London 2012 starts ticketing task pitch
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (Locog) is to hold a pitch for the next phase of its marketing communications business. The core part of the brief will be to develop a strategy for the marketing of tickets for the 2012 Games.
The pitch will be led by Locog commercial director Chris Townsend, who says the brief will be finalised by the end of this year. Discussions with agencies are scheduled to begin in early 2009. The duration of the new contract is yet to be disclosed.
The appointment of an agency will come at the end of March 2009 when the current one-year contract with Chime Communications expires.
Townsend says the focus of Locog’s next phase of activity will be the marketing of tickets in the domestic market. Locog is currently examining different models for the sale of tickets. Townsend says: “It is not just a matter of generating revenue by selling tickets. It is also ensuring people attend and stay for the whole event, a key consideration for us.”
Townsend says that each of the 26 Olympic and 20 Paralympic sports will require different treatment. “Some sports will sell easily while others will require highly targeted marketing programmes to be put in place,” he says.
The successful agency will also be expected to “develop the London 2012 brand”, creating different executions of the London 2012 logo.
Locog is also seeking an operational partner to handle the production and distribution of the approximate 9 million tickets for the Games and will issue an invitation to tender in early 2009.
See Townsend interview, page 20
