International Marketing of the Winter Olympics
Properly planned and executed, hosts of the Winter Olympic Games stand to gain a great deal in terms of investments in infrastructure, the multiplier effect of travel and tourism, and the enhanced prestige on the global stage that goes hand in hand with hosting these international games. Improperly administered, though, hosts and corporate sponsors of the Winter Olympic Games are faced with some staggering economic losses, as well as the damage that failures cause to the hosts' prestige and legitimacy in the international community. Therefore, identifying opportunities for improving the marketing of the Winter Olympic Games represents a timely and valuable enterprise. To this end, this paper provides a review of the literature concerning the marketing of the Winter Olympics Games drawing on a relevant case study as well as peer reviewed and other scholarly sources. A discussion concerning the key international market entry issues in the case study and salient conclusions using the 4 Ps is followed by a summary of the research and important findings concerning the international marketing of the Winter Olympic Games in the conclusion.
Review and Analysis
Background to the Problem
Things have certainly changed since the Olympics were first staged in ancient Greece. According to Smith (1976), "The earliest Olympics were religious festivals. The athletes swore to obey the rules, the judges swore to be fair, and the priests sacrificed a pig. A winner was crowned with a wreath of wild olive from a sacred grove" (p. 112). By very sharp contrast, the Olympics Games today are a global event that draws audiences in the hundreds of millions and revenues in the billions of dollars even without a pig being sacrificed. In this...
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