Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Visa Lead Post-Games Coverage of Olympic Sponsors

By Dow Jones Insight Staff

Although the Beijing Olympic Games had 12 global sponsors, three sponsors led coverage in traditional and social media sources in analyses before, during and, now, after the Games. Those three – Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Visa – combined to garner 65% of coverage in both traditional and social media during the period of August 26 to September 8.

Coca-Cola had 158 of the 565 total mentions in social media sources analyzed by Dow Jones Insight, for 28%. McDonald’s was second with 135 mentions, for 24%, and Visa was third with 73 mentions, for 13%. Of the 768 total mentions in traditional media sources, Coca-Cola had 209 mentions, for 27%, Visa had 158 mentions, for 21%, and McDonald’s had 129 mentions, for 17%. In the weeks leading up to the Games, a significant amount of coverage of these three sponsors was negative, focusing on their implied complicity in China’s poor human rights record. Once the Games started, however, coverage of these companies softened somewhat, focusing instead on their presence in Beijing, their commemorative merchandise and their feel-good ads.

In social media sources, GE was fourth with 53 mentions, for 9%. Samsung had 44 mentions, for 8%. Lenovo, the only Chinese company among the global sponsors, and Panasonic each had 5% of mentions. Omega and Johnson & Johnson each had 3% and Kodak had 2%. French IT company Atos Origin and Canadian financial services company Manulife failed to make the top 10.

In traditional media sources, General Electric had 66 mentions, for 9%. Samsung had 60 mentions, for 8%, and Lenovo had 54 mentions, for 7%. Omega and Johnson & Johnson each had 4% of mentions. Atos Origin and Kodak rounded out the top 10, each with 2% of mentions. Panasonic and Manulife did not crack the top 10 in traditional media sources.

Methodology: Analysis includes the English-language sources taken from a database of 6,000 newspapers, wires, magazines, radio and TV transcripts; about 13,000 current-awareness news sites; 60,000 message boards and about two million blogs.

Coca-Cola, Visa Earn Coverage of Their Television Commercials

By Dow Jones Insight Staff

The Beijing Olympic Games have drawn to a close, and coverage of the Games’ 12 global sponsors is closing just as it began, with McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Visa leading the way. Between August 11 and August 25, McDonald’s had 673 of the top 10 companies’ 3,566 mentions, or 19%, in traditional media sources analyzed by Dow Jones Insight. Visa and Coca-Cola were close behind, with 18% of mentions each. Coverage of McDonald’s was centered on the company’s physical presence in Beijing, while Visa and Coca-Cola garnered coverage due to their ads. Mentions of Visa focused on the company’s “Go World” ad campaign and its sponsorship of Michael Phelps.

General Electric followed with 455 mentions, for 13%. Much of the coverage of GE focused on the ratings for NBC’s coverage of the Games. Coverage of Omega nearly doubled compared to the previous two-week period analyzed by Dow Jones Insight, from 5% to 9% for the period of August 11-25. Omega got a boost in coverage due to its position as the “official timekeeper” of the games. The company was surprisingly thrust into the spotlight after Phelps’ last-second, by-a-fraction-of-a-fingertip victory over Serbian Milorad Cavic in the 100-meter butterfly. To spectators, the finish seemed to be a dead heat, but Omega’s timing system had Phelps in first with a time of 50.58 seconds and Cavic in second with a time of 50.59 seconds. The finish was backed up by digital photos captured by Omega’s overhead cameras.

Samsung and Lenovo, the latter being the only Chinese company among the global sponsors, had 7% of mentions each. Johnson & Johnson had 181 mentions, or 5%. Kodak and Panasonic each had 2% of mentions. French IT company, Atos Origin, and Canadian financial services company, Manulife, failed to make the top 10.

In social media sources analyzed by Dow Jones, Coca-Cola took the top spot, with 735 of 2,974 total mentions, for 25%. McDonald’s was close behind with 656 mentions, for 22%. Visa followed in third, with 491 mentions, for 17%. Coverage of the top three companies on blogs and message boards seemed to focus on their television ads, with Coca-Cola getting positive reviews for its commercial featuring a montage of gold medal ceremonies for Olympians and Special Olympians. While much of the negative attention garnered by Coca-Cola and McDonald’s has diminished as the Games have wound down, there were still some mentions critical of the companies for their connections to China and its questionable human rights and environmental policies.

GE was fourth with 265 mentions, for 9%. Lenovo had 8% of mentions and Samsung and Omega had 7% each. Johnson & Johnson, Kodak and Panasonic each had 2% of mentions. Atos Origin and Manulife again failed to crack the top 10.

Methodology: Analysis includes the English-language sources taken from a database of 6,000 newspapers, wires, magazines, radio and TV transcripts; about 13,000 current-awareness news sites; 60,000 message boards and about two million blogs.

McDonald’s and Coca-Cola Continue to Lead Coverage of Games’ Global Sponsors

By Dow Jones Insight Staff

Now that the Beijing Olympics have begun, the 12 global sponsors of the Games hope to see the returns on their significant advertising investments. McDonald’s has moved into the lead among the global sponsors in coverage in traditional media sources. Between July 28 and August 10, McDonald’s had 426 mentions, or 20% of the top 10 companies’ 2,121 mentions, in traditional media sources analyzed by Dow Jones Insight. Coca-Cola was close behind, with 352 mentions, or 17%. A number of mentions for both McDonald’s and Coca-Cola focused not on the companies’ Olympic ads, but rather on the ubiquity of the products themselves in Beijing.

Lenovo, the only Chinese company among the global sponsors, was third with 302 mentions, for 14%. Visa was fourth, with 277 mentions, for 13%. General Electric and Samsung each garnered 10% of the total mentions, and Omega, the official timekeeper of the Games, had 115 mentions, for 5%. Johnson & Johnson and Panasonic each had 4%. French IT company Atos Origin rounded out the top 10 with 50 mentions, or 2%. The remaining two sponsors, Manulife and Kodak, failed to make the top 10.

In social media sources analyzed by Dow Jones, Coca-Cola had 316 of 1,165 total mentions, for 27%, and a sizeable lead over second-place McDonald’s, which had 222 mentions, or 19%. Coverage of these two companies on blogs and message boards included numerous generally enthusiastic mentions of their Olympic tie-in products, including commemorative soda cans and special menu items. However, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s also attracted negative attention in the social media, with a number of mentions critical of the companies for their connections to China and its questionable human rights and environmental policies.

Visa followed in third, with 163 mentions, or 14%. Visa’s coverage was split between comments about its TV commercials and about Team Visa, a sponsorship program for promising European athletes. General Electric had 127 mentions, or 11%, many of which referred to NBC’s coverage of the Games. Lenovo had 107 mentions for 9%, and Samsung had 99 mentions for 8%. Panasonic and Omega each had 3% of the total mentions, and Kodak and Johnson & Johnson each had 2%. Manulife and Atos Origin didn’t make the top 10.

Methodology: Analysis includes the English-language sources taken from a database of 6,000 newspapers, wires, magazines, radio and TV transcripts; about 13,000 current-awareness news sites; 60,000 message boards and about two million blogs.

Coverage of Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Visa Focuses on Feel-Good Olympic Ads

By Dow Jones Insight Staff

With a little more than a week to go before the Opening Ceremonies, Coca-Cola maintains its lead in coverage among the 12 global sponsors of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in both traditional and social media sources. Between July 15 and July 28, Coke had 186 mentions, or 22%, of the total 832 mentions in traditional media sources analyzed by Dow Jones Insight. McDonald’s was close behind, with 167 mentions, or 20%, followed by Visa with 143 mentions for 17%. Much of the coverage of these three companies focused on their new ad campaigns, which are just being unveiled in anticipation of the Opening Ceremonies. All three have introduced ads centered on the themes of global unity, working together and achieving dreams.

General Electric had 88 mentions for 11%, Samsung had 74 mentions for 9% and Lenovo, the only Chinese company among the global sponsors, had 56 mentions for 7%. Panasonic had 5% of mentions, followed by Omega with 4%, and Johnson & Johnson and Kodak with 3% each. The remaining two sponsors, Atos Origin and Manulife, each had less than 3% of mentions.

Coca-Cola also came out on top among the global sponsors in social media sources analyzed by Dow Jones, with 188, or 34%, of 553 total mentions. McDonald’s had 117 mentions, or 21%, and Visa followed with 68 mentions, or 12%. Like press coverage, bloggers and those posting to message boards were mentioning the top three companies’ feel-good ads. A handful of mentions were critical of the companies for their implied support of China despite criticism of the country’s human rights and environmental policies. But the majority of comments seemed more neutral in tone, mentioning the companies’ sponsorships in passing or tie-ins such as McDonald’s Olympic “Beijing Burger” and other theme menu items.

Samsung and General Electric each had 11% of mentions in the analyzed social media. Omega had 18 mentions, or 3%, and Lenovo had 16 mentions for 3%. Rounding out the top 10, Panasonic had 12 mentions, or 2%, Johnson & Johnson had eight mentions, or 1%, and Kodak had six mentions, or 1%. Atos Origin and Manulife each finished with less than 1% of coverage.

Methodology: Analysis includes the English-language sources taken from a database of 6,000 newspapers, wires, magazines, radio and TV transcripts; about 13,000 current-awareness news sites; 60,000 message boards and about two million blogs.

Coca-Cola Leading Coverage of Olympic Global Sponsors

By Dow Jones Insight Staff

The Beijing Olympic Games open in a little more than three weeks and overall media coverage of the 12 global sponsors of the Games has increased since the end of June in traditional and social media sources analyzed by Dow Jones Insight. This coverage is in part tied to discussions of their ad campaigns, which have begun in earnest in China where the 12 will spend an estimated $6 billion on ads aimed at the Chinese audience.

Coca-Cola saw its share of coverage increase to 24%, or 257 of the total 1,062 mentions of all 12 sponsors, during the period July 1 to July 14. Some of this coverage was driven by bloggers commenting on Coca-Cola’s putting its soda in special commemorative cans labeled in languages of different participating countries. In addition, the company has commissioned recording and visual artists to contribute to another project, recording tracks or decorating soda bottles inspired by the theme of “What the Olympics means to me.”

General Electric had 192 mentions for 18%, in part because of rumors it might sell Olympics broadcaster NBC. McDonald’s was third, with 162 mentions for 15%. A portion of the McDonald’s coverage was also focused on the company’s marketing of Olympic collectables, including commemorative soda cups. Visa had 146 mentions, for 14%. Samsung had 116 mentions, for 11%. Lenovo, the only Chinese company among the global sponsors, and Omega each had 5% of the total mentions. Panasonic had 4%, and Johnson & Johnson and Kodak each had 2% of total mentions. Manulife and Atos Origin rounded out the 12.

Top Sponsorship Dollars Don’t Always Buy the Most Media Coverage

By Dow Jones Insight Staff

Each of the 12 global sponsors for the Beijing Olympics has invested significant sums of money to attach its brand to the Games, but not all of them are getting their money’s worth in terms of press coverage yet. During the period of June 10-16, two companies had a combined 51% of all mentions of sponsor companies in conjunction with the Games in traditional and social media sources analyzed by Dow Jones Insight. Visa, with 115 mentions for 29%, and Coca-Cola, with 87 mentions for 22%, outpaced the rest of the global sponsors. McDonald’s was in third, with 54 of the 399 total mentions, followed by General Electric with 39. The remaining eight – Samsung, computer maker Lenovo, watch-maker Omega, Panasonic, Johnson & Johnson, Atos Origin, the IT services company, Kodak and Manulife – have barely shown up yet.

Overall, mentions in social media (blogs and boards) made up only about 20% of all media mentions. Coca-Cola and McDonald’s received the most significant coverage in social media sources, with 32% and 33% of their overall coverage, respectively, coming from blogs and boards. For Visa, mentions in the social media accounted for only 13% of its overall coverage. Johnson & Johnson and Atos Origin received no mentions in the social media during the analyzed time period.

Methodology: Analysis includes 6,000 newspapers, wires, magazines, radio and TV transcripts; about 13,000 current-awareness news sites; 60,000 message boards and about two million blogs.

Olympic Sponsors Can’t Avoid Controversies in Beijing

By Dow Jones Insight Staff

For the 12 global sponsors of the Beijing Olympics, attaching their names means sharing in the glory and the positive images of the Games, but it can also associate their names with some of the more negative topics as well. Three of the sponsors – Coca-Cola, Samsung and Lenovo – received a significant amount of coverage, much of it unflattering, during the past month. Most of this coverage centered on the three companies’ sponsorship of the Olympic Torch Relay, which was targeted for protest by Free Tibet activists. Coca-Cola, Samsung and Lenovo were specifically targeted by the protesters for their perceived tolerance of China’s relationship with Tibet.

Of Coca-Cola’s 293 mentions in traditional and social media sources analyzed by Dow Jones Insight, 185, or 63%, were related to the issue of Tibet. Similarly, 103 of Lenovo’s total mentions, or 66%, and 89 of Samsung’s 126 mentions, or 71%, were related to Tibet. For Lenovo, all of its mentions occurred in the press, while Coca-Cola and Samsung each had most of their mentions in traditional media and a small number of mentions in social media. French company Atos Origin also garnered significant coverage related to Tibet, with 92 of its 184 total mentions, or 50%, relating to Tibet.

Most of the coverage for General Electric and McDonald’s, on the other hand, was associated with general human rights issues. Forty of McDonald’s 78 total mentions, or 51%, concerned human rights issues, including 29 mentions in social media and only 11 in the press. Of GE’s 87 total mentions, 40, or 46%, were related to human rights issues. More of these mentions appeared in social media than in the press, 23 versus 17.

Methodology: Analysis includes 6,000 newspapers, wires, magazines, radio and TV transcripts; about 13,000 current-awareness news sites; 60,000 message boards and about two million blogs.