By Eddie Pells, National Writer
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) --The U.S. Olympic Committee and leaders of the effort to bring the 2024 Games to Los Angeles reached terms on a marketing agreement Friday, clearing a major hurdle nearly a year before those Olympics are awarded.
The Joint Marketing Program Agreement would shift a majority of the USOC's marketing revenue over to the host city for a period surrounding the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee requires the agreement to eliminate crossover sponsorships — for instance, the USOC pairing with one carmaker, while a host city pairs with another.
The inability to reach an agreement on the marketing deals until the 11th hour played into the failures of both the 2016 Chicago bid and the 2012 New York bid.
"We didn't want it to become an issue," USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said. "We made the decision, and realized that sooner is better than later."
In some instances, host cities have received up to 90 percent of a national organizing committee's sponsorship revenue.
Most Olympic committees have been quick to sign the JMPA, knowing the surge in interest sparked by a home Olympics will lure new sponsors and, more importantly, that their national governments will step in to make up the difference.
But in the United States, there's not as much room for growth in the sponsorship market, and the federal government has a long history of not providing funding to the USOC.
That puts the USOC is a spot of not having any clear path to make up the sponsorship shortfall, which has historically accounted for between 20 and 30 percent of its revenues ($141 million last year) — a good portion of which is used to fund Olympic athletes.
So, the USOC has to reach a different sort of deal; in this case, it would likely sign over between 70 and 85 percent of its revenue to Los Angeles.
The agreement won't be officially signed unless Los Angeles wins the bid at an IOC meeting next September. Its main competition is expected to come from Paris.
The agreement figures to take a potentially fractious issue off the table, as Los Angeles enters the final stretch of the campaign.
"We talk repeatedly about what a high-quality partnership this is, and this is a demonstration of the quality of the partnership," USOC chairman Larry Probst said.
Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More