Ambush Marketing And The Sochi Olympics

On the eve of the Sochi Olympics, the Olympic Committees, broadcasters, marketers, and their legal teams, have begun to brace for the next round of ambush marketing.

Ambush marketing is the attempt to capitalize on an event without being an official sponsor.  There is a range of ambush marketing: outright unauthorized use of the Olympic marks, simply leveraging the "spirit" of the event, to creating brand presence at the event venue, for example, by having athletes and attendees wear noticeably branded apparel.  Of late, a new type of ambush marketing, "flood" or "saturation" marketing, is getting more "buzz".  This type of marketing involves an advertiser buying up all of the media space for a broadcast event, or on a webpage.