Indiantelevision.com Team

(25 April 2007 6:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Korean electronics major Samsung, which is an official Top (The Olympic Partner) partner of the Olympic Games in wireless telecom equipment has concluded a sponsorship contract with the International Olympic Committee (IOC)

According to the new contract, Samsung will officially sponsor the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement for the next eight years, through the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games in 2010, the London Olympic Games in 2012, the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, and the 2016 Olympic Games.

Accordingly, Samsung concluded a Top sponsorship contract with the IOC in 1997. Since then, the company has been an official sponsor in the wireless telecommunications equipment category. By sponsoring the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement for the last ten years, Samsung says that it has made great strides towards becoming a 'cutting-edge global brand' that leads the mobile phone industry. The Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 are expected to be the climax of the company’s efforts for the last ten years.

Samsung says that its brand value grew more than five-fold from a mere 3.1 billion dollars in 1999 to 16.2 billion dollars in 2006, according to the annual company brand value ratings by brand consulting company Interbrand. According to Strategy Analytics, a market research organisation, Samsung’s global mobile phone market share went up from five per cent in 1999 to 11.6 per cent last year, and its sales volume increased seven times from 16.65 million units to 114 million units.

The partnership between Samsung and the Olympic Movement is mutually beneficial. Samsung is demonstrating its cutting-edge wireless technology at the Olympic Games, and is fully living up to its corporate philosophy ? “contribute to society” ? through the Olympic Movement. Wireless Olympic Works (WOW), first released by Samsung for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, is a service that enables the real-time transmission of Olympic Games information to mobile phones.

Samsung seeks to boost the value of the Olympic Games and prepare for the Olympic Ceremonies as a worldwide partner in the wireless telecommunications equipment category, making a shift from a voice-based, “mobile phone-centered” sponsorship to delivering all forms of information via the mobile phone.

By sponsoring the Olympic Games for the next eight years Samsung will create a strong association between the Olympic Movement and Samsung, and will further enhance the status of the Samsung brand. By concluding a long-term Olympic sponsorship contract, Samsung is proving that investing in the Olympic Games is key to growth of a “brand” and “mobile phones”, and is showing the world that investing in the Olympic Games means unlimited growth potential.