London’s 2012 commercial team outline Olympic factors

London’s 2012 commercial team was the focal point of ‘The Big Interview’ in the Licensing Academy at Brand Licensing Europe 2010 on Friday. London 2012 Vision – Retail, Licensing and the Olympic and Paralympic Games - The Story So Far, created an unique opportunity for licensing industry professionals to gain detailed information of the commercial campaigns surrounding the London 2012 Games.
 
The commercial team spent the afternoon outlining several key factors in the Big Interview which industry experts responded to from the floor in a question and answer session.

The London 2012 Olympic Games will have 205 participating nations, consisting of a combined 10,500 athletes, 70,000 volunteers, 20,000 accredited media, eight million tickets, a global audience of four billion and 26 Olympic sports across 300 events in 17 days. The Paralympic Games consist of an additional combined 4,500 athletes, two million tickets and 20 Paralympic sports, with a total of 471 events spanning 12 days. Domestic sponsorship revenue for London 2012 has increased to over £650m, raised almost two years before the event. Industry experts believe that licensing royalty revenues will generate approximately £80 million.
 
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) is a privately funded company that will secure approximately UK£2 billion worth of private investment to facilitate the Olympic Games. The colossal sum of money will be raised through a combination of ticket, broadcast, sponsorship and licensing revenue. The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is investing UK£9 billion; the ODA is responsible for the regeneration of the Olympic site and developing in addition to building the new venues and infrastructure for the Games.
 
The Olympic and Paralympic Games are an opportunity for all UK retailers to sell London 2012 products. There will be approximately 50 licensees that will produce over 10,000 products for the Games, covering everything from clothing and headwear to toys and games, stamps and coins, souvenirs, jewellery, pins, stationery and publishing. The products will be a diverse range including items under £1 to limited edition products such as a solid gold souvenir coin worth £28,000. The official licensed products will be showcased in London 2012 shops, which are to be opened by LOCOG. The shops will include a 40,000ft megastore in the Olympic Park. LOCOG anticipates retail sales to be in excess of UK£1 billion and has described 2012 as “the year of two Christmases”.

The London 2012 logo is not the sole piece of marketing to be protected from unsanctioned merchandise outlets: the words London 2012, Olympic, Paralympic, Olympian, Paralympian, Olympiad and Paralympiad are also to be cosseted along with the mascots and mascot wordmarks. It is imperative that the organising committee protect its revenue by strengthening legal rights; this tightening will incorporate pursuing infringement action, thus protecting the financial commitments made by sponsors and licensees.
 
As well as the ranges of merchandise for London 2012, LOCOG will be launching a range of Team GB and Paralympics GB merchandise next year. An initial collection of Adidas Team GB merchandise, designed by Stella McCartney, was launched last week by London 2012 online and selected sports retailers.