As the official launch of the 2012 Olympics approached, sponsors such as Adidas and Coca Cola ramped up their online and offline marketing efforts. However, their efforts are not without issues; new data from ICM on behalf of Third City suggest that over half of the UK population cannot confidently name an official sponsor of the games.</p> <p>Most UK consumers can’t name Olympic sponsors</p> <p>Despite the millions of pounds that key sponsors have already spent on marketing and advertising, the survey suggested that 24% of Britons couldn’t name a sponsor, and another 33% would guess at one but wouldn’t be sure. Londoners are slightly more knowledgeable, with some 20% able to name one or two sponsors – although given there are 14 sponsors that is still not a great hit rate. One of them, BMW, has already suggested that it would be “unlikely” to continue being an Olympic sponsor for 2016, having spent around £50 million in sponsoring London 2012. </p> <p>Nike indulges in ambush marketing</p> <p>One reason for this confusion may be the sports related marketing being conducted by other, non-sponsor brands such as Nike, sometimes known as “ambush marketing”. The sportswear brand has just revealed a global campaign featuring amateur athletes from other places that are called London, around the world. The television ad is due to debut on UK television on the official Olympic Opening Day, Friday 27th July, with the strapline “Find Your Greatness”. The official Olympic sportswear sponsor is actually Adidas, but how many UK consumers could state that, we wonder?<br />