• New York Sports Journalism, Thursday, September 3, 2009 10:40 AM

All of a sudden, Procter & Gamble's got game, reports Barry Janoff, morphing in just the last month into one of the biggest players in both professional and amateur athletics by cutting deals with the National Football League and the U.S. Olympic Committee. He interviews Kirk Perry, P&G's vp-North America, and Lisa Baird, CMO for the USOC, about the Olympic deal announced earlier this week.

The games are the No. 1 sport of interest for women and the No. 2 sport of interest for men behind the NFL, according to Perry. "When do sports fans in Pittsburgh, Dallas, Cincinnati and New York ever come together?" he asks. "It's during the Olympics." Not only does it bring far-flung fans together, it brings families (like his) together in front of the TV, and it also is an opportunity for P&G to bring together its extensive roster of brands in front of a mass audience. For the USOC's part, Baird calls the deal "a sponsorship about marketing activation." Say what?

"They are going to activate against our property in advertising, public relations, retail and a number of [other] things," Baird explains. "That helps us to spread the Olympic message and get more support behind Team USA." Perry elaborates: "If you think about holistic marketing, we are going to be in TV, print, digital, in-store and on-shelf."

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