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Olympics - 23 Apr 2012

The True Story Behind the World’s Best Known Brand

“No one knows the Olympic brand better than Michael Payne. Olympic Turnaround provides a road map to success in 2012.” Sebastian Coe, Olympian and Chairman London 2012

“Over a quarter century ago, one of the world’s greatest institutions was on the brink of extinction. That it survived at all is due to the vision and hard work of a few individuals. Olympic Turnaround recounts their story and also provides an inside view of the creation of the sports marketing industry. No one is better positioned to tell this story than Michael Payne.” Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive WPP

Michael Payne is that rare Englishman: an Olympic insider. In the revised paperback edition of Olympic Turnaround, he provides an authoritative and compelling account of how the most important deals in recent Olympic history were struck, and how many of the bids were won or lost, including how London secured the 2012 bid.

He also relates how the nearly-bankrupt Olympic movement edged away from the abyss and embraced the business world. But it did this on its own terms, maintaining its identity, not compromising its core values and, in the process, establishing many of the ground rules of today’s sports marketing industry.

Thirty years ago, when he first arrived in at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Michael Payne found an organisation that was virtually bankrupt and beset by doubts over its survival in light of the ongoing Cold War between the West and the Soviet bloc. It was so vulnerable that when Los Angeles threatened to give the 1984 Games back after a dispute, the IOC had to plead with the city representatives, knowing no one else was interested.

The Olympic Games have come a long way from the lacklustre interest in the 1980s and the scandal of the late 1990s to become the world’s most valuable and important franchise.

Packed with insider stories, Olympic Turnaround is also a cautionary tale of success and failure – about how some nations learned to embrace the potential of hosting the world, while others, because of short-sighted political agendas, failed to see the opportunity.

About the author
Michael Payne was nominated as one of the world’s most influential marketers by Advertising Age. He has spent the last 30 years as a senior executive within the sports marketing industry, negotiating multi-billion dollar broadcast and sponsorship contracts, including the main sponsorship and broadcast agreements for London 2012. He was the first marketing and broadcast director for the IOC and during his career, he oversaw the marketing of fifteen Olympic Winter and Summer Games.

For further information on Olympic Turnaround: How the Olympic Games stepped back from the brink of extinction to become the world’s best known brand – and a multi-billion dollar global franchise or to arrange an interview with Michael Payne, please contact Tim Moore on 01865 514 888. Alternatively emails can be sent to tim@infideas.com.

Olympic Turnaround
How the Olympic Games stepped back from the brink of extinction to become the world’s best known brand – and a multi-billion dollar global franchise
Michael Payne • Infinite Ideas • May 2012
Paperback • 352 pages • 234 x 156 mm • £14.99
Kindle Edition • 1178 KB • £8.99

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