Today is 22 January. The Vancouver Olympics start on 12 February – three weeks from today – and yet, apparently the Vancouver Organizing Committee plan to sell another major sponsorship before the Games, and possibly more. Reports are that they already have a sponsor in mind.

This is just ridiculous. Committing to major sponsorship of an Olympic Games three weeks before it starts is just about the fastest way to waste money I can think of. Okay, maybe Vegas would be faster, but at least you would have the chance of a win. This new sponsor? No way.

When you invest in sponsorship, you are investing in opportunity. It is leverage that provides the results. It is the strategic activity you do with the sponsorship to achieve your goals that will provide the ROI, not the sponsorship itself. Planning and implementing these strategies takes time, and time is exactly what they don’t have.

• What sponsor could integrate this sponsorship across all of their activities – which is what you have to do when you’re spending tens of millions on one event – in three weeks?
• What sponsor could create a media campaign worthy of an Olympic sponsorship and launch it in three weeks? Are appropriate advertising slots even available at this point?
• What sponsor could create a hospitality program of the appropriate calibre in three weeks? Are there any decent hotel rooms or venues still available? Are clients even going to be available? Or have all the big clients been invited to the Games by someone else?
• What sponsor can plan and implement a staff program in three weeks?
• What sponsor could get a social media plan up and running in three weeks? I know social media is fast-moving, but creating something worth paying attention to often isn’t.

No sponsor could do that in three weeks, but that is what it would take to turn this sponsorship from a massive opportunity into any result at all.

So what is driving the interest in sponsoring now, given that sponsorships have been on the market for years? Only three options come to mind: Corporate ego, blinding ignorance, or politics. Of these, only politics could possibly, possibly justify the investment, as I can see where a company that made the investment that put VANOC over their target might be seen favourably by the various levels of Government. That would be an extreme long-shot.

Through all of this, VANOC is being pretty cocky – telling major media that they anticipate signing at least one more sponsor before the Games. Good for them. Unfortunately, not good for the sponsor.

In case you’re interested, here is a list of all of the Worldwide and Vancouver Olympic Sponsors.