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The Marketing Post

Bidding for the Olympics - The new marketing gig

Borrowed from the Washington Post for good effect

zyaada notes: The Chicago, Rio and Tokyo competition ('16 Olympics bid) is to be a secret ballot of 106 members of the IOC on October 2nd at Copenhagen 

In the wake of a bribery scandal that caused the IOC to revamp its selection process 10 years ago, IOC members are no longer allowed to visit the bidding cities. Each instead receives a dense technical report on all of the bids, which seems decidedly overshadowed by the big-picture geopolitical issues in play when the election takes place, and what occurs in hotel ballrooms and on red carpets in the days leading up to the vote.

Added Mallon: "The IOC sees itself in a more hallowed position than U.S. people do. . . . The IOC thinks heads of state should come and, if not beg, at least plead their case that their city should host the Olympic Games. If heads of state don't do that now, I think the IOC is a little bit offended.""If it's anything like U.S. Congress, they're not going to read it anyway," Olympic historian Bill Mallon said. "If that's the case, it really is very much, 'Hey, the prime minister of Japan came; obviously they really want the Games, and the U.S. sent [Obama senior adviser] Valerie Jarrett -- who the hell is that?' It matters a lot" that President Obama decided to attend.

Before the Obama announcement, Chicago had said Jarrett, first lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey would campaign in Copenhagen with other dignitaries; Rio is sending soccer legend Pele, Olympic swimmer Cesar Cielo and President Luiz In?cio Lula da Silva. Tokyo has a prince, a princess and a prime minister. Madrid will roll out King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia.

Does it really matter? London upset the heavily favored Paris for the 2012 Summer Games after then-Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife, Cherie, showed up in Singapore, chatting up IOC members for hours.

"I'm convinced London would not have won if Tony and Cherie Blair had not gone out to Singapore," Pound said.

Borrowed from the Washington Post for good effect

Filed under: Chicago Cities Copenhagen Lifestyle London Obama Olympics Retail Lifestyle Singapore Sports Sports Marketing
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