How an Event on Foreign Soil is Setting the Trend for the Future of Big Event Sponsorship

Abstract

The Goodwill Games of 1986 changed the face of sport. It was the breakthrough event in sponsorship packaging because it offered everything a company wanted in an event sponsorship for one price. This event invited (selected) participants based on previous performances in other events such as the Olympic Games and the World Championships. Only the best eight athletes or teams were invited to participate in each event. Sponsors were offered an array of benefits never previously available in a single package. Sponsors of the 1986 Goodwill Games gained a guarantee of being able to manufacture and/or market products in Russia once the country's economic problems are resolved. Companies willing to assist Russia in developing the 1994 Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg, the first world class event scheduled for Russia since the fall of the communist regime, will also gain, the inside track to doing business in the country. Hosting customers/clients in St. Petersburg events will prove invaluable. The Goodwill Games are able to offer very attractive incentives to sponsors because Ted Turner has delivered “control” of the environment. They (Turner) control the Games’ assets. The 1994 Goodwill Games will set the tone on the way in which sponsorships are sold in the future.