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Case summary
General Electric (GE) is a diversified US-based global infrastructure, energy, transportation, finance, and media company, the parent of NBC Universal/NBC Sports and a member of The Olympic Partner (TOP) program. In 2003, NBC Universal/NBC Sports paid a 33 percent premium (over what it paid for the broadcast rights for the 2006 and 2008 Games) for the broadcast rights for the 2010 and 2012 Olympic Games. In addition, GE paid approximately US$180 million to join TOP program beginning with the 2006 Torino Winter Games and ending with the 2012 London Summer Games. The cost of the combined broadcast rights/sponsorship agreement was estimated to be an unparalleled US$2.2 billion ([18] Mickle, 2008).
Developed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1985, TOP program provides sponsors with exclusive global marketing rights to the Winter and Summer Olympic Games within a designated product or service category. GE's TOP sponsorship initiative focuses primarily on branding the company worldwide, and marketing equipment and services from its infrastructure, energy, transportation, and medical equipment units. In order to maximize the potential of GE to develop and implement its sponsorship effectively and to reach its goal of branding GE in Asia, Peter Foss was named President of GE Olympic Sponsorship. Selected personally by CEO Jeffery Immelt, Foss, a transformational leader, immediately organized a GE WorkOut(TM) ([30] Tichy and Sherman, 1993), with the intent of developing the appropriate organizational structure and internal mechanisms to most effectively facilitate the development and implementation of the sponsorship. As a result of the WorkOut(TM), a new integrated organizational structure was developed that enabled GE to market and sell across multiple business units and to generate significant "pull-through" revenue. The success of GE's TOP sponsorship resulted from several factors, including:
(1)] the close relationship between NBC Universal/NBC Sports and the IOC; the transformational leadership and due diligence of key GE executives in preparing the organization for the implementation of the sponsorship;
(2)] the development of highly effective marketing and promotional initiatives across multiple business units; and
(3)] the success of its sponsorship activation strategy, especially with respect to integrated marketing communications throughout Asia, North America, and Europe.
Case elements
The global sport sponsorship market
According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers' Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2005-2009 , growth in...