.

AMBUSH MARKETING
AMBUSH MARKETING : THE CONCEPT The Oxford dictionary defines Ambush as "surprise attack by persons lying concealed."

Thus, Ambush marketing can be understood as a surprise attack on an event sponsor by its competitor.

The official definition of Ambush Marketing can be stated as follows: "Ambush marketing is the planned effort by an organization to associate themselves indirectly with an event in order to gain at least some of the recognition and benefits that are associated with being an official sponsor"

Ambush marketing takes place when a trader seeks to utilize the publicity value of an event, for instance - a major sports tournament or a concert, to gain a benefit from it despite, not having any involvement or connection with that event and more particularly, having made no financial contribution to entitle him to derive benefit from it. Ambush marketing is a radical concept which involves setting up some activity that makes use of the event and the interest in it, rather than shelling out for direct sponsorship. Example : A Pepsi hot air balloon flying above Sharjah, on the day of the Coca Cola Cup Final.

5. 2 AMBUSH

MARKETING: THE TYPES

Ambush marketing can manifest itself in two manners. Ambush Marketing

FORGING INTRUSION

FORGING:

Often a major event has a name, logo, or other insignia identifying it. Unauthorised persons use these insignia, or insignia, which are sufficiently similar to the authentic insignia to cause confusion. In this form of ambush marketing the ambush marketer misleads the public into thinking that he is an authorised sponsor or contributor associated with the event. Example: During the Football World Cup Collins, a beer company used the marks associated

with the World Cup and was promoting tickets. FIFA fought the case in an Irish court and won the case against Collins.

INTRUSION In this form of ambush marketing, the ambush marketer seeks not to suggest a connection with the event but rather to give his own name, trade mark, or other insignia exposure through the medium of the publicity attracted by the event; this is done without any authorisation of the event organizer. In this type of Ambush Marketing the Ambush Marketer strives to use the event and the attention gained via the event to promote his product.

AMBUSH MARKETING

Example: Pepsi during the 2002 FIFA World Cup did not claim that they were supporting the World Cup. However, it used the event to promote their product.

"They dont support football the way it should be supported, and yet they are promoting an association with it, for example, by having a very nice and clever ad with Sumo wrestlers also involving famous Football stars." - CEO of FIFA Marketing, Patrick Magyar

The Second form of Ambush Marketing (Intrusion) is more popular with marketers than the First Form (Forging) due to the legal implications of the First Form (Forging) of Ambush Marketing.

- 19 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

6. AMBUSH MARKETING: HOW TO GO ABOUT IT

Ambush Marketing does not have a set procedure. However, there is a standard set of procedures followed by companies in the past.

STEP I

Establishing Marketing Objectives

STEP II

Establishing Promotional Strategy

STEP III

Selection of an Event

STEP IV

Why that Event?

STEP V

Willingness to Spend

STEP VI

Implementing How to go about Ambush Marketing

Step 1: Establish your Marketing Objectives The first step is common to whatever Marketing or Promotional Strategy you adopt. You need to identify the Marketing Objectives of the firm which are based on your overall Corporate Objectives and on which will be based your Marketing Strategy. Such a strategy should include identifying your Target Audience, brand image and brand positioning, etc. - 20 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

Step 2: Establish your Promotional Strategy This involves formulating a strategy for Promoting your brand and achieving the objectives that were set during the previous stage. A decision needs to be made on how to promote your brand; advertising, corporate sponsorship, etc. Step 3: Selection of event After Corporate Sponsorship or using events as a medium of promotion has been identified as a promotional strategy a decision needs to be made on - which event. This stage can be broken into two steps a) Type of Event: Identifying the type of event you want to associate your brand like Sports or Cultural, etc. This is based on your brand positioning objectives. For e.g. Nike has positioned its brand as a Sports brand therefore, it has always been associated with sports event b) Specific Event: After the Event type has been identified a decision needs to be made as to, which particular event should be selected for brand promotion. for e.g. After Nike has identified Sports as the Event type it wants to target, the next step is to select a specific event, like Ice Hockey or Soccer World Cup.

Step 4: Why do you want to associate yourself with the event An obvious question that needs to be asked is - Why do you want to associate your brand with a particular event? Is it essential for your company? Will it give the company the leverage it wants? Do you think that associating your brand whether directly or by ambushing will help you position your brand better? Is it in co-operation with the image you want to create your brand? If the answers to the above questions is yes. Then, the option with you is to either to sponsor the

- 21 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

event or to use Ambush Marketing.

Step 5: How much are you willing to spend? This, alongwith other factors will determine whether Sponsoring an event or

Ambushing an event is the option to be selected. If you think sponsoring the event is worth the investment and it helps you achieve what you want to achieve from the brand then go ahead with it. However, beware of your competitors who will be trying to Ambush you. If you actually do sponsor the event then ensure there is enough protection against potential Ambushers. However, if you think the investment required in sponsoring the event is not worth it and will not help you achieve what you wanted to, from the event. Then Ambush marketing might be the best bet available to you. Step 6: Implementing The last and final step in Ambush Marketing is Implementing your strategies. Ambush marketing needs to be creative and the ramifications of your strategy needs to be assessed. Ambush Marketing does not have a set procedure so, your creativity matters the most. Ambush Marketing implementation has to have a few essentials.

- 22 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

7. THE ESSENTIALS OF AMBUSH MARKETING

Though Ambush Marketing does not have a set procedure, there are a few essential things that form part of a successful Ambush Marketing Campaign. Catch your competitor unawares: Timing of your attack or Ambush needs to be precise. Don't give your competitor (Event sponsor) the time to react to your ambush, nor should he be given the time to lobby with the Event organizer to keep a few safeguards in the Event. Creativity: Creativity stands for 'Find out new ways of doing the same thing'. Constantly be on the

look out for new ideas. Your competitor has the advantage of being officially associated with the event thus, Creativity is the only thing that could give you an edge over your competitor. Rope in the Players: If you can't associate your brand with an Event then, the best thing is to associate your brand with the players playing in that Sports Event. Pepsi, during the FIFA WORLD

CUP 2002 used the likes of Beckham and Roberto Carlos along with other big names in Football to associate itself with the World Cup. They did it successfully to Ambush the official sponsor Coca Cola. Capture media time: Most successful Ambush Marketing attempts were successful because they captured the media time during, before and after the Event. The likes of Pepsi have been successful

- 23 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

because they captured the media time during, before and after the event. Dont play against the law. Play with it: This is the most essential part of a successful Ambush Marketing. Do not use the logo or symbols or insignia associated with the event to promote your brand. This may lead to legal hassles due to Intellectual Property Rights infringement. Intrusion is the best form of Ambush marketing that needs to be adopted.

- 24 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

THE MASTERS OF AMBUSH MARKETING

{ A SPECIAL STUDY OF NIKE, PEPSI & VODAFONE ON THEIR AMBUSH MARKETING TACTICS}

- 25 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

8. PEPSI, VODAFONE & NIKE: THEY JUST DO IT

8.1 PEPSI: YEH DIL MAANGE MORE, AHA!!!

There is 'NOTHING OFFICIAL ABOUT when it comes to Pepsi and its IT' Marketing strategies. Pepsi has been a major contributor of finance to sporting facilities. Pepsi has over the years used Sporting events to promote and enhance its brand image, be it Officially(Official sponsor) or unofficially(Ambush Marketing).

The two major events where Pepsi has successfully resorted to AMBUSH MAR KETING have been the ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP in 2007 and the FIFA FOOTB ALL WORLD CUP in 2002. PEPSI AT ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP 2007

Well there is Nothing Official about the fact that Pepsi was present at the ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP 2007 whether, officially or unofficially. Official Sponsor: Coca Cola was the official soft drink of the ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP. Coca Cola started promoting itself as the Official Soft drink of the ICC Cricket World Cup held in West Indies. Ambush Strategy: Pepsi responded to the Coca Cola promotion of the official Soft Drink of the Cricket World Cup, 2007 by carrying out a mega media campaign with the punch line - 26 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

NOTHING OFFICIAL ABOUT To carry out its campaign Pepsi roped in the IT. SACHIN TENDULKAR. The use of Sachin Tendulkar to promote its brand by using the attention gathered because of the event undermined the success of Coca Cola as an Official Sponsor. PEPSI AT FIFA FOOTBALL WORLD CUP, 2002

Pepsi was at its AMBUSHING BEST at the FIFA FOOTBALL WORLD CUP, 2002 held in Korea and Japan. Official Sponsor: Millions of Dollars were spent by Coca Cola to get the Official Sponsorship of the FIFA FOOTB ALL WORLD CUP, 2002. But at the end of the event Pepsi went with the honours of capturing more attention than Coca Cola got Ambushing Strategy: Pepsi once again used the star power of Major Footballers like David Becham, Roberto Carlos and other well known Footballers. It came up with an innovative idea of a match between the Football Stars and Sumo Wrestlers, the prize for the winner being PEPSI. Though the Sumo Wrestlers won the match, the real winner was Pepsi.

REASON BEHIND PEPSI's SUCCESS The main reason behind Pepsi's success at Ambush Marketing was that it did make any direct reference to the event. It merely used the event to successfully capture audience attention. What made catching attention easier was that it had innovative and creative media campaign and it used the Stars of the event to promote its brand.

- 27 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

8.2 VODAFONE: ADVANTAGE VODAFONE

Marketers always look for creative ideas to capture audience's attention. Imagine, two streakers running nude in the middle of an exciting Rugby Match. That's exactly what Vodafone did to try and attract audience's attention. Two streakers bearing the Vodafone logo on their bodies invaded the pitch during the second half of a Rugby match between New Zealand and Australia in Sydney. The streakers ran up to and around New Zealand (All Blacks) player Andrew Mehrtens as he was preparing for a crucial penalty kick.

Though Australia won the match 16-14 the real winner in terms of capturing public attention was VODAFONE. This is a case of Ambush Marketing as the official sponsor of the event was TELSTRA an Australian Telecom company, which is in direct competition with Vodafone.

- 28 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

8.3 NIKE: JUST DO IT

Nike leads the pack when it comes to Ambush Marketing. A Swoosh here and a swoosh there. Nike always manages to find a way to use a popular event like the Olympics to promote its brand without actually sponsoring the event in any capacity. NIKE AT THE BOSTON MARATHON - 2007

Boston Marathon is a 26 mile marathon race. One such race took place on April 16, 2007. Adidas was the official footwear sponsor of the event. Adidas had put up hoardings all over the race track. However, Nike came up with an innovative strategy which involved having a billboard at the subway tunnel which fell in the path of the race track. Nike had used loads of dirty socks and had painted the Nike Swoosh and the event date on it. The hit and run campaign included the use of slogan - right down to the dirty socks NIKE AT FOOTBALL WORLD CUP - 2002

Nike during the World Cup invested in some kind of five-a-side event, as well as putting electronic score displays with instant updates on the sides of buses. - 29 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

NIKE DURING SALT LAKE CITY - 2002

Nike during the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics sponsored the teams participating in the Salt Lake C ity Ice Hockey Event.

NIKE AT OLYMPICS

In past years, the Olympics have been a playground for ambush marketing techniques. For example, Nike, not an official sponsor of the 1996 Summer Olympics, constructed a building overlooking the Olympic Park to associate themselves with the festivities of the Olympic Games. Nike not only bought up all the out door poster sites in Atlanta, but set up its own Nike village just next to the official Olympic sponsors village.

- 30 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

9. COUNTERING AMBUSH MARKETING

C M

ONTROL

A EDIA

DVERTISING

The complete right of an event is with the organizers of the event. Television rights are given a Television Company (on paying a fee) by the event organizers. Therefore, the organizers should try and put a clause in the contract with the broadcasting company refraining them from airing the advertisements of competitors of official sponsors. This needs to be done because most of Ambush marketing is done through media and broadcasting companies. Therefore, if this can controlled then Ambush marketing can be kept in check.

CONTROL LOCATION

PLACEMENT

OF

HOARDINGS

AND

BOOTHS

IN

AND

AROUND

THE

VENT

Nike, during the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 erected huge wall murals near the Los Angeles Coliseum, which prominently displayed Nike track and field athletes. Another strategy used by ambushers is to use illustrations or photographs of places, buildings, etc, that are associated with an event in advertising as background to the ambusher's product. This undermines the image that the sponsor wants to enhance with respect to the event. The event organizers (especially the big ones) should control the area in and around the event to counter such strategies. At Athens, the IOC is trying to protect the rights of its world wide partners and other sponsors. An IOC sports person says: We are very stringent. From the beginning, the host country from the Olympics has a

- 31 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

contract which induces clauses about brand protection. There are strict rules that allows only sponsors to associate themselves with the games. As far as possible, the host city needs to have a clean area around it, where bill boards only carry advertising from official sponsors.

STOP

THE PLAYERS

FROM

PROMOTING

THE

MBUSHERS

BRAND

The International Cricket Council (ICC) stopped the players of participating nations from promoting the brand of competitors of the official sponsors a month before, during and a month after the event. This created a row between the organizers (ICC) and the players. The terms of contract were then settled to during the event and 17 days after the event no player was allowed to advertise for any rival company of the sponsor.

T A

AKE

CTION

Action needs to be taken, wherever possible, against the companies that use the Event logos or symbols or insignia to promote its brand or for those who violate the Intellectual Property rights. More acts should be developed to ensure the protection of sponsors. The United States of America has an act dealing with the violation of such marketing principles as conveying the false message that a company is an official sponsor or affiliate when, in fact, it is not. If the event organizer isn't intent on taking actions then, the sponsors whose rights are violated should be empowered to do so. ACTIONS AGAINST AMBUSHER S WILL ACT AS A DETERRENT FOR ANY SUCH ACTIONS IN THE FUTURE.

CREATE

AN ANTI

CMBUSH

AMPAIGN

Event organizers should create an anti Ambush campaign by making ads and PR - 32 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

strategy to renounce Ambush Marketing strategies. It should also resort to Press Conference renouncing actions of Ambush Marketers. An awareness programme should be carried out to ensure that the audience are aware of who the actual sponsors are. The campaign should focus on the negative effects such Ambush Marketing Strategy have on successful conducting of the event. This will act as a deterrent for Ambush Marketers.

NO

REPRESENTATION

OF

OMPETITORS

WHATSOEVER

There should be no representation of competitors (of sponsors)whatsoever, in the event in any form. The players or teams should be stopped from sporting logos of the competitors. Neither should the logo or any mention of the competitor be present in any part of the area where the event takes place. The International Cricket Council (ICC) during its champions trophy in Srilanka stopped the Indian Cricket team from sporting the Logo of Sahara group which was a competitor of the official Airline, South African Airline.

SPECTACULAR

TICKETING

POLICY

There should even be a spectacular ticketing policy which means that people can be prevented from bringing certain items into the viewing areas. The IOC keeps a sharp lookout for infringements, both by non sponsors and by sponsors who might bend the rules.

- 33 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

SECTION IV THE DANGEROU S GAM E

{ A SPECIAL STUDY ON PRESENCE OF AMBUSH MARKETING AT VARIOUS SPORTS EVENTS LIKE OLYMPICS, FOOTBALL, NBA, CRICKET}

- 34 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

10. AMBUSH MARKETING AT VARIOUS POPULAR SPORTS EVENTS

10.1 Ambush Marketing and the NFL, 1995 Jerry Jones' was the owner of an American Football Club, Dallas Cowboys. His National Football League marketing philosophy - making ambush marketing sponsorship pacts with NFL non-sponsors Nike and Coca- Cola Co. The National Football League slapped a $300 million lawsuit on Mr. Jones for his alleged role in Ambush Marketing. The actions taken by the NFL prompted American Express Co. to reconsider its multi year deal worth $15-20 millions with Mr. Jones to become a sponsor of Texas Stadium.

During the weeks that followed, NFL Properties, sponsors, and media partners created a television program with Visa USA-Fox teaming up to air it. The program "Call for Quarterbacks" was aired during Fox's prime-time programming. Celebrity quarterbacks were the guest star in the Fox program. A promotional contest preceded the program with Visa running a spot each night.

10.2 Ambush Marketing and the NBA, 1995 During the 1995 season of NBA marketers from PepsiCo to Burger King Corp. launched high profile sports campaigns without paying the sponsorship money. Official sponsors like Coca-Cola Co. and McDonald's Corp. did nothing to defend their

- 35 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

positions with more powerful tie-ins or re-evaluation to their sponsorships altogether. Taco Bell took advantage of the National Basketball Association labor dispute to organize a pay-per-view bout between endorser Shaquille O'Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon. Taco Bell hinted at a live match up months ago starting the two NBA centers in a TV spot months ago. The two stars competed for a $1 million prize late in the year. The event also had place for secondary sponsorship positions, including

Shaq's footwear sponsor. Reebok International and Spalding Sports Worldwide, which had endorsement deals with both stars were also involved. Taco Bell also sold specially priced food packages and gave away collectors cups. Taco Bell also did the re-broadcasting of the event and also sold it on video.

10. 3 Lilehammer Winter Olympics, 1994

AMERICAN EXPRESS VS. VISA

In the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway, American Express's advertising campaign was "If you're traveling to Lilehammer, you'll need a passport, but you don't need a Visa." Visa was the official sponsor of those Olympic Games.

10. 4 SALT LAKE CITY - 2002

NIKE: IT JUST DOES IT

At Salt Lake City, 2002 (Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, USA) marketing games are played with as much vigour as real games. Despite, Nike not being an official sponsor for the games every hockey team at the Games is outfitted from head to toe, inside and out, by Nike. - 36 Nike Ambushing Adidas at Salt Lake City

AMBUSH MARKETING

With, the cost of sponsorship ranging from $5 million to $50 million (depending on the level of sponsorship and coverage). Nike did not have to pay anything for the sponsorship yet the coverage it got out of athletes sporting Nike swoosh was more than what any official sponsor would hope to get out of an event. A survey conducted by MSNBC among spectators revealed that people conceived Nike to be the sponsor of the games.

Another company that used Ambush Marketing to get leverage out of the Event was Columbia Sportswear. Columbia Sportswear chose an even cheaper option than the one chosen by Nike. NBC announcers seen broadcasting every evening - sported the logo of Columbia Sportswear on their outfits. This option was cheaper than buying into the Games in an official way and less risky than backing a team or athlete.

- 37 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

10.5 SEOUL OLYMPICS - 1988

AMERICAN EXPRESS
In 1988 Seoul Olympics, American Express promoted medallions supporting an "International Olympic Heritage Committee," something totally unconnected with the Games; then it retouched photos of Seoul's Olympic Stadium from the Asian games to make them resemble the 1988 Olympics 10.6 BARCELONA OLYMPICS - 1992

VISA V/S AMERICAN EXPRESS

In 1992, Visa paid approximately $20 million to sponsor the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain and the Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. In addition, Visa spent millions on a marketing campaign designating itself as the official credit card of the 1992 Olympics. One of Visa's television campaigns made a frontal assault on one of its competitors, American Express (AmEx), by stating " 'The Olympics don't take American Express."' [20] In response to the Visa commercial, AmEx aired an ad with winter sports athletes telling viewers that "to enjoy the 'fun and games' they 'don't need a Visa."' AmEx intended the commercial to show that many stores, restaurants and hotels in Albertville, France accepted the AmEx card. After this ad aired, Visa claimed that AmEx carried out an ambush marketing strategy. AmEx countered by saying that this charge was unfounded because Visa initiated the confrontation and it was merely setting the record straight.

- 38 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

NIKE, INC. AND REEBOK INTERNATIONAL, LTD.

Another example of ambush marketing or aggressive promotion occurred at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games between two sports apparel manufacturers, Nike, Inc. (Nike) and Reebok International, Ltd. (Reebok). At the 1992 Olympic medal ceremonies, athletes wore jackets made by Reebok, an official Olympic sponsor. Nike, however, conducted a highly visible advertising campaign without "paying a penny in Olympic sponsorship fees." Nike held press conferences for Olympic athletes under contract with Nike and additionally displayed large murals of U.S.A. basketball team members on the side of Barcelona buildings. In support of its advertising campaign, Nike Divisional Manager Mark Pilkenton stated "We feel like in any major sporting event, we have the right to come in and give our message as long as we don't interfere with the official proceedings."

10. 7 ATLANTA OLYMPICS - 1996

IBM, AT&T AND XEROX

The Summer Olympics at Atlanta in 1996 saw a clash of interest between the sponsors of the event. IBM occupied a sponsorship category - technology whereas, companies like AT&T and Xerox, were also Olympic sponsors, in the computing and communications area. BellSouth Corp. and Scientific Atlanta

The Games could not restrict ambush efforts through media as the TV rights commanded a high fee and it was not possible for a Television Network to sell media only to Olympic sponsor, opening the doors to non-sponsors with advertising inspired by Olympic imagery. Networks like NBC, which spent $450 million for the Atlanta

- 39 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

Olympics, cannot be expected to sell media slots only to Olympic sponsors, they have to make money back. The only thing the Olympic organizers could do was to carry out an aggressive public relations campaign against ambushers. They also took help of celebrity endorsers and cross-promotion among sponsors designed to reinforce their official rights holder status. Ambush Marketing is the "Rosie Ruiz" of the corporate sponsorship, in which an advertiser tries to show up at the finish line of an event without any sweat on its gym shorts. - Darby Coker, Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games.

KODAK

VS .

FUJI

Eastman Kodak of Rochester, NY spent about $40 million to be the sole imaging sponsor of the 1996 Games. But Fuji is not the official sponsor of the Olympics that title belonged to arch-rival. In New York, an elaborate display honoring 100 years of track and field was unveiled, featuring past Olympic athletes along side 1996 hopefuls. The exhibit was displayed across the U.S. landing in Atlanta in time for the Summer Olympics. The Exhibit called Images of Excellence is full of photos and cosponsored by Fuji Photo Film of Tokyo. Fuji also advertised on the radio and on newspaper, to take advantage of the country's strong interest in sports. Fuji also offered a poster series and desk calendar featuring athletes such as Dan O'BRIEN and Michael Johnson, both strong contenders for the Olympic team. According to Darby Coker, director of marketing for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games - "It erodes their ability to raise funds from paying sponsors in the future." - 40 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

1 0. 8

SYDNEY OLYMPICS - 2000

ANSETT AND QANTAS AIRLINES

In the period leading up to the Sydney Games, both Ansett and Qantas Airlines embarked on marketing campaigns that featured athletes, including Olympic athletes. Qantas television advertisements appeared in high density prior to the Games. These advertisements received considerable airtime and public recognition: At a survey done 42% of all Australian respondents indicated that they thought Qantas w as an official sponsor of the Games. Only 15% of the same respondents indicated that they thought Ansett was an official sponsor. Qantas was not an official 2000 Games sponsor. Ansett was. As the Sydney 2000 Games drew nearer Qantas stepped up its advertising campaign. Qantas sponsored both pre-Olympic meets and the Olympic selection trials for the Australian swimming team. The trials were broadcast from the Olympic swimming pool and the broadcast featured the Qantas name and logo. Qantas also sponsored the Bledisloe Cup rugby game between Australia and New Zealand which was held at Stadium Australia - the main stadium for the Olympics. A Qantas "flying kangaroo" logo formed on the arena at Stadium Australia featured prominently in Qantas's advertising. Thus, Qantas was able to establish a link between it and the Olympic Stadium and also between the Australian swimming team and Qantas. Ansett moved the court against Qantas alleging Ambush marketing. It requested an expedited hearing because of the proximity of the Olympics, which were to start on 15 - 41 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

September. Although the hearing commenced, it settled after several hearing days without a decision from the court. There seems little doubt that Qantas emerged victorious since there was no declaration of infringing conduct or any corrective advertising ordered. The Qantas advertisements did not feature the Olympic motto, the Olympic symbol, the other Olympic designs or the torch and flame. Similarly, they did not use any of the Sydney 2000 Games indicia. Arguably there may have been a breach of Section 12(1) of the Sydney 2000 Act, which prohibits the use of Sydney 2000 Games images for commercial purposes. However, it is unlikely that the courts will see this type of visual representation as a marketing tactic which, to the reasonable person in the circumstances of the presentation, suggests a connection with the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. It may, in fact, imply little more than "the encouragement of sporting excellence." The Ian T horpe incident: Nike was the official clothing supplier for the Australian Olympic team. Thorpe was sponsored by Adidas. At a medal presentation ceremony, the swimmer had his towel draped over the Nike logo on his official team tracksuit. Other incidents There were many other incidents in the Sydney Olympic Games which could amount to Ambush Marketing. Optus also resorted to Ambush Marketing at the Sydney Olympics(using Cathy Freeman in promotions prior to the beginning of the games.) undermining the importance of Telstra which was the Olympic Sponsor.

- 42 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

10. 9 FIFA WORLD CUP - United States Of America, 1994 In 1994, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York enjoined Sprint Communications (Sprint) from issuing cards bearing the World Cup mark. In March 1991, the International Soccer League (ISL) entered into an agreement with Mastercard International (Mastercard) which allowed Mastercard to be an official sponsor of the 1994 World Cup. The sponsorship agreement granted Mastercard the exclusive right to use the World Cup'94 trademarks on "All card-based payment and account access devices." Subsequently, in May 1992, Sprint entered into an agreement to become an Official Partner of the 1994 World Cup. This agreement was restrictive and expressly limited Official Partners' rights to not "infringe upon the rights of Official Sponsors." Sprint interpreted its Official Partner status to permit the issuance of 100,000 telephone cards bearing the World Cup mark. The district court addressed the issue of contract interpretation, not ambush marketing. The court held that the Sprint cards fell under the definition of card-based payment and account access devices and prohibited Sprint from using the World Cup logo. Furthermore, the court determined that "extrinsic evidence demonstrated that both Mastercard and ISL intended that Mastercard should have the exclusive right to use the World Cup marks for telephone calling cards." Time Warner Sports Merchandising, the company that licensed official products for the World Cup, took legal action against more than 105 manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers to prevent the sale of counterfeit products. Numerous stories exist detailing the problem of counterfeit goods making their way into the United States, including soccer ball decorations in a New York deli and sweatshirts in Miami. These examples are

- 43 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

legally actionable because many of the products are copies of protected trademarks.

10. 10 FIFA WORLD CUP Korea-Japan, 2002 Korea Japan, 2002 saw Coca Cola being Ambushed by its rival Pepsi. Coca Cola had attained the title of Official Soft Drink at Korea-Japan 2002. However, Pepsi during the course of the Event and prior to the event aired Advertisements featuring Top Footballing stars like David Becham, Roberto Carlos, etc. playing a match with Sumo Wrestlers for a PEPSI. The venue was showed as TOKYO, 2002.

AMBUSH MARKETING ATTEMPT AT THE 1999 CRICKET WORLD CUP IN ENGLAND WAS AVERTED WHEN PEPSI ASKED THE EVENT ORGANIZERS TO REMOVE COCA COLA LOGOS ON AUSTRALIAN PLAYERS KITS.

- 44 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

11. AMBUSH MARKETING AT ITS BEST.

Jet Airways, one of the leading Airways in India anoounced to their customers that they have changed. Kingfisher Airlines, on top of it whipped them by saying We made them change.

We may probably see the billboard wars hotting up some morethis is one prime adspace

- 45 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

- 46 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

SECTION V PROS CONS AND LEGALITIE S

- 47 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

12. THE LEGAL ASPECTS OF AMBUSH MARKETING

The difficulty with ambush marketing is that the law is on the side of the ambushers. As per the Lanham Act, Ambush Marketing does not involve counterfeiting or the illegal use of trademarks, tradenames or symbols. Companies simply develop a creative advertising campaign around the event, never use the event logo, trademark or tradename and capitalize by association with the event without paying for official sponsor status. Lawyers can devise strategies for corporate clients that stay on the legal side of the trademark rights dispute. The argument concerning Ambush Marketing practice revolves around business ethics v/s aggressive advertising. CASE STUDY: NHL vs Pepsi-Cola Canada Ltd. The only case to directly address the contours of ambush marketing is NHL v. PepsiCola Canada Ltd. This case arose out of a Pepsi advertising campaign during the Spring of 1990 called the "Diet Pepsi $4,000,000 Pro Hockey Playoff Pool." This campaign was centered around the National Hockey League (NHL) play off games and the Stanley C up, but Pepsi was neither an NHL sponsor, nor did it use any NHL official logos. National Hockey League Services (NHLS), the licensing arm of the NHL, entered into an agreement with Coca-Cola Ltd. (Coke) as an official sponsor of the NHL for - 48 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

approximately $2.6 million in the Spring of 1989. Coke obtained the rights to use NHL symbols for its promotional programs in Canada and the United States. [67] Through this agreement, however, Coke did not obtain "any right to advertise during the broadcast in Canada of any televised NHL games." The NHL, not the NHLS, controlled such television rights and it sold them to Molson Breweries of Canada Ltd. (Molson) in 1988 for a five year period. By contract with Molson, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) televises what is called Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC), which includes at least one NHL game every Saturday night during the regular season, many of the post- season playoff games and the final Stanley Cup playoff games. Molson sold Pepsi the "right to be the exclusive advertiser of soft drinks during the broadcast of all 'Hockey Night in Canada' games. In bringing its cause of action, the NHL argued that the Pepsi contest, particularly the television commercials, conveyed a false impression to the public that the NHL, in some form, approved or was associated with the contest. Because there was no breach of the agreement between the NHL and Coke, the NHL sought to establish that Pepsi had interfered with that business relationship. Conversely, Pepsi argued that the contest was "an aggressive but legitimate marketing campaign." In deciding the issue, the court first described the tort of passing-off as a misrepresentation that "one's business is that of the plaintiff, or connected with that of the plaintiff in any way likely to cause damage." The court then enumerated the elements of the tort of passing off. Applying these elements to the case, the court concluded that there is "nothing that would constitute direct interference by the defendant with the due performance of the NHLS's contractual relationship with Coke." The court continued, stating that although "the NHLS-Coke agreement obligates NHLS, so far as it is able, to protect the rights of Coke from 'ambush marketing,"' such an obligation cannot impose a duty upon a third party to refrain from advertising in a - 49 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

manner which, "although aggressive, is not, by the law of Canada, unlawful." Thus, the court found that Pepsi was not in violation of Coke's contract nor did its aggressive advertising campaign amount to the tort of passing-off under Canadian law or infringe on registered trademarks. To date, this has been the only judicial decision directly addressing the question of ambush marketing. Because this is a Canadian case, it is not at all certain that its rationale will be adopted by American courts. However, it is an understatement to say that this decision supports those seeking to ambush, because it widely opens the doors for ambushers so long as trademark and tradename infringement is not a part of the campaign. A possible method of attacking the practice of ambush marketing in the United States may be found in a false advertising claim under section 43(a) of the Lanham Act. The elements of a prima facie case for an injunction under section 43(a) are that the defendant: (1) uses a false or misleading (a) description of fact or (b) representation of fact; (2) in interstate commerce; (3) and in connection with goods or services; (4) in commercial advertising or promotion; (5) when the description or representation misrepresents the nature, qualities, or geographic origin of (a) the defendant's goods, services or commercial activities or - 50 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

(b) the goods, services or commercial activities of another person; (6) and plaintiff has been or is likely to be damaged by these acts. Thus, under this statute, all a plaintiff need prove, in addition to the above-listed elements, is likelihood of damage, because the Lanham Act was designed to protect consumers as well as businesses from the effects of false advertising. While there is no American case on point, at least one scholar argues that ambush advertising which creates a misleading impression of official sponsorship can trigger a violation of section 43(a). During the Sydney Olympics in 2000 the Sydney 2000 Act was passed to protect the sponsors.

- 51 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

13. POINTS IN FAVOUR OF AMBUSH MARKETING

Gives a Level Playing Field Ambush Marketer opens up an Avenue for Non Sponsors to promote their brand awareness and identity thus giving them a level playing field against their rivals who have attained a high platform by attaining Sponsorship right.

Competitive Marketing Ambush marketing according to some analysts is a form of competitive marketing. It keeps the sponsors on their toes and allows for the Consumer to get a complete picture.

Its my turn This is the argument put forward by Ambush Marketers which points out to the fact that every company resorts to such strategy. If I do it today someone else will do it tomorrow.

Benefits not meeting price Sponsoring an event requires millions of dollars as sponsorship fees. The benefits derived out of such sponsorships is not matched by the benefits derived which are limited in number.

- 52 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

14. POINTS AGAINST AMBUSH MARKETING

Ethical issue: The argument waged against Ambush Marketing is that it is against ethical norms to ambush someone who has paid millions of Dollars for recognition as an Olympic Sponsor. Financially Detrimental The argument raised by Event Organizers is that Ambush Marketing will make finding sponsorship difficult in the future and this will be detrimental to the holding of such event in the future. Confusion The argument here is that Ambush Marketers confuse the audience about the Sponsors of the event. Not good for Image of the firm The argument being raised is that Ambush marketing could do more worse than good to the image of the Ambush Marketer if the audience perceives it as an anti-event activity.

- 53 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

SECTION VI CASE STUDIES

Zaheer Khan of Indian team without the Sahara Logo Cricket on the Shirt.

- 54 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

15. CASE STUDIES: AMBUSH MARKETING AND RELATED ASPECTS

15.1 CASE 1

AMBUSH MARKETING VS CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP: CASE WORLD CUP 2002 It is with the help of events such as World Cup 2002 that sponsorship industry spend in the Republic of Ireland continues to grow and is expected to reach circa 60m in 2002. National and international brands have invested significantly in seeking to use this powerful platform to make deeper connections with their target consumers. From a sponsor's perspective, this year's World Cup was one of the most competitive yet, with some major battles played out between major brands in an attempt to gain as much bang for their sponsorship buck/ euro as possible in this global sport's arena. On the global stage, the most talked about category battle in terms of 'official sponsors' versus 'ambush marketing' was between sportswear giants Adidas (an official FIFA partner for a fee of minimum 15.8m) and Nike - with their highly effective above-theline activity. While the true winners can only be known by the respective brands and their own final evaluation against objectives for the campaigns, some hard facts released by Adidas regarding their return on sponsorship investment clearly illustrate a bottom - 55 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

line benefit to their sponsorship:

Adidas hopes to boost Asian sales as a percentage of the total from 15%

to 20% in the next 3 years;

Adidas sold 600,000 Japanese national soccer team jerseys, generating a

profit to the company of 24.5 million

7 million Adidas World Cup balls were soldall adding directly to the

bottom line in a financially measurable way. Other wins for Adidas included their sponsoring semi-finalists Turkey and finalists Germany, as well as the finals referee Pierluigi Collina being a participant in Adidas's world cup ad campaign - all ensuring the types of results evident from various sources of consumer research. Consumer brand association research in certain markets tends to share a common findingoverall Nike lost the war to the official sponsor who beat the American giant on awareness levels. For example, UK research by Carat found that Adidas clearly gained a victory overall and in particular with a younger 15-24 age group, by achieving 40% spontaneous awareness versus Nike 30%. Nike were found victors among the 35-44 age group with 23% awareness versus 19% for Adidas. Meanwhile in the soft drinks sector, Coca-Cola - official sponsors - have emerged from various research studies as victors over category rivals Pepsi. In the UK, Coke finished 4 times ahead of rivals Pepsi on spontaneous awareness measures. While sponsorship awareness is only step 1 in achieving sponsorship success, it is certainly a critical one to deliver desired results at a more attitudinal level. Thus, the lessons learned from this year's World Cup would on the surface suggest that - 56 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

ambush marketing is no substitute for official sponsorshipbut there can be more than one winner if clear objectives are at the centre of a brand's sponsorship strategy.

- 57 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

15.2 CASE 2
PROTECTION AGAINST AMBUSH MARKETING AT VARIOUS EVENTS

1. Efforts taken by IOC to prevent Ambush Marketing at Salt Lake City: In an effort to clear things up, the IOC is getting very strict about the size and location of all the supplier logos, even the ones on the Columbia jackets, and also keeping nonOlympic companies from using billboards to tout their wares in Salt Lake. The Olympic properties unit of the United States that controls Olympic marketing has bought up all the billboards, which were later sold only to official Olympic sponsors.

2. Protection Programme at Summer Olympics in Atlanta: At the 1996 Summer Olympics, the Atlanta Committee had established a sponsor protection program. The programme was as follows: - To present the ambusher with market research within 48 hours of the ad's first appearance, indicating that its advertising is deceiving the public. - If the ad is not immediately pulled, To call a press conference announcing the ambush incident. - Running ads in major publications condemning the ambusher for exploiting the Olympic Games without paying the sponsorship fees that are used to pay for, among other things, the training of Olympic athletes.

3. Efforts to Protect Sponsors at Sydney Olympics, 2000: During the Sydney Olympics the Sydney 2000 act was passed to protect the sponsors against Ambush Marketing. This Act gave the organizers more power to deal with Ambush Marketers. - 58 -

AMBUSH MARKETING

4. Efforts taken by FIFA at 2002 World Cup: Pepsico was ordered to immediately cease the use of an advertisement related to the FIFA World Cup by an Argentinean court on 5 June.

The court found that the prohibited advertisement would cause confusion among consumers as it suggested a "presumed sponsorship relationship" between Pepsico and the FIFA World Cup. The advertisement in question combined the use of the phrase "Tokyo 2002", famous footballers and other football imagery in association with the logo of Pepsico, and the court has ordered Pepsico not to use the ad in TV, printed media or by any other means.

In the wake of the Pepsi ad, in Ecuador, FIFA had instructed counsel to initiate legal proceedings against Pepsico as a result of similar TV commercials. In Mexico, Pepsico is in the midst of negotiations with FIFA to settle a case involving the unauthorised use of the FIFA's trademark-protected emblem of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Most recently, FIFA has identified a case in Russia which involves similar unauthorised uses of FIFA's trademarks, and FIFA is currently investigating potential actions. The legal activities against Pepsico's ambush of the event represent a small part of FIFA's worldwide rights protection program. FIFA's rights protection efforts commenced well in advance of the event, beginning with a worldwide trade mark registration programme. The official marks of the event, namely "FIFA World Cup", the Official Mascots, the Official Emblem and the FIFA World Cup Trophy, were protected thanks to worldwide trademark registration. These measures were taken to ensure that FIFA ends up in a strong position to protect its rights and the rights of the Official Partners, the Official Suppliers and Licensees.

- 59 -