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Ambush marketing: The undeserved advantage
Author(s) -
Payne Michael
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
psychology and marketing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.035
H-Index - 116
eISSN - 1520-6793
pISSN - 0742-6046
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1520-6793(199807)15:4<323::aid-mar3>3.0.co;2-a
Subject(s) - ambush marketing , advertising , business , marketing , event (particle physics) , position (finance) , public relations , political science , finance , physics , quantum mechanics
The Olympic Games, as the world's largest and most prestigious sports event, has been a major target for ambush marketing activity. The position of the International Olympic Committee is that the practice of ambush marketing represents a deliberate attempt to mislead consumers into believing that the companies involved are supporters of the Olympic Games. The opposite is in fact the case. The activities of ambushers erode the integrity of major events and may potentially lessen the benefits to official sponsors, who are the real supporters of such events. Ambush marketing breaches one of the fundamental tenets of business activity, namely, truth in advertising and business communications. The IOC, as custodian of the Olympic Games, successfully adopts a twofold strategy of protection and prevention to counter the threat of ambush marketing. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.