Olympic News Briefs

Work's had me on the run of late, but that hasn't stopped Olympic news from arriving at the in box. Here's a quick pick list of recent items on the five-ringed front:

• Allen Brooks, noted as a “veteran Olympic Games marketer” (according to a press release) joined GMR Marketing as vice president overseeing international client management, specifically to co-lead Procter & Gamble Olympic marketing in London and other future Olympic sites.
• Rome's 2020 Olympic bid is gaining steam, according to the Associated Press. In other news, a shoe company is handing over a pile of money to refurbish Rome's famed Colosseum.
• New Waverly, Texas, will be an official training site for USA Gymnastics, according to a local Fox News report noting the decades of work by Bela and Martha Karolyi (disclosure: the Hilton/USA Gymnastics news element of this report is related to clients of Edelman, the P.R. agency where I work).
• Vancouver is going to celebrate like it's 2010 again!
• Munich's Olympic bid books are now in the hands of the IOC, according to the AP.
• Jan. 25 Update: I intended to also include this link to a Natalie Coughlin video related to BMW's support of the USOC and national governing bodies USA Bobsled & Skeleton, USA Swimming, USA Track & Field and US Speedskating.

Have a great week!

Photo of Munich Olympiapark via Reuters

More Olympic Acronyms Coming Soon

There's a running joke, or trend, or something (can't put finger on how the right noun) from one Olympic organizing committee (OOC) to the next.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) or other National Olympic Committees (NOCs), international federations (IFs) and even the global TOP Olympic sponsors have TMAs -- Too Many Acronyms.

According to the AP -- that's the Associated Press -- and ATR (Around The Rings), two more acronyms are signing up for five-ringed status this week: BMW and P&G.

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG was not a big surprise. After all, BMW provided hundreds of gorgeous new cars used by the NOCs staying at the Atlanta OLV (Olympic Village, where their global CEO -- chief executive officer -- presented me a sweet BMW sponsor pin).

Also, BMW's global showcase BMW Museum in Munich is nestled between the 1972 Olympic Village and Olympiapark (if you haven't seen these three sites, they are worth a round trip flight no matter where you live, and you need at least three days to see them all).

Proctor & Gamble. Well, they aren't exactly a surprise either. In Vancouver they had a broad range of engagement underway, and a lot of their product found its way onto The Colbert Report post-Games. What surprised me is their likely announcement of TOP global sponsor status so close to Dow Chemical's IOC sponsor announcement. But then, Tuesday, July 27, marks the two-years-to-London 2012 milestone, so the timing is right.

What other brands do you want to see in the OAS (Olympic Acronym Scene)?

TTYL.

Photo via this Flickr account