Ambush Marketing: A Threat for Sponsors

Ambush marketing is a means of getting the maximum bang for the buck while stealing some of a rival’s thunder. As the costs of becoming official sponsors of a major sports event have mushroomed in recent years, sponsors increasingly have to deal with what has become known as ambush marketing. Ambush marketing as a concept first came to light at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Those Games, which generated a surplus of some US$250 million, were deemed an overwhelming success. They were the first to be funded entirely privately. Prior to this any number of sponsors were allowed to tie themselves to the Olympics on an ‘official’ basis. In 1976, Montreal Olympics there were 628 ‘official’ sponsors.