Corporate sponsorship of the Olympic Games : what do children think?

Corporate sponsorship of special events and organizations has become increasingly commonplace in the past 10 years. What criteria do these corporations employ to select the event or organization that best reflects their marketing objectives and goals? Should more attention be given to this selection process? This thesis focuses on answering these questions in a study conducted through the University of Tennessee, Knoxville College of Communications. The focal point of the study was the Olympic Games and one of its designated corporate sponsors, the M&M/Mars company, the Official Snack Food of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. A group of students at Cedar Bluff Middle School, Knoxville, Tennessee, were interviewed to determine their awareness of the Olympic sponsor and any image perceptions that may have transferred from the games to the sponsoring product.

The results showed an awareness of the Olympic Games, but little transfer of the Olympic "image" of the ultimate in health and nutrition to the Snickers bar. The majority of the children did not feel the product was in any way improved or superior because of the endorsement by the Olympic Games.