Olympic Turnaround: How the Olympic Games Stepped Back from the Brink of Extinction to Become the World's Best Known Brand

by Michael Payne

Higher, faster, stronger… The Olympic motto conjures images of heroes whose achievements transcended their athletic prowess, but also of tragedy and disgrace. By 1980, the modern Olympic movement was gasping for breath, bankrupt financially, politically, and culturally. But under the leadership of Juan Antonio Samaranch, and, subsequently, Jacques Rogge, the Olympics began a journey back from the brink. Michael Payne, who served as the International Olympic Committee's top marketer for over twenty years, offers unprecedented access to the people and negotiations behind one of the most dramatic turnarounds in business or sports history. Through a multi-pronged strategy, the IOC managed to secure lucrative broadcasting commitments, entice well-heeled corporate sponsors, and parlay the symbolism of the Olympics into a brand for which cities around the world are willing to invest billions of dollars. Packed with previously untold stories from the high-octane world where business, sports, politics, and media meet, Olympic Turnaround is a remarkable tale of organizational renewal and a fascinating glimpse behind the curtain of the world's most iconic brand.

The 2008 Games in Beijing, for example, are expected to involve over 10,000 athletes from 200 countries, draw 20,000 media representatives, and generate over $4 billion in sponsorships and broadcasting rights. Packed with previously untold stories from the high-octane world where business, sports, politics, and media meet, Olympic Turnaround is a remarkable tale of organizational renewal and a fascinating glimpse behind the curtain of the world's most iconic brand.

Genres: Sports

368 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2005

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the not too distant future I suspect that the modern Olympic movement, assuming it can survive beyond the next few games, will look back on the period of 1992 to 2012 as its golden years. The Summer Olympics of Barcelona, Sydney, Beijing and London, and the Olympic Winter Games of Lillehammer, Nagano, Salt Lake City and Vancouver will be celebrated as the most successful Olympic events, where sport, politics, diplomacy, business and economics all came together to not just meet but perhaps exceed expectations. The International Olympic Committee expanded its role as a significant player in global sporting geopolitics, whilst making huge advances in developing their economic influence and capabilities. Michael Payne, a key member of the IOC's efforts to achieve such a result, documents much of what transpired during this period and in his book Olympic Turnaround: How the Olympic Games Stepped Back from the Brink of Extinction to Become the World's Best Known Brand he offers an interesting, if at times exceedingly parochial narrative as to how the IOC fostered this 'golden age' of for the modern Olympics. Whilst one can argue about the morality of what Payne and the IOC achieved during the 20 years that serve as a focus of his text, it can't be denied that the Olympics were brought back from the edge of the abyss, and now that they are perhaps imperilled again, what can one learn from Payne's study that could offer hope for the IOC and the games' future?

As stated, Payne was a key member of the IOC's business team during the period he covers in this book, and that means that quite naturally he offers a biased perspective that at times either embellishes, ignores or misrepresents the history of what he discusses. A classic example of this is when he recounts business negotiations between NBC TV supremo Dick Ebersol and the IOC in 1995. Payne says that Gilday was a NBC VP but forgets to mention that Gilday was also an IOC member at the same time. When he says at another point in his book that "Nike was a trendsetter for youth and often has as much influence over kids as their parents or school teachers, more sometimes." he doesn't then make it clear that Nike became a TOP sponsor in time for the Sydeny 2000 games. His praise of the Athens 2004 Sumer Olympic Games conveniently forgets that the games were bedevilled by very disappointing crowd attendances. He extols the virtues of American TV audiences for Athens 2004 in contrast to Sydney 2000, ignoring the obvious difference in time zones. When it comes to the IOC presidency of Juan Antonio Samaranch he extols the virtues of the man and his leadership, whilst failing to speak to how the whole debacle of corruption erupted as a result of Salt Lake City's suucessful Winter Olympics bid was under Samaranch's watch, and that malfeasance had been festering since his election to the post in 1980.

Frankly, the self-serving, the excuse making and the failure to address some of the blatant mistakes and missteps of the IOC during Payne's work with them is pretty hard to swallow, and it certainly will have a negative impact on one's reception of this book. Furthermore, there are a few stupid errors that crop up again and again, such as speaking to 'Mexico 1968' (not Mexico City 1968) or saying that the 1906 Intercalcated Games of Athens had nothing to do with the IOC. Whether it's Payne himself or his editors, there are significant mistakes and misdirections that belie the overall accuracy of what he is trying to 'sell' to the reader.

Having said all this, Olympic Turnaround: How the Olympic Games Stepped Back from the Brink of Extinction to Become the World's Best Known Brand does provide some interesting and useful insights into the IOC's operations during the period Payne covers. He speaks to the surprisingly long history of the Olympic movement being involved in sponsorship deals, dating back to the first modern games, including Olympic cigarettes being sold during Tokyo 1964 and Grenoble 1968. The account of the disasters experienced in Atlanta, during the 1996 Summer Olympics, show how badly the games were run (though he shifts almost all the blame onto parties other than the IOC and its membership), and near the end fo the book Payne speaks to what might happen if a games would have to be cancelled, thus foreshadowing the issues pertaining to Tokyo 2020.

That this book was published before the Beijing Olympics, and perhaps more importantly, before the advent of growing discontent at the cost of the games as seen with Athens, Rio, Sochi and Tokyo, means that Payne's arguments and narrative are somewhat detached from current issues that affect the Olympics. This is even more noticeable in his discussion of online media and the Olympics; the drastic and fundamental changes that have reshaped the media environment since 2008, including the flourishing of social media, means that much of what Payne writes of in this book will be seen as (ancient) history. Payne was obviously limited in his ability to speak to what will come when this book was published, however he can still be criticised for ignoring important trends such as the growing social, political and economic cost of hosting the Olympics, and the resultant push back that was inevitable considering the gigantism that the IOC has encouraged.

So, is Olympic Turnaround: How the Olympic Games Stepped Back from the Brink of Extinction to Become the World's Best Known Brand worth reading? Yes, if you are an addict of all things Olympic, or perhaps if you are a business and marketing student. The dated and biased perspective of Payne makes him an unreliable authority, but these issues don't destroy the book;s value and his credibility entirely. Perhaps the best way to apporach this book is that it provides the orthodox line on just how good the IOC was during this golden era, counterbalancing to some small extent the work of Andrew Jennings in his books that probed Olympic corruption. This isn't a bad read, but its appeal and value must be contextualised accordingly.

[Arely · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book contains very interesting facts about the history of the Olympic Movement and sports industry. Most significantly, it provides valuable lessons on the importance of leadership, long-term vision and marketing programmes involved in the survival and evolution of the Olympic brand.

"Higher, faster, stronger is the Olympic motto. It continues to inspire athletes to compete for the honour of being called Olympians, but it must also be the aspiration of those who manage and safeguard the future of the Olympic Games."

[Adam Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love the Olympics, and you're in marketing, this is an absolute Godsend. Enjoyed it cover to cover.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

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