Sponsor Spotlight -- Joint Sponsorship for London 2012; P&G Launches UK Campaign

Samsung, Visa Partner for London 2012

Olympic fans will be able to make payments from their Samsung Olympic mobile devices during the London Olympics.

TOP sponsors Samsung and Visa announced Tuesday they will partner to provide a mobile payment system during the Games.

It is the first joint sponsor program for London 2012.

"We are not only breaking new ground for Olympic partnerships, we are committed to enabling consumers to connect with mobile and contactless payments technology for 2012 and beyond," Visa Europe CEO Peter Ayliffe said in a statement.

"As a pioneer in mobile technology, Samsung is striving for long term change in the way we use mobile payments. In London next year, we regard the greatest show on earth as the perfect opportunity to showcase how this technology can make a positive difference to people's lives - enabling them to feel closer to the Olympic and Paralympic Games" said Seokpil Kim, President & CEO of Samsung Electronics Europe.

The mobile payments will be available through a Visa mobile contactless application. Customers will hold their phone in front of a contactless reader when making a purchase.

There are more than 60,000 places in London that will accept the mobile payments. Visa is partnering with banks and retailers around the worldwide to increase the number of locations that will accept the mobile payment.

Samsung and Visa sponsored athletes will receive Olympic mobile devices that are enabled with the mobile payment system.

Consumers will be able to purchase the enabled devices from mobile network operators and other distributors.

P & G Launches First UK Campaign

Procter & Gamble hopes to become a household name in the UK with its first-ever British advertising campaign in the lead-up to the 2012 Olympics.

Roisin Donnelly, P&G's marketing head for the UK and Ireland, told London's "The Independent" thatP&G isn’t well-known, even though consumers are familiar with its products.

Building on the success of its sponsorship of the U.S. Olympic Committee, P&G will unveil its "Proud of Mums" television ad campaign on April 3, Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom.

During the Vancouver Games, P&G had a "Proud of Moms" campaign.

"We really follow our consumer and we continue to do strong television campaigns and they are working very effectively for all the brands," Donnely said.

"I think London 2012 is a great opportunity for the media market generally," she added.

P&G also will launch print efforts that will include an open letter to mothers in the UK.

The conglomerate’s ad campaign will continue to have Olympic connections. Individual P&G products will have their own advertisements before the Olympics.

"In some cases we will have individual Olympic athletes endorsing the individual brands," Donnelly said.

The consumer brand became a TOP sponsor of the Olympics in 2010. It has partnered with the IOC through 2020.

Acer CEO Resigns Over "Difference of Opinion"

The resignation of president and CEO Gianfranco Lanci was approved Thursday at a board meeting in Taipei.

"On the company’s future development, Lanci held different views from a majority of the board members, and could not reach a consensus following several months’ of dialog," Acer said in a statement.

"They placed different levels of importance on scale, growth, customer value creation, brand position enhancement, and on resource allocation and methods of implementation."

Based in Taiwan, Acer ranks behind HP as the second-largest computer maker in the world but leads in laptop shipments.

The company signed on with the IOC in 2007 just two days after Lenovo declared it would not renew past the Beijing Olympics.

Acer then took over the computer category in 2009, covering the Vancouver and London Games in a four-year deal similar to theone with Lenovo.

Chairman J.T. Wang will head the company until a newCEO is named.

"The change does not affect current operations," Thursday’sstatement read.

Whether the same can be said about Acer’s appetite for Olympic branding remains to be seen.

Microsoft Sponsors RWC 2011

Technology giant Microsoft has signed on to sponsor the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

In the sponsorship deal, Microsoft will provide technology and tournament stakeholders will receive software including Windows 7, Microsoft Office 2010 and Windows Server.

Fans also will be able to watch the Rugby World Cup online through Microsoft’s Silverlight Media Player.

The deal is reportedly worth nearly $1.5 million.

"Rugby World Cup 2011 is set to be the biggest international sporting event in New Zealand’s history, from both an economic and tourism point of view," Paul Muckleston, Managing Director for Microsoft New Zealand, said in a press release.

"Microsoft is very proud and excited to be involved."

Briefs …

... London 2012 partner BP has also partnered with the Sports Journalists Association (SJA) to present an Olympic Question Time in London, Tuesday April 5. Topics about London 2012 will be discussed at the event, which is held in conjunction with the SportAccord convention, which is underway at that time.

…A veteran of Olympic bid communications will bolster Munich’s presence in the 2018 race’s final 100 days. Weber Shandwick announced Monday its services will support the Bavarian bid, particularly on the international front.

To subscribe to Around the Rings Click Here

With reporting from Isia Reaves Wilcox

For general comments or questions, click here