Why Diageo said ‘No’ to London 2012 sponsorship

"We won’t be sponsors of the World Cup or the Olympics," Diageo chief marketing officer Andy Fennell told delegates at the Cannes Lions Festival last week.

"It’s really expensive and hard to get a return."

Speaking to Marketing, he added: "Brands have to do [such sponsorships] on conviction. I’m sure some of them will get real benefit from being associated with the world’s most extraordinary sporting festival."

"Nonetheless," said Fennell: "If they try to do two-decimal-place ROI analysis, they will struggle, which is why most of them had board-level corporate conviction, and that’s what needs to happen."

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk