Look of the Games

On our visit to London, certain individuals have felt that the city has not done enough decoration to make it look like the Olympic Games are being played here. According to those who have been to other Olympics, Beijing and Atlanta were plastered with Olympic images throughout the city. Today we found out why London looks different than the other cities.

At our visit to FutureBrand, a affiliate of the McCann World Group that is responsible for the London 2012 brand, we learned that while Beijing spent 45 billion pounds on the 2008 Games, London has only spent 9 billion. Additionally, LOCOG has left it up to the individual boroughs of London to decorate their streets. Finally, in Beijing, the Chinese utilized Olympic signage to block or cover up undesirable entities in the city. FutureBrand has made it very clear that this is not the case in London. The brand agency’s view is “only put look where you want people to look.”

All of these factors combined to make a statement that though the city is proud to host a successful Olympics, this Olympics is only one part of London’s successful summer. At the end of the day, I find it fairly refreshing that I am not inundated with the Olympic brand. Additionally, as a consumer who is concerned with sustainability and legacy, I am impressed by London 2012′s decision.

Posted by olympian on August 4, 2012 | Filed under: GWSB News.