GM Announces $3.5M Vehicle Donation Program for U.S. Olympic Hopefuls
12 May 1999
General Motors Announces $3.5 Million Vehicle Donation Program for U.S. Olympic Team Hopefuls
DETROIT--(BW SportsWire)--May 11, 1999--to General Motors Advisory Panel
General Motors, exclusive domestic automotive sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Team through 2008, today in cooperation with the United Auto Workers-GM (UAW-GM) unveiled the details of a new $3.5 million vehicle donation program - The Team Behind The Team--in which the company will provide vehicles to 100 families of U.S. Olympic Team hopefuls.
The program is being launched for the 2000 Olympic Games and will continue for each of the Olympic Games taking place through 2008. It is a key component of an aggressive marketing strategy that capitalizes on GM's long-term partnership with the U.S. Olympic Team and category exclusive sponsorship for 37 National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of sport with lead GM brands.
"As an automotive sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Team, consumers expect us to provide transportation," said Phil Guarascio, vice president, Advertising and Corporate Marketing, General Motors Corporation. "We want to exceed expectations, and extend our support to the grassroots level, reaching young athletes in the early stages of training."
As part of the announcement today, GM unveiled plans for UAW-GM to be a full partner in The Team Behind The Team program and its advertising and promotional components.
General Motors and the UAW have assembled a special Advisory Panel comprised of seven U.S. Olympians who will select The Team Behind The Team recipients. Led by co-chairs Dorothy Hamill and Grant Hill, the elite Olympic athlete panel includes Evelyn Ashford, Carl Lewis and Bob Mathias from track and field, swimmer Pablo Morales and figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi. The Advisory Panel will offer invaluable insight into the needs and challenges faced by U.S. Olympic Team hopefuls. Ultimately, this panel will select the 100 families who will be the recipients of the General Motors vehicles.
"Without my family's support, I could never have become an Olympic champion," said Dorothy Hamill. "I received all the glory, but my family and coach worked just as hard. Becoming an Olympic champion really is a team effort even in an individual sport such as mine."
In addition, General Motors and UAW have secured the expertise of JK Group, Inc., a company that manages corporate philanthropic programs, to help ensure the fairness of The Team Behind The Team selection process. Applications will be sent in the mail and must be returned by July 15, 1999.
As an extension of General Motors' existing commitment to the NGBs, GM and the UAW will guarantee at least two U.S. Olympic Team hopeful family vehicle recipients for each of the 31 summer sports, provided the athlete families meet the defined selection criteria. This format ensures that athletes from all sports categories will benefit from the program. The vehicles donated to the 100 families will comprise the eight vehicles General Motors has designated as U.S. Olympic Gold Medal brands.
Proprietary consumer research helped GM identify synergies between individual brands' consumers and supporters of key Olympic sports, thus ensuring the brand/sport matches provide maximum business and brand-building opportunities with the overarching U.S. Olympic platform. GM announced today their lead brands with summer sport NGBs, and will announce their brands for the winter NGBs in advance of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games.
Summer National Governing Bodies Pontiac Grand Am USA Gymnastics Pontiac Montana Minivan USA Gymnastics Pontiac Grand Prix USA Track & Field GMC Envoy USA Track & Field Cadillac Deville USA Swimming Oldsmobile Alero USA Volleyball Assoc. (Beach Volleyball) Buick Regal USA Basketball (Women's) Saturn USA Cycling
All GM brands will leverage the U.S. Olympic Team association to varying degrees through existing and new relationships with Olympic NGBs. The Pontiac Montana and the Pontiac Grand Am will support USA Gymnastics, including 13 major televised events in `99-2000 leading up to the Sydney Games. In addition, they will entitle the Pontiac International Team Championships taking place in Richmond, Va., in March 2000. The GMC Envoy and the Pontiac Grand Prix are major sponsors of USA Track & Field's Golden Spike Tour. The Pontiac Grand Prix will be title sponsor of the tour's 60m (indoor) and 100m (outdoor) events, as well as the Pontiac Grand Prix Invitational on June 13, 1999. Saturn will continue its high profile presence with USA Cycling. The first Gold Medal Brand NGB-specific program, the nine-event Alero Beach Volleyball Series--a U.S. Olympic Challenge, developed in partnership with USA Volleyball and the Unites States Olympic Committee (USOC), was announced earlier this month by Oldsmobile.
GM is the exclusive advertiser in the domestic automotive category for NBC, the official U.S. Olympic Games network, as well as NBC's owned and operated stations. A new unprecedented joint UAW and GM U.S. Olympic Team advertising campaign will be break during the NBA Finals in June on NBC and roll out through a phased approach over the following 17 months leading up to the Games in Sydney. The ad campaign, which will have a different look than any previous GM ads, will portray the company's commitment to supporting U.S. Olympic Team hopefuls when they need it most.
General Motors and the UAW made a significant commitment to the Olympic Movement through its support of U.S. Olympic Teams, 37 NGBs of the Olympic Games and Olympic Winter Games, the Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games, and NBC Olympic broadcasts through 2008.
