Chad le Clos's big break

le Clos at the 2012 London Olympic Games

One of the many characteristics of the Olympic Games is to inspire young upcoming athletes to become the best they can be, by performing their sport activity to the best of their ability. That is exactly what Chad le Clos did at the Olympic Games during the Men’s 200m Butterfly Finals. He claimed the gold medal at the London Games. This is his first medal at any Olympic Games. What a great way to begin his young career?

 Virgin Active South Africa saw an opportunity to be part of the team who supported him during the Olympic year. www.virgin.com/chad. Chad is now one of the new endorsers, alongside Ryk Neetling, for the SWIM program. This program was established for swimmers of all levels, fit or not fit to help them improve their performance. This sponsorship and endorsement may change his life forever. According to Ryk Neetling, his manager, the important thing is to allow them to focus on his swimming, but at the same time his live has been irrevocably changed.

Chad le Clos

 It is amazing to see how well South African sport stars are doing and that the big successful organisations take the initiatives to sponsor them and to uplift our country.  

le Clos and Neetling at the SWIM launch for Virgin Active South Africa

Caster, South Africa's silver star

For Caster Semenya it does not matter if you start in the back or in the front, it matters how you finish . And she knew that very well then she found herself in the last place at the start of the finals for the Women's Olympic 800m race and ended with the silver medal around her neck.

Semenya waving the South African flag at the
2012 Olympic Games

She made many South Africans proud when she finished in second place behind Russia's Mariya Savinova (1:59:19). This was Semenya's best race this season with the time of 1:57:23. She will cherish that silver medal, especially after the 3 difficult years she had experienced. After she won the gold medal in the World Junior Championships in 2008 allegations arose and she was forced to undergo a gender test which sidelined her for almost a year because the Track and Field Governing Body were deciding whether she could compete again or not. Despite all she has been through, she rised to the top at the Olympic Games- finishing in second place.

"I see a pretty good future for me now," Semenya said. And we all know what that she meant by that...hopefully a gold medal in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. Taking in perspective what she went through the last 3 years, all the media attention she received, she still managed to do very well in her first Olympic Games. Only a better, more golden future can be expected from the country's silver star. 

Schoeman vs Sascoc

Roland Schoeman at the 2012 Olympic Games

Roland Schoeman, one of South Afica's most dedicated swimmers and a four-time Olympian, launched an attack against the South Afican Olympic Body for lack of support during the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games. He celebrated a personal victory during the final of the men's 50m freestyle, finishing in sixth place. " I would have love to have been faster," said Schoeman. He did not receive any support from the SA Olympic Body in the past year and a half. According to Schoeman, if he had the same financial support as Chad le Clos and Cameron van der Burgh, the end results would have been better.

Looking back at his career as a South African swimmer, I will say that he definitely made South Afica pround and introducing our name to the score board. Receiving no support from Sascoc I believe he had some disadvantage compared to Le Clos and Van der Burgh. In 2004 (Athens Games) he received a bronze medal in the 50m freestyle, a silver in the 100m freestyle and a gold medal for 400m freestyle. www.sport24.com/olympics2012. When you take into account that he is such a great sportsman, we as a country expect that Sascoc should support the athletes representing our country in the Olympic Games.

The duty of Sascoc is to help the athletes representing our country and provide assistance in their training. They should help our athletes as much as possible, especially as Olympic sports are not a sustainable paying profession. All I can say is that it is much better to use the Sascoc budget on our athletes than using it for their own personal needs.  

The South African flag representing the types of sports seen at the Olympic Games

Marketing...Olympics...Sucess

The Olympic Games are one of the most anticipated events in the world. This event is one of the most effective international marketing platforms of 2012. Using the sponsorship programmes that the London Olympic Games has to offer, the exposure a company can receive will stretch over 200 countries around the world and will be seen by millions of people.

For most people the Olympic Games consist of sport, competition and international unity but for successful, pro-active companies it is the perfect opportunity to reach out to the publicity campaigns the event has to offer. When you look at the Olympic Games there is an endless stream of marketing opportunities and activities. This is a great opportunity to get a company's brand messages and objectives out there to built on that perfect image and public opinion every company strive to have. To use this sports event as part of a sponsorship programme in a company, it should actually exceed the publicity objectives  and targets of the company.

When looking at Coca- Cola, one of the longest continuous sponsors of the Olympic Games, they share the same objectives e.g. participations, friendships, excellence and respect as the sport event. By sponsoring an event which shares in the same obectives as the company, will help to create a unified message and send a consistent message out to the public. Is that the reason why Coca-Cola do sponsoring? When Coca-Cola use the sponsoring programmes the Olympic Games has to offer, it allows them to interact and build real and meaningful relationships with their stakeholders. Isn't that what Public Relations is all about? 

Coca-Cola: one of the biggest brands in the world

The Olympic Games bring the whole world together forming international unity. What better way for a organisation to send out their company's messages and reach millions of people.   

Coca Cola bottles for the 2012 Olympic Games