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.
抛开赞助对于 TOP 公司股价的影响（见图表），很难论证奥运赞助的事例。但必须让各公司相信它们在做一笔划算的交易；否则它们就不会继续赞助，这在实际上抬高了赞助金额。在2009至2012的四年间，国际奥委会从 TOP 赞助商处获得的资金上涨了10.5%。2008年，Visa 公司在45个国家开展了奥运主题的促销活动；今年它在71个国家进行了促销。该公司还把使用奥运商标的权利转给了发行其信用卡的银行：约有950家金融机构将加入 Visa 公司的营销推广。
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 公司的首次奥运活动比较蛮横无礼。当年它取代美国运通（American Express）成了官方支付卡公司，曾在广告中自鸣得意："1988年冬奥会上，人们将向速度、耐力和技巧致敬——但不会像美国运通致敬。"Visa 公司近年来的奥运广告则较为遵守一般的好感标准。其中一条广告展现了体操运动员 Nadia Comaneci 获得满分10分的英姿。Morgan Freeman 那给人以安慰的画外音鼓励观众为这种完美欢呼。
Big boys' games
大亨的运动会
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.
由于奥运会具有确实的全球性，它为想要掌控世界的地区品牌提供了一块合适的跳板。或许三星就是最好的例子。该公司曾经只在本土韩国有较大影响⑤。1997年，它以微弱优势击败了摩托罗拉，成了全球性奥运赞助商。作为长期的二线赞助商，摩托罗拉这家美国手机生产商想要跻身一线行列，但要求获得大笔折扣。于是国际奥委会在盛怒之下转向三星，后者迅速答应支付全额赞助金。摩托罗拉的管理人员在读到报纸头条时才意识到该公司被挤出了市场。这种竞争的残酷性使得各赞助商彼此通气，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.
三星的赞助仅仅涵盖手机方面。但如果三星的品牌被奥运会擦的锃光瓦亮，该集团电视、船只和保险的销量也会有所上升。根据咨询公司 Interbrand 的资料，三星如今已成为仅次于丰田的第二高价值亚洲品牌。咨询公司 Octagon 的 Clifford Bloxham 表示："和可口可乐的品牌列在一起增加了三星的信誉。这表明三星也坐到了各公司的榜首位置。"的确，在十一家奥运一线赞助商里，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
在全球赞助商下面还有国内赞助商：约有44家公司与伦敦奥组委签署了只覆盖英国本土的交易协议，包括英国石油公司（BP）和吉百利等。伦敦奥组委不但同这些国内赞助商交易，还雇佣了承包商来帮助举办赛事。一家独立机构——奥运会筹建局（the Olympic Delivery Authority, ODA）负责建造比赛场馆。
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.
伦敦奥组委与 ODA 之间已有2000多份大小合同生效。有些公司在每届奥运会举办时都同主办方做生意：比如 Mondo，一家意大利跑道生产商，每四年来从未缺席。对于其他公司来说，可能只进行一次性交易。一家只有12名员工的英国设计公司 Touch of Ginger 将制造奥运主题的小件物品，比如能折叠成信用卡大小的不锈钢快餐叉。联合创始人 Gary Moore 悲叹最近零售销售额不佳。但整体销售额较为喜人。莱斯银行（Lloyds Bank） 等赞助商正在进行抢购以分发礼品。