Starbucks in Sochi thanks to NBC

Corporate sponsorship of global sporting events is big business.

The sum of wealth that swaps hands in order to guarantee that a brand has a visible presence on all forms of advertising is vast. Estimates put deals signed between the IOC for the London games and companies including McDonalds, Visa, Coca Cola and other global partners at $100m (£64m) and more often than not, these entities in return gain a temporary monopoly of a cornered market.

Whilst the initial outlay may be gargantuan in size, companies stand to make much more through sales and so the idea of sponsoring sporting events and organisations, no matter the outlay, remains such an attractive proposition.

For the current Winter Olympics, held in Sochi, Russia, McDonald’s are the designated coffee partner of the games thanks to their contract with the IOC. No other company, retailer or individual is licensed to sell coffee in IOC designated areas such as fan parks and press centres.

Yet, hidden away – though not for much longer after the Wall Street Journal broke the news – in the NBC headquarters you will find a little corner Starbucks that runs 24-hours a day and serves, free of charge, coffee to staff of the American broadcaster.

The nearest Starbucks in Russia is to be found some 350 miles away in the city of Rostov-on-Don.

It turns out that NBC has funded the short-term relocation of 15 baristas from shops across Russia and is providing them with both wages and accommodation for the duration of the Games. One barista told the WSJ that she came from Moscow whilst a colleague has moved from St. Petersburg.

NBC state that their mini-Starbucks does not break Olympic rules regarding catering as they are not interfering with McDonald’s exclusivity rights as their coffee house is located within a private facility and therefore not open to the public.

John Fritsche, senior vice-president of NBC’s Olympic operations, said; ‘an army travels on its stomach. We, in a lot of ways, operate that way’.

But is it, as some have suggested, a guerrilla marketing campaign? Apparently not as according to Mr. Fritsche this is not the first instance of NBC joining up with Starbucks to provide a caffeine fix for his employees; mini-outlets have been erected at every Olympics since the Sydney Games in 2000.

Normally, commercial partners rigorously defend their turf like Jonas Hiller did against the Czechs but McDonald’s appear to be unconcerned about the presence of the green siren.

McDonald’s were awarded the rights to serve coffee at the Olympics after Coca Cola, the drinks partner of the IOC, waived on the option as the Atlanta-based giant do not have a hot-beverage business based in Russia.

You just can’t escape Starbucks, even in places where they aren’t supposed to be seen.

picture: Val202, flickr – used under creative commons