This profile is part of a series on the worldwide sponsors of the Olympics based on their experiences at the Turin Games.
(ATR) Mascot Ronald McDonald is fluent in Italian - and many other languages - says the head of worldwide sponsor McDonald's sports marketing program.
Nick Marrone, senior vice president of sports marketing, tells Around the Rings the orange-haired clown mascot was a big hit on the streets of Turin during the Olympics.
"He is an icon. He speaks so many languages and really resonates with kids all over the world, whether American or Italian," says the executive.
Appearances by Ronald McDonald was just one element of what Marrone calls the company's "heaviest activation" for its worldwide Games sponsorship.
Marrone says while the company "pushes from the center" with its marketing program, each country has a "huge amount of independence, activating in a manner relevant to them."
Canada's program, for example, included use of mini jerseys of the men's hockey team that were sold in restaurants.
Italy made extensive use of its relationship with Stefania Belmondo, the cross country great who was the final torchbearer in Turin.
In China, Marrone says a composite logo that includes the image of the Beijing Olympics is now in use.
Marrone says activation of McDonald's worldwide sponsorship for Turin has included 30,000 restaurants, 15,000 in the U.S, where a premium chicken sandwich was part of the Olympic promotion.
In Turin, as it has with past Games, McDonald's installed temporary restaurants in the Olympic Village and the Main Media Center, which Marrone says were as popular as ever.
One new touch in Turin was the addition of the McCafe concept, a separate section of the restaurant which sells coffee and other drinks, as well as a wide selection of pastries. Marrone says McCafe "resonated" with the media and athletes.
The restaurants in the village and MMC were staffed by crews selected from around the world, which Marrone says has become an important feature of these outlets.
"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity for these young people, a great motivating experience," he says. In Turin, the so-called Olympic Champion crew included 300 members from 34 countries.
He says McDonald's did not have a big hospitality program in Turin, joining instead in programs with Coca-Cola, which is a major supplier for the restaurant chain.
Marrone says major executives of the company did make it Turin, including China.
"It's a much easier sell-through when they come to the Games," he says. "They understand the value of the Olympic property."
Turin served as a launch pad for the company?s new nutritional labeling of its products.
"It's not an accident that we used Torino as the place to start," he says, given the importance of proper nutrition to Olympic performance.
Marrone says Beijing will be a much bigger program than the one in Turin and that planning is well underway for the 2008 Games. And he says the first discussions have started on activating the McDonald's sponsorship in London, the last Games covered by the company's current sponsorship deal with the IOC.
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