.

Of course these categories are always changing depending on who wants to be a sponsor! But I know that the IOC keep some categories non-TOP as they are a good way for the OCOG to raise money and there are certain logistical benefits to having a national sponsor for each games. Oil and cars are always national sponsors and raise good money, banking and telecoms makes sense to be national from a logistical point of view. Not much point of china mobile being a sponsor of london 2012 for instance!

Oh and I found a list of the original 9 in Seoul and brother were one of these - thanks for telling me what they do though!

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Updated list:

Photographic and imaging

Kodak 1988 - 2008

Non alcoholic beverages

Coca-cola 1988 - present

Computer

Acer 2009 - 2012

Lenovo 2005 - 2008

IT

Atos / Atos Origin / Schlumberger 2001 - present

IBM 1988 - 2000

Reprographics

Xerox ? - 2000?

Chemistry

Dow chemical 2010 - present

Personal care and household products

Johnson and Johnson 2007 - 2008 (shortest ever sponsorship?!)

P&G 2011 - present

Wireless communications

Samsung 1998 - present

Audio - visual

Panasonic 1988 - present

Consumer Payment systems

Visa 1988 - present

Electronics?

Philips? 1988 - 1992?

Category?

General Electric 2007? - present

Retail food services

McDonald's 1988? - present

Timing

Swatch / Omega 2002 - present

Insurance

John Hancock / Manulife 2000 - 2008

Logistics

FedEx 1988 - ?

UPS ? - 2004

Magazine

Time / sports illustrated 1992 - 2004

Office supplies?

Brother industries 1988 - ?

Category ?

Matsushita 1988 - ?

Category?

3M 1988 - ?

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  • 7 months later...

(Reuters) - Atos (ATOS.PA) has signed up as IT services partner for the Olympics until 2024, extending a relationship that began

in 1989, the French company said on Monday.

Atos said it was awarded the contract by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after what it called a competitive bidding process.

"The IOC wanted a company that can best serve the ideals and interests of the Olympic Movement, both from an economic standpoint and by embracing new technologies to ensure the smooth and efficientlb_icon1.png organisation of the Olympic Games," Atos said in a statement.

Atos is also one of 10 international companies that pay a total of around $1 billion for Olympic marketing rights over a four-year cycle covering winter and summer Games. That separate agreement runs until the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Other major global sponsors including Coca-Cola and McDonalds have signed up until 2020. The IOC has said it plans to review the marketing programme before it does any deals going beyond 2020 when Tokyo hosts the Olympics.

Reuters

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I notice there has been no replacement for acer. Both Lenovo and acer signed up for very short periods. This is becoming a problem category to fill. Maybe because of worry about completion from Samsung? Samsung have the mobile contract and as the boundaries between mobile and computer are be becoming increasingly blurred are the IOC just dropping this category?

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I notice there has been no replacement for acer. Both Lenovo and acer signed up for very short periods. This is becoming a problem category to fill. Maybe because of worry about completion from Samsung? Samsung have the mobile contract and as the boundaries between mobile and computer are be becoming increasingly blurred are the IOC just dropping this category?

I think the investment the IOC is asking is probably more than what Acer and Lenovo can shoulder. And just creating the programs for an Olympics probably isn't worthwhile for them. After all, what is there that is the SCOPE and breadth of an Olympic Games? NOTHING. So other then bragging rights, where else can an Olympic app be used?? But it sure affects Acer or Lenovo's bottom line.

And that is why even IBM probably doesn't want to go back in. The IOC should just HIRE a computer company to take care of all their computer needs, pay fair market value... and NOT squeeze it out of a sponsor. Zeus knows they can afford to pay!

Edited by baron-pierreIV
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I know what you mean baron, but actually the distinction is important, given that Atos have just signed up until 2024 it seems like big companies still see the value of the programming category.

It's in this category that you can show off your technical superiority.

With hardware increasingly becoming phone and tablet based these days of hardware computer companies having money to burn on big sponsorship doesn't seem to be there. I can't see this global category being filled anytime soon - it was empty for salt lake and athens (salt lake signed up gateway as a domestic partner).

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  • 4 weeks later...

I know what you mean baron, but actually the distinction is important, given that Atos have just signed up until 2024 it seems like big companies still see the value of the programming category.

It's in this category that you can show off your technical superiority.

With hardware increasingly becoming phone and tablet based these days of hardware computer companies having money to burn on big sponsorship doesn't seem to be there. I can't see this global category being filled anytime soon - it was empty for salt lake and athens (salt lake signed up gateway as a domestic partner).

The issue with the computer category is that the needs of the Games has been changing too quickly for a lot of previous sponsors to really be able to catch up. Lenovo has a lot of problems delivering their end of the agreement during their time on TOP, and, based on what I've heard about Acer, they have had trouble keeping up with the exponentially fast growing pace that the OCOG needs technology.

Samsung is a small problem in that they have the "portable communications" contract, and a lot of companies (esp. Apple) isn't interested in a sponsorship that doesn't include mobile and fixed internet communication devices. I expect that this category is ultimately dropped from TOP in order to leave in open to the OCOGs in hopes that they can get more money than the IOC can for it.

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  • 4 weeks later...

IOC extends TOP partnership with Panasonic to 2024

06/02/2014

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced that it has reached an agreement with Panasonic to extend its Worldwide TOP Partnership through to 2024.

Panasonic will continue as the Worldwide Olympic Partner within the exclusive audiovisual product category which includes: home entertainment equipment, including televisions; cameras; professional video equipment; professional displays, including large in-venue screens; professional audio equipment and video surveillance equipment.

Panasonic has been a Worldwide Olympic Partner since the IOC’s global sponsorship programme began in 1985, and is the first Partner to sign to 2024. Panasonic first began its involvement with the Olympic Movement at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games as the supplier of the professional sound system and large video display for the main stadium.

Panasonic is already supporting the Organising Committee for the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and the Organising Committee for the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016. The company’s support will now also benefit the Organising Committees of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (2018) in PyeongChang and the Games of the XXXII Olympiad (2020) in Tokyo, as well as the Olympic Games in 2022 and 2024, the host cities of which have yet to be decided. As part of the agreement Panasonic will also continue to support the IOC, the Youth Olympic Games Organising Committees and every National Olympic Committee and their team.

IOC President Thomas Bach said: “We are thrilled to be able to announce that we will continue to work with our long-term Partner Panasonic. Panasonic was one of the founding members of our global sponsorship programme, and is the first Partner to commit to continue its global sponsorship through 2024. This is a clear demonstration of Panasonic’s continuing belief in the Olympic values and the company’s global commitment to the Olympic Movement.”

“Panasonic has contributed to the Olympic Movement for over 25 years. Today, we are proud to announce our commitment to support the Olympic Movement for further eight years through to 2024,” said Kazuhiro Tsuga, at the signing ceremony. “Through our cutting-edge technologies and products, our staff and operations services, we will continue to support the Olympic Games, the greatest sporting event in the world.”

Gerhard Heiberg, Chairman of the Marketing Commission, said: “I am proud that we are continuing our partnership with Panasonic. This is a clear sign of the strength of the Olympic brand and its appeal to the business community – from whom we receive not only critical funding, but also support in terms of products and technological expertise that support the staging the Olympic Games. By reaching long-term agreements, we are able to better support all the constituents of the Olympic Movement including the National Olympic Committees, and ultimately the athletes themselves. As a Japanese company with a long, global Olympic experience I’m sure it will be of great assistance, in particular for the organisation of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.”

IOC

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Yep they've been the timing partner at numerous games (at Atlanta, sydney etc) but only a top partner since 2002.

When they sponsored atlanta and sydney the deal was with the local OCOG which gave them domestic rights and use of the games logo but not the rings in worldwide territories - not TOP.

http://www.olympic.org/Documents/IOC_Marketing/OLYMPIC-MARKETING-FACT-FILE-2012.pdf

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The marriage of the games and capitalism is troublesome to me. There is certainly a need and place for private sponsorship to help fund the games and their presentation to the global masses, however I fear 'selling out' the games with too much overreliance on private sponsors and the host state. The Olympics have a lofty mission and are, themselves, a 'trusted brand' globally but we risk turning them into nothing more than a major commercial venture with the level of advertising that has come to affiliate with them.

I'd like to see a reduction in the amount of private-sector, corporate sponsorship for the games and for individual teams. It really doesn't even fit with the principles behind the games; it's getting to a point where the amount of money a particular team is able to attract from private sector actors is a major means of ensuring a larger number of representatives for your country and better funds to prepare individual members to compete; over time I'd think this creates a viscious cycle in which wealthier states that are able to attract major sponsors receive more funding allowing them to invest more in each individual, expand their team and be competitive in more events while those who do poorly are less likely to attract future sponsors which undermines their ability to invest adequate amounts of funds into individuals, team expansion, improvement of training, etc. Commercialism helps reinforce the inequality resulting from different national contexts, disproportionately helping those who need the least help.

I'd honestly like to see the Olympics involve some multilateral funding. This would also help expand the number of viable candidate cities as countries that have political stability, decent rule-of-law, low levels of corruption and viable host cities but which may be at a level of development where hosting the games could prove overly taxing or problematic in the short term. It would make the Games more inclusive in terms of hosts, it would help make bids seems less risky overall and provide additional incentives. Additionally, it would serve as an interesting, if discrete, means of foreign aid as it could help to build up major cities that are close to capable of hosting but which may need some initial financial assistance to overcome some obstacles. There are many who want to see only wealthy, fully developed cities host. At one point that made since; but today there are almost 200 countries and the vast majority of the world's population lives in the 120+ developing countries, not the rich ones. If all countries donated a tiny percentage of their budget, it could help to fund future games without paying for them in full and without removing ultimate responsibility from the host city and country - it would also reduce the influence of sponsors.

There are cities I'd very much like to see as real contenders for upcoming games but are unlikely to guarantee a great show in their current context - we're facing this with the games coming in Brazil which, as a country, has the money and general capacity to host and has chosen one of the world's most beautiful cities - one that just looks perfect for the games, but which is facing a multitude of problems that could benefit substantially from a small amount of multilateral aid (and the accompanying regulations for its use) in the form of both finances and technical support.

There is a lot of talk about South Africa hosting a summer games in 2024 or 2028 - I like the idea and agree that Africa should host the games as soon as it has a truly viable city. However, South Africa - even as the most advanced African state - simply remains unprepared to host the games without assistance. Some international funding by the IOC, along with a better developed technical assistance and oversight team, could be the difference between South Africa being able to win a bid in 2028 and 2036. It certainly would have been nice in 2004 to help Athens out which clearly had a special right to request and receive the games but also clearly had troubles doing so.

Many might take issue with the notion of some international funding from IOC member states, but I see such support as no different than aid money provided to organizations like the World Bank, IMF or UNDP. If corporate sponsors are creating and reinforcing imbalances between countries that win medals and those that don't, between those that can host the games and those that cannot then diluting the influence of private sponsors (not eliminate them) through some multilateral aid.

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IOC extends TOP Partnership with Atos

08/02/2014

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced that it has reached an agreement with Atos to extend its Worldwide TOP Partnership through to 2020.

Atos will provide Integration Services and Systems Management Services, Core Hosting Services and key Games-related applications and associated services for the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (2018) in PyeongChang and the Games of the XXXII Olympiad (2020) in Tokyo.

Atos has been a key technology provider for the Olympic Movement since 1989, when the company provided services to the Barcelona 1992 Organising Committee. Atos became the Olympic Movement’s Worldwide Information Technology Partner in 2001, and it is currently supporting the Organising Committee for the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, in 2014, and already working with the Organising Committee for the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016.

IOC President Thomas Bach said: “Technology is critical to the success of each edition of the Olympic Games. We are delighted that we will be able to continue relying on Atos and its vast experience to deliver flawless, innovative IT services.”

Gerhard Heiberg, Chairman of the Marketing Commission, said: “Atos provides the Olympic Movement with confidence and security by supplying dependable IT systems. After many years of working with Atos, who have consistently delivered on one of the biggest global stages, we are delighted that we will continue to partner with them long into the future.”

Thierry Breton, Chairman and CEO of Atos, said: “We are particularly proud of our long-term partnership with the International Olympic Committee - a relationship based on enduring trust. We will continue to surpass ourselves from one Olympiad to the next, powering progress for the Olympic Movement. Atos leads in applying innovative yet proven business technology, such as secure cloud services, in highly complex projects, bringing together processes, technologies and people.

Patrick Adiba, Group Executive Vice President Human Resources - Olympics & Major Events, commented: “The Games cannot happen today without intensive use of complex information technology. I am delighted we will continue our partnership long into the future, giving us the opportunity for us to share our ambition for making IT at the Games even better thanks to our approach to innovation combined with the highest quality standards in delivery and operations. We will deliver the services over the cloud, providing more efficiency, agility and productivity.”

###

The IOC currently has 10 Worldwide TOP Partners for the 2014-2016 period (TOP VIII): Coca-Cola, Atos, Dow, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, P&G, Samsung and Visa.

The IOC currently has 9 Worldwide TOP Partners for the 2018-2020 period (TOP IX): Coca-Cola, Atos, Dow, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, P&G and Visa.

The IOC currently has 1 Worldwide TOP Partner for the 2022-2024 period (TOP X): Panasonic.

IOC

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  • 3 months later...
Bridgestone to become top-ranked Olympic sponsor

May 24, 2014

Tire giant Bridgestone Corp. will pay about 35 billion yen ($344 million) to become a major sponsor of the International Olympic Committee in a deal that will cover the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, sources said.

The 10-year deal will recognize Bridgestone as one of the 11 top-ranked worldwide sponsors under the TOP (The Olympic Partner) program.

The agreement will allow Bridgestone to use the Olympic logo globally for advertising and other publicity purposes. Under the TOP program, only one company is selected from a specific industrial sector.

Bridgestone will also likely be given preference in supplying tires for vehicles used to transport athletes and supplies during the Olympic Games and preparation stages.

The deal will run from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and cover the 2020 Summer Games, the sources said.

Bridgestone will likely sign the formal contract in June, when IOC President Thomas Bach is expected to visit Japan, the sources said.

In the 1980s, three Japanese companies, Panasonic Corp., Brother Industries Ltd. and Ricoh Co., were TOP sponsors.

Currently, Panasonic is the only Japanese company with the honor. The electronics company signed a contract in February that extends its sponsorship agreement with the IOC until 2024.

Commercialization of the Olympics began in 1984, when the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee signed exclusive sponsorship contracts with one company in each industrial sector.

The following year, the IOC incorporated the program under its own auspices and signed contracts with such global companies as the Coca-Cola Co. and McDonald’s Corp.

There are other layers of sponsors that sign contracts with individual national Olympic committees, as well as with the organizing committees of specific Olympic Games. Such sponsors are given a more limited ability to use the Olympic logo domestically or during those specific Games.

In April, the IOC also named Tsunekazu Takeda, the head of the Japanese Olympic Committee, to chair its marketing commission.

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Interesting that there is no major global "Air Carrier"...yet?

We are starting to see the likes of Emirates swallowing up major sports events as "Offical Airline" of FIFA WC and IRB RWC.

I suppose national pride takes over and everyone wants their own flag carrier to have the Olympic rings painted on the sides of their aircraft.

But what about those large alliances such as One World, Star Alliance and Sky Team etc?

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Since IOC is based in Lausanne ideally, Star Alliance is best suited for them.The former Swissair was the IOC's official air carrier but not part of the TOP Sponsor. I'd rather leave the official airline to the host cities. I know Alitalia I think dropped out in 2006. Below are the list of official carriers dating 1984:

Sarajevo - JAT

LA - United

Calgary - not sure if it was Air Canada or Canadian Airlines

Seoul - Korean

Albertville - Air France (?)

Barcelona - Iberia

Lillehammer - SAS

Atlanta - Delta

Nagano - Japan Airlines

Sydney - Ansett

Salt Lake - Delta

Athens - Olympic Airlines

Torino - n/a

Beijing - Air China

Vancouver - Air Canada

London - British Airways

Sochi - Aeroflot

Most likely TAM will be the one for Rio (as if there's an alternative), Korean Air for PC. As for Tokyo that I'm not sure but it might go to All Nippon Airways this time since they are now Japan's biggest airline. Had Chicago gotten 2016 it certain it will go United. Wonder which airline New York would've gone had they won 2012? Delta and American has presence at JFK while Continental (United by by 2012) has a fortress at Newark.

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I think others are right though. Airlines make for perfect domestic sponsors and having an official airline TOP sponsor may reduce the scope for organising committees to raise their own funds. Certainly in the case of London, BA was a sponsor of the bid in its early stages and that translated straight into becoming a sponsor of the Games. And anyway, unlike companies like ATOS, McDonalds and Omega whose operations follow Games around and help make them tick, an airline TOP sponsor could be landed with a host city from which they don't operate. I think overall, it makes sense for the flag carrier of the host nation to be a large domestic sponsor. It's a perfect fit really.


This was a great little gimmick from BA in 2012 using Google streetview, for example...

http://taxi.ba.com/

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