The reported $100 million Visa spent being a “Worldwide Olympic Partner” appears to be paying off already: the credit card company has achieved the biggest leap in consumer perception since the event began.
Visa’s multi-platform sponsorship has ranged from a “social media Olympics” on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, to Olympics achievement TV spots narrated by actor Morgan Freeman with the theme “The Difference.”
The beleaguered oil company BP, on a long comeback trail since its Gulf area disaster in 2010, made the second largest jump – and a substantial one -- in consumer perception. As the title sponsor of BP Team USA, a group of nine U.S. Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, the company may have benefited from team member Rebecca Soni winning a gold swimming medal and NBC-TV’s laser-like focus on American athletes.
Computer manufacturer Acer, stepping in when Lenovo ended its partnership in Beijing four years ago, has seen the third largest increase in consumer perception since the games began.
Coca-Cola, Samsung, McDonald’s, Heineken, Panasonic, Adidas, and British Airways all experienced perception gains as well, although they were somewhat more modest.
Brands whose perception swung discreetly into a more negative direction include GE, Holiday Inn and BMW.
U.S.-facing London 2012 Olympics sponsors were measured with YouGov BrandIndex’s Buzz score, which asks “If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?” All respondents are U.S. adults age 18+.
Olympic Sponsors: Buzz Scores
