Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.bonus From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: bonus Thu, Aug 6 1992 Date: Thu, 6 Aug 92 04:32:41 EDT Message-ID: 08-06 0000 BONUS: Firms woo clients with Games USA TODAY Update Aug. 6, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network Every four or five days, the chartered jets arrive and Spain's Port Barcelona becomes Ellis Island, a civilized processing center for the Olympics of parties and power breakfasts. Well-groomed, travel-weary VIPs are registered on giant cruise liners that have been converted into fully staffed, floating hotels protected from the masses by imposing security checkpoints. HOW MANY SPECIAL GUESTS HAVE VISITED? More than 10,000 athletes have poured into town for the 1992 Summer Games, but nearly four times as many special guests - invited by some of the world's top corporations - have come for their own taste of Olympics glory. Amid the stream of running, jumping, vaulting and diving events televised since the Games began July 25, an equally diverse schedule of dealmaking, dining, cocktailing and sightseeing has transpired in spots without a general-admission gate. HOW DO THE SUMMER GAMES RANK? Despite the massive corporate-sponsored fanfare associated with the Super Bowl, NBA finals and major golf tournaments, the Summer Olympics are the undisputed champion of junket madness. Companies have sent clients, suppliers, bankers, public relations and advertising executives and other well-connected clients to this port city for a most-expenses-paid trip of a lifetime. WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE PACKAGES? Air transportation to Spain, hotel accommodations, event tickets, receptions and bus tours. At the 1992 Olympics, in a city with a shortage of hotel rooms, some companies are offering cozy but air-conditioned sleeping quarters inside some of the world's most luxurious cruise ships. Fourteen of the floating hotels are docked in the Port of Barcelona, protected from the riff raff by chain-link fences, machine gun-toting security guards and metal detectors. WHO PAYS FOR ALL THE PERKS? The same companies that fund the athletes and pour billions of dollars into the world Olympics movement. Among the heaviest hitters are General Electric-owned NBC, which paid $401 million for U.S. TV rights, and the 12 official worldwide sponsors for the 1992 Games - Coca-Cola, Kodak, 3M, Sports Illustrated:Time International, the Postal Service, Panasonic, Ricoh, M&M:Mars, Brother, Philips, Visa and Bausch & Lomb. Countless others participate as official suppliers - including Xerox, IBM and Seiko. WHAT HAS COKE DONE? When it comes to marketing, Coke has an unofficial slogan: If it moves, sponsor it. If it doesn't, paint it red. So in addition to banners, thousands of beverage cups with the Coke logo and its huge Olympics pin trading center, Coca-Cola naturally decided to co-lease one of the largest cruise ships in the harbor, the 790-foot Crystal Harmony. Just a short walk from the exit ramp is a fleet of executive tourist buses, which whisk guests to and from competition sites. HOW BIG IS THE CRYSTAL HARMONY? It holds 960 passengers. It has 11 decks, a main dining room, two restaurants, six lounges, a health spa and fitness center, pianist Phil Conti and a nightly Broadway show. The breakfast menu even includes lamb chops. Similar perks abound for guests staying aboard the Royal Viking Sun with NBC, the Vista Fjord with Sports Illustrated:Time, the Daphne with IBM, the Berlin with Xerox and the new Crown Jewel with Visa. HOW MUCH IS ALL OF THIS COSTING? The average cost per two-passenger cabin can go up to $1,000 a night, including meals and amenities. The total investment can reach tens of millions of dollars. That doesn't include galas and receptions or airfare. NBC flew guests to Barcelona on chartered United Airlines jumbo jets departing from Newark, N.J. ARE FAMOUS PEOPLE INVITED? On the final night of each group's stay, guests of Sports Illustrated:Time attend a farewell bash featuring live entertainment by the popular big-event U.S rock band Nik and the Nice Guys. Celebrity partygoers include Prince Albert of Monaco and Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson. Filmmaker Spike Lee is staying on the NBC ship. Former Olympics gymnastics stars Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci are guests of 3M aboard the Seabourn Spirit oceanliner, where they give daily exhibitions. WHAT OTHER PERKS DO VIPS GET? Athletic-shoe manufacturers such as adidas, Nike and Reebok are participating in the Olympics sideshow by renting space for invitation-only hospitality centers, where their celebrity endorsers drop by to shake hands and sign posters. There is also a Sponsors Village, where VIPs can gather in air-conditioned hospitality suites and patios before battling the crowd at stadiums and arenas. WILL COMPANIES TALK ABOUT THE VIP DEALS? Some companies are extremely sensitive to questions about such high rolling. The cost of leasing luxury liners is not discussed. Coca-Cola's public-relations department won't say how many people the company is playing host to in Barcelona. Without a doubt, the care and feeding of business partners and their families is intended to make an imposing statement. The top Olympics sponsors view it as an extension of their already-considerable global investment, which approaches $30 million over four years - a steep price for association with the five Olympics rings. ARE THERE ANY DRAWBACKS FOR THE OLYMPICS? The main problem with the corporate parade, says John Krimsky Jr., the U.S. Olympic Committee's top marketing official, is that some guests skip the sporting events, ignoring how valuable tickets are to those who lack the corporate muscle to get them. Often, parties or late dinners take priority over Olympics competition. ARE MOST OF THE OLYMPIC SPECTATORS VIPS? Despite their high profile, corporate guests are a distinct minority among the estimated 500,000 total visitors to the Barcelona Games. And while the average visitor likely isn't feasting on daily buffets of fresh seafood or sleeping in a complex patrolled by armed guards, there are some advantages to the unstructured, low-budget stay: Because of the sheer volume of corporate guests, they are offered a whirlwind of activities for a few days - then sent packing to make room for the next group. HOW DO THE VIPS SPEND THEIR TIME? "The first day, they kind of stagger off the airplane and onto the ship," says Robin Ratcliffe, spokeswoman for Crown Cruise Line, operator of the Crown Jewel. "They go to as many as three events a day, morning afternoon and evening, and then they sort of fall back onto the plane exhausted. It's all over so fast, you wonder if they even know they've been to Barcelona." Bonus Editor: Ed Kelleher. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM