Prime advertising space for London 2012 Olympics being auctioned online, with Games sponsors making the first bids
London 2012 organisers are firing the starting gun on a �250m eBay-style online auction of outdoor advertising space as Olympic sponsors including Coca Cola, McDonalds and Adidas begin bidding for prime sites across the UK.
Sponsors and their agencies will be hunched over keyboards across the globe on Monday to secure the pick of some of the most sought after outdoor advertising sites in the UK.
London 2012 organisers are thought to be the first in the history of the Olympics to attempt to sell advertising space for a Games by online auction, a system they believe to be the most fair and transparent way of dividing up the inventory that must be offered to sponsors first.
Around �250m in media space will be up for grabs in the online sale, on a platform developed by a technology company called Media Equals, covering 10 cities where events are being held such as London, Cardiff, Birmingham, Glasgow and Coventry.
In total about 4,000 packages of advertising will be up for sponsors and partners to buy ? covering everything from billboards and posters right next to event sites to what is termed as "spectaculars" such as the Imax theatre on the Southbank as well as the London Underground ? up until 1 July.
However, industry sources believe that up to �100m in ad space will go under the hammer during the auction period, with the unsold inventory then being put on sale to advertisers who are not Olympic partners.
London 2012 organisers plan a "controlled drip" for the auction to make sure that the sale process can't be abused by any one Olympic partner. While there is no limit on how much advertising space any brand can buy, the careful control of auctions ? which open at 8am and close between 10am and 5.30pm daily ? means that sponsors are unlikely to lose prime sites and packages to rivals who are faster on the button.
"We wanted to provide a level playing field for everyone and of course partners are located all over the world," said Chris Townsend, commercial director for the London Olympic Organising Committee for the Olympic Games. "We are making it a drip process over a number of weeks to keep it easy for the buyers. What we have here is a fair, open and transparent process."
For the first two weeks only the 18 worldwide, tier one sponsors are being allowed to bid ? brands such as Coca-Cola, BP, Samsung, Lloyds TSB, BMW and Visa.
The first lots on the block are prime "vicinity" sites right by Olympic venues. These will be followed by what is referred to as "spectaculars", unique eye-grabbing sites such as those at Heathrow or the Imax. Tier two and tier three sponsors will be allowed to participate after the third week, which will bring the total number of bidders to more than 40.
Townsend also points out that the "vast majority" of what will be available to buy online will be "premium" packages at a fixed price.
"There isn't allowed to be advertising in stadia so it is key for sponsors and partners to own cities and event environs," said Mike Baker, chief executive of industry body the Outdoor Media Centre.
Baker said that because the sale process is for inventory in 2012, the level of interest will be a critical bellwether for general advertiser appetite next year in what is looking to be an increasingly fragile market recovery.
"It is an important step. From the perspective of media owners it is a key indicator over how much uplift there will be in general in 2012," he said. "It will give us an idea if we are going to be disappointed or not [in the ad market next year]."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/apr/04/olympic-games-outdoor-advertising-auction
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