Dow Olympics
From local to international next and you can’t get more international than the Olympic Games, resurrected from Ancient Greece in 1896 and hosted every four years (give or take a World War or two) to see which country is the fittest and the fastest.
Today both the Summer and Winter Games are abound by corporate partners including several sponsors from the pharma world. Initially donating Styrofoam Brand Insulation used in ice skating rinks for the 1980 Lake Placid Olympic Winter Games, Dow has supported the event for over thirty years, and recently became a Worldwide partner.
“Dow joined the International Olympic Committee’s The Olympic Partner programme in July of 2010,” spokesman Fernão Silveira told Outsourcing-Pharma.com. The ten year deal makes Dow “The Official Chemistry Company of the Olympic Games” and places the firm in “a unique position to provide innovative technologies that improve the Olympic experience for host territories, athletes and fans everywhere.”
Furthermore, he told us the partnership brought with it a number of business benefits, both generating direct revenues and spreading the brand, especially in developing markets.
“[The Worldwide Olympic Partnership] helps to deliver to Dow’s bottom line by ensuring access to new – and often untapped - business opportunities with governments of bidding cities and host territories, Games-delivery partners, construction and architecture companies, international sports federations, and national Olympic committees,” Silveira said.
“Additionally, the power of the Olympic brand and the unique access to exciting new business opportunities in emerging geographies – where Dow has 33% of its global revenue – reaffirm the strategic value of our involvement with the Olympic Games.”