Ambush Marketing and The Law - White Paper

CIM

Many companies are keenly anticipating the Olympic and Paralympic Games coming to London in 2012. Increasingly, legislation is being brought in to protect the investment of sponsors at major cultural and sporting events. Companies that have invested heavily in sponsorship need to have that investment protected from companies wanting to get free publicity.

However, there is a huge grey area when it comes to defining what counts as an ‘ambush’ and getting the judgment right between protecting investment, and unnecessarily penalizing business, is a balancing act.

This research paper builds on CIM’s 2008 ‘Shape the Agenda’ The Event That Dare Not Speak Its Name and offers a guide to companies about what they can and cannot do during sporting events, with particular focus on the forthcoming Olympics.