Sochi, Russia, Already before its beginning the 2014 Olympics are setting records. The Sochi Games have received an unprecedented support from their sponsors, marketing partners, license holders and suppliers. The general sum of the contracts has reached one and a half billion dollars. That is the highest result not only in the history of Winter Olympics, but also for the Summer Games as well. Sochi is welcoming the first Olympic teams. Both the Coastal and the Mountain Olympic villages have begun ceremonies of welcoming the incoming teams of participants. The athletes and the guest of honor receive the main souvenir of the current Games – knit Olympic gloves as well as of Russia's symbols – matryoshka dolls. In total the participants and guests of the winter Olympics will be able to obtain about five thousand types of souvenirs with Olympic symbols – from sports clothing to coins, stamps, toys and even accessories for pets. According to the specialists, the marketing program is to bring over $500 million in the course of the Olympics. The furry toys depicting the mascots of the Games have already set a record in sales. Over three and a half million of such toys have already been sold. In the course of the Games over 75 thousand fans, about 5 thousand athletes as well as 12 thousand journalists and 25 thousand volunteers will be potential buyers of the Sochi 2014 licensed products. The Olympic Organization Committee has signed marketing contracts with ten international corporations, partners of the International Olympic Committee, as well as with eight national partners. For example, the Summer Olympics in London in 2012 had fewer national partners – seven, despite the fact that summer Olympics are considered to be more attractive for advertisers. Nikolai Dolgopolov, deputy editor-in-chief of the Rossiyskaya Gazeta, explains the current rush of Russian and foreign partners by the uniqueness of the Sochi Olympics. "These are the first Olympic games to take place in an absolutely unusual geographic zone: below is the sea, while above is the cold with temperatures of -10 C. It is the first in the world experiment to conduct winter Olympics in subtropics, which naturally attracts advertisers. There is another important issue. If in the past winter Olympics were attended primarily by athletes from Northern countries, lately winter Olympics have involved more and more participants from all continents. For example, in the current Games Africans, Brazilians and Filipinos are to take part. That also attracts advertisers as they will be able to introduce their products and brands to the Olympic guests from all over the world," Dolgopolov said. The advertizing contracts of global TV companies for the broadcasting of the winter Games in Sochi are also record setting. One of the largest TV companies, the NBC from the USA, has already signed advertizing contracts for $800 million, thus beating the previous record for winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010. Experts point out that the companies involvement in such a large-scale event as the Olympics has a long-term positive effect in terms of their image. The five Olympic rings are one of the best-recognized brands in the world; it's a guarantee of quality. The positive attitude towards the Olympics will eventually be transferred to the brand, which would entail an increase in sales even after the Games. Sochi 2014 partners have received additional opportunities for the development of their business, says Andrey Malygin, a sports marketing specialist. "The Olympic games are without doubt brand number one in sports. And it is not surprising in my opinion that large companies effectively use the opportunity to once again state their presence. Just look at how actively each of the partners of the Olympics uses its sponsor status. That shows that for the companies the Games are a good time to build closer communication with their clients. For example, Sberbank is good at conducting a campaign by stressing its unique role. It has issued a great deal of advertizing products," Malygin said. Let's point out that the sports program of the Sochi Olympics has also set a record in the number of competitions as well as in the number of new sports added. As a result the total number of sports' types has reached 98. It is 12 more than during the previous winter Games in Vancouver in 2010.
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