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 Citi, which announced its Olympic lineup on Monday, believes its
sponsorship of Carlin Isles, an Olympic hopeful little known outside
rugby, could bring attention to "rugby sevens," a TV-friendly format
of rugby that sponsors said could catch on with American audiences,
much like soccer has in recent years.
Isles, 26, is also a sprinter trying out for the U.S. track team. If
Isles makes the cut, Citi could get a two-sport athlete for the
price of one, said Tina Davis, managing director of marketing and
corporate sponsorships at the bank.
Early on, Citi had an interest in sponsoring rugby or golf, both
medal sports in the Olympics for the first time in about a century.
It settled on rugby partly because it already had a golf sponsorship
with the Presidents Cup, a tournament that pits U.S. golfers against
international players, Davis said.
Citi is not the only official sponsor to unveil its rosters of
athletes well ahead of the 100-day countdown to Rio that begins in
April. Visa Inc, a global Olympics sponsor, said earlier this month
it was backing swimmer Missy Franklin and fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad,
the first Muslim-American to complete in a hijab, at the Olympics in
August.
Dick's Sporting Goods Inc, another U.S. sponsor, has also unveiled
its lineup, which features beach volleyball's Jennings.
Citi's Team USA contract expires after this year's Paralympic Games,
and it will have to decide by the end of the year if it wants to
return as a sponsor.
Davis said backing the Olympics could boost the profile of the
bank's different lines of business, from retail branches to private
banking and that there were also benefits to hosting hospitality
events with clients.
But it is always studying whether the partnership makes financial
sense to the bank, especially with the next three Olympic Summer and
Winter Games being held in South Korea, Japan and China, Davis said.
The big time difference makes it hard for U.S. audiences to watch
the Games live and can decrease the amount of viewers who watch ads.
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Four-year sponsorships of the U.S. Olympic team that span two
Olympics can cost a sponsor about $40 million per games, with a
significant portion of that spent on buying ad time from U.S.
Olympic broadcaster NBC, a unit of Comcast, said industry sources
who did not want to be named because the terms of sponsorship deals
were not made public.
Citi struck the original deal for the 2012 Games in London when Bank
of America bowed out as a sponsor after 16 years.
BETTING ON DOUGLAS
Douglas will try defend her title as all-around champion in
gymnastics, a feat not done since the 1960s.
Although Douglas took nine months off after the 2012 London Games
and will face a tough rival in younger teammate Simone Biles, Davis
said Douglas should not be considered a comeback story, citing her
recent wins at events such as the American Cup in March.
"A comeback means someone who left. Gabby never left. She is just
going to try to best what she did," Davis said.
Other U.S. athletes Citi will sponsor are track and field's Allyson
Felix, swimmer Nathan Adrian and paralympians Brad Snyder, Rudy
Garcia-Tolson and Scout Bassett.
(Reporting by Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Frank McGurty
and Peter Cooney)
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