Sydney Olympics: The Best Olympics Ever

Introduction

Brands have become subjects of increasing interest to marketers over the years. There have been extensive studies to understand the idea of what a brand is. While taking into consideration the success of a brand, the marketers must ask whether - sales, contribution to market share, additional profit margin, loyalty generated, and awareness or corporate image contribution are the key factors that drive the success or failure of a brand. However, today marketers must look from a different viewpoint - not from the viewpoint of those who create, develop and nurture brands but from the point of view of the ultimate audience, the consumers of brands. Therefore, a successful brand understands its perception and therefore the people who perceive it (Keller, 2003).

The Sydney 2000 Olympic Brand: Focus on Brand Elements to Build Brand Equity

Sydney 2000 is an unparalleled brand management success story. The full integration of the Sydney 2000 brand development and brand management philosophy was central to the overall success of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and marketing programs. Sydney combined the core values of the Olympic Image with the unselfish, dynamic and optimistic spirit of Australia, providing Sydney 2000 with a powerful brand platform (The Olympic, n.d.). Every aspect of the 2000 Olympic Games -- from the Olympic Torch Relay to the Olympic Arts Festival, from the Look of the Games to the Olympic Games volunteer program -- communicated the values of the Sydney 2000 Olympic brand (The Olympic, n.d.). The Olympic Games is a celebration of hope, the joy in effort, and the dreams of the athletes. This overall Image of Olympism offered a foundation from which to launch the Sydney 2000 Olympic brand. Sydney combined this Image with the mission of the 2000 Olympic Games to form a cohesive, expressive and emotive brand for Sydney 2000 (The Olympic, n.d.).

Sydney's mission was to keep a threefold promise (Olympic, n.d.). First, Sydney sought to host the Athletes' Games, an Olympic Games especially dedicated to celebrating the dreams and achievements of the Olympic athlete, and to providing a positive environment in which the Olympians could thrive. Second, Sydney sought to host the Green Games, an Olympic Games unsurpassed in its commitment to respecting and protecting the natural environment. Finally, Sydney sought to leave a legacy for sport -- a legacy of financial support for Olympic athletes and hopefuls in Australia and throughout the world, and a legacy of state-of-the-art sport venues for all people of Australia to enjoy. The Olympic Games provide a rare opportunity for the host city and the host nation to project the heritage, the culture and the spirit of its people. In commercial parlance, the 2000 Olympic Games offered the world's most powerful platform for the building of a brand -- a brand that clearly communicated the image of Sydney and Australia to the world. In turn, the values, the dynamic culture and the rich history of Sydney and Australia provided the 2000 Olympic Games with the core elements of a powerful and expressive brand. From the time of the city's candidacy, Sydney committed to projecting and enhancing the image, the spirit and the culture of Australia. From the beauty of the land to the vitality of the city, from the good cheer of the tens of thousands of volunteers to the energy of the millions of spectators, from the diversity of the Australian culture to the national spirit of unity and friendship -- Sydney achieved all this and more (Sydney, n.d.). Three words - unselfish, dynamic, optimistic - communicated the essence of Sydney 2000 (The Olympic, n.d.).

The Sydney Olympics promoted brand equity - the set of associations and behaviours on the part of the brand's customers, channel members and parent corporation that permits the brand to earn a greater volume or greater margin