Michael Lang is president of Lang & Associates, a Toronto-based international event marketing agency with offices in Vancouver, Montreal and Atlanta.

Kirsten Armitage is an account executive with Lang & Associates, and co-ordinator for the Event Marketing column. Contributions, ideas, media releases and feedback should be directed to Kirsten at (416) 229-0060 or fax (416) 229-1210.

Over the years, an evolution has occurred in the event marketing industry as corporate involvement has changed to reflect changing business needs.

Sponsorship marketing, characterized by the one-off purchase rights for a core event or property, little or no marketing integration and a high-cost/low-value relationship, shaped the industry in the early 1980s.

Event marketing evolved later that decade with increased focus on the event or property.

The association was integrated into traditional elements of the marketing mix, thereby increasing value of the investment.

Equity marketing takes event marketing one step further.

Real or perceived ownership of an event or property allows a company to build equity in its name and products through presumably positive association.

These programs tend to be longer term in focus, allowing for the development of image equity and making the overall investment more cost-effective.

Ambush opportunities can be controlled more stringently from an equity position because of the entrenchment of the brand’s ownership of the property.

This is not to say that equity marketing is not without risk. An ownership position means that significant dollars are required as an investment in the initial phase.

The level of risk that can be absorbed by a rights holder should be evaluated before embarking on an equity proposition.

More and more, however, companies are looking for that single, ownable property they can focus their resources against, and that fits with their positioning, target audiences, budgets and long-term marketing objectives.

Perhaps the ultimate equity marketing position is a long-term association with the world’s most captivating event marketing property, the Olympic Games.

In this case, let’s look at ibm’s relationship with the Games.

ibm has been a worldwide sponsor since joining The Olympic Program (top) in 1993.

The company uses its Olympic sponsorship as a global marketing platform to help re-establish industry leadership, build employee morale, increase preference of its products and rebuild/enhance its brand.

ibm’s brand positioning is to demonstrate to the world that only ibm has the technology, expertise, experience, size and scope to provide the systems, services, solutions and global teams to help manage and run the Games, whenever and wherever they may be.

In 1996, ibm will get the story out of its involvement through worldwide print and television ad campaigns and through channels more consistent with its own field: interactive promotions on ibm’s Internet World Wide Web site and on diskette.

With its recent signing as one of the top iv sponsors, it is clear ibm is building a relationship that will take the company into the next century with the Olympics.