P&G's Olympic brand strategy takes shape

Global - As part of a 10-year deal with the International Olympic Committee, P&G has begun the roll out of a wave of sporting campaigns to promote some 30 P&G brands.

Under the deal, which sees the world's largest household products maker sponsor the next five Olympic Games, Procter & Gamble plans to sponsor more than 150 athletes at the London Olympics.

Marc Pritchard, P&G global marketing and brand building officer, told Reuters its sponsorship of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver generated US$100 million in sales alone.

"We found this was good for business but most importantly good for our brands, touching a lot of different people," he said. 

The latest campaign sees haircare brand Pantene support 11 elite female athletes as its newest beauty ambassadors.

The sponsorship marks the first time Pantene has featured athletes as beauty ambassadors and includes Asia start Wu Minxia, two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time world champion from China and Japan's swimming sensation Aya Terakawa.

Both will join the likes of celebrities such as Liv Tyler and Eva Mendes, who are featured in Pantene’s iconic campaigns.

Sponsors pay around US$100 million for each package of summer and winter Olympics.

P&G will compete for share of voice with Coca-Cola and fast food giant McDonald's, which recently became the seventh major sponsor to sign a deal taking it through to the 2020 Olympics.

Unlike other sponsors such however, P&G has multiple brands to advertise.

P&G last week launched its "Thank You Mom" campaign with a multibrand effort that aims to raise $5 million for youth sports. 

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