M&S drops link to GB Olympic team

Marks & Spencer is ending its sponsorship of the British Olympic

team a year after its involvement with Team GB's gold medal successes in

Sydney because it has not proved commercially viable.

The high-street retailer, which supplied the formal wear and parade

clothing worn by British competitors during the opening and closing

ceremonies of the 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games, will not renew its

agreement for next year's Winter Olympics or the 2004 Games in Athens.

So far, just two of the seven top-tier sponsors, Adidas and MG Rover,

have renewed their deals.

M&S marketing director Alan McWalter said the sponsorship had been a

useful exercise, but it made no commercial sense to repeat it. "You have

to invest considerably in leveraging sponsorship to get the benefit out

of it," McWalter said. "Sponsorship can be a great marketing tool, but

only for certain brands at certain stages in their lifecycles."

McWalter said M&S would in future look to invest more money in community

tie-ups, rather than in high-profile sports sponsorships.

Last week, M&S unveiled its Christmas advertising campaign with a TV

push featuring stars such as Zoe Ball, Honor Blackman and Steve

Redgrave.

The ad was created by Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R, with media

through Walker Media.

McWalter said M&S would enjoy a successful Christmas because of the

quality and range of its products.

"This year has been all about building confidence within the business,

from our food campaigns to the launch of (fashion range) Per Una," he

added.

This article was first published on Marketing