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UPS to Rejoin Roster of Olympics Sponsors for 2008 Games in Beijing

Posted on: Thursday, 28 July 2005, 09:00 CDT

Jul. 28--UPS is getting back in the Olympics sponsorship game.

The package delivery giant, which has put a heavy focus on building its business in China, said Wednesday it will rejoin the Olympics as official logistics and express delivery sponsor for the 2008 Games in Beijing.

It's a far cry from the Summer and Winter Games of 1996, 1998 and 2000, when UPS was a global sponsor. UPS dropped out of the Olympics after the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia, saying the company's brand had grown enough in stature to let UPS move on from the expensive Olympics deal.

UPS is returning on a more modest level: The new sponsorship involves China only, including the Chinese teams that will compete in the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy, and the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.

UPS will get to use the Olympic rings for marketing in China alone -- not the United States.

UPS' limited deal is a reminder that Olympic sponsorships come in a variety of sizes. Some companies do as little as sponsor a single team from a single country, while others buy rights to use the Olympics as a worldwide marketing tool.

Buying rights to a global sponsorship is very costly.

When UPS was a sponsor of the 1996 Games in Atlanta, the company spent about $100 million to do the deal and then pay for associated marketing.

UPS spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg wouldn't discuss the likely cost of the company's latest sponsorship. But Jim Andrews, editorial director of IEG Sponsorship Report in Chicago, said even fairly narrow deals are pricey, at up to $50 million just for the rights.

UPS, based in Sandy Springs, entered China in 1988 and in recent years has been aggressive in trying to increase its business there.

In 2001, UPS began direct flights from the United States to China.

Earlier this month, UPS announced plans to expand its domestic express delivery service in China.

"Our goal is to be the leading global package delivery and logistics company to, from and within China," David Abney, president of UPS International, said in a prepared statement. "This sponsorship is another important step in strengthening our brand presence in one of the fastest-growing markets in the world."

Andrews said it's also a good way for a company like UPS to ingratiate itself with the Chinese government.

The biggest sponsors of the 2008 Games include Coca-Cola, which has been involved in the Olympics for decades.

Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon, said corporate sponsors are thrilled with the chance to reach China, so there is likely to be extensive interest in signing up for the Games.

"Everybody's drooling," Swangard said.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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UPS,

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

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