Mike Salsbury/The Olympian
A group of auditors and managers from the Department of Revenue gathers for lunch at Budd Bay Cafe on Thursday. State workers are a common sight during the weekday lunch rush at the Olympia eatery, but the arrival of the Olympic torch Wednesday is likely to bring in added business.

Olympian/file
Steve Boone, who sold Boone Ford in 2000, will be among those carrying the Olympic torch Wednesday.

Torch carries boost for businesses

Coke, Chevy are visible sponsors of torch relay

CHRIS CLOUGH, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Sunday, January 20, 2002

OLYMPIA -- The Olympic torch relay will wind its way through South Sound on Wednesday, bringing the spirit of competition, country and, in ever-increasing fashion, commerce.

The torch relay will bring a one-day infusion of visitors -- and money -- to Olympia, with restaurants likely to garner the most financial benefit from the morning to early afternoon relay.

More than 1,000 people are expected to attend the day's highlight event, a celebration at the Olympia Farmers Market.

"A lot of the torch bearers are not just from Olympia, but the entire region," said Todd Babcock, who works for the city of Olympia and is the area coordinator for the torch relay.

"Their friends and families will be along the routes and want the chance to come to the celebration. That and people who are just interested in the torch and Olympics."

The Farmers Market event runs from 10 a.m. to just past noon and will give people from outside the area an opportunity to see how the market district has developed in the past few years.

Off-season benefit

"It's a day in which we get to showcase Olympia and Thurston County for the destination area that it is," said Tamara Garcia, marketing director for the Olympia Thurston County Visitors Convention Bureau. "That's our focus this year -- get folks off I-5 and show them the attractions and amenities, including the waterfront."

With the Farmers Market closed from the end of December to April, it will be an especially nice off-season boost for restaurants in the surrounding area.

"Now that the Legislature is in town, lunch has been pretty decent," said David Masters, restaurant manager at Budd Bay Cafe. "But for the torch day, we're doubling our service staff and figure our lunch rush will carry through all the way to dinner."

Staff at nearby Anthony's Homeport is equally enthusiastic.

"It's great to bring attention to the market area when it's in the off-season," said Vicki Westberg, Anthony's general manager. "The whole area at this end of town and the new development is looking so good. A lot of newcomers will be pleasantly surprised."

The Winter Olympics are an every-four-year affair, and it's even less often that a nation has the opportunity to play host to the Games. With the Olympics in Salt Lake City, it's a chance for the torch to tour the nation and kindle Olympic fervor.

It's also a chance for corporate America to ally itself with the Olympic goodwill.

Corporate sponsors

When the torch enters Thurston County, there will be a strong corporate presence, with relay sponsors Coca-Cola and Chevrolet literally leading the pack.

"I was here in 1996 when the torch came through, and I image it will be the same kind of thing," said Scott River, who works for the city of Olympia and is the celebration site coordinator. "Coke will pull up with big trucks and hand out products, and there will be Coke and Chevy logos everywhere."

The Olympics and its logo are icons, and Coke, Chevrolet and others hope to brand their products with that image. They are willing to pay big time for that opportunity.

NBC forked over $748 million for the U.S. rights to broadcast the 2002 Games, part of a multibillion-dollar contract for the same rights to every session of the Olympics through 2008.

Coke and Chevrolet reportedly ponied up for most, if not all, of what is about a $25 million budget for the torch relay.

For their millions, Coke and Chevy get nearly exclusive promotion rights for the relay.

Bruce Tillotson, who works in marketing for Coca-Cola North America, said three Coke-sponsored vehicles will lead the 14-vehicle caravan that accompanies the torch bearer along the route.

"There's a DJ vehicle to get the crowd pumped up. Others will hand out Coke products and pennants," Tillotson said from Bellevue.

The pennants will have the Olympic torch logo side by side with the Coke logo.

At the Farmers Market, there will be a Coke vending area, Coke exhibit and an event merchandise booth. There will be performances by the Coke Air Dancers. And the Coke polar bear is sure to be front and center.

Not overwhelmed

But amid a sea of people and patriotism, the corporate message isn't as overwhelming as it might appear, said Nancy Rapp, assistant director of Parks and Recreation in Santa Barbara, Calif., which played host to the torch relay last Wednesday.

"Corporate marketing was one of the things that we worried about the most," Rapp said. "Coke distributed flags and Chevy had their logo everywhere, but it really wasn't as obvious as we thought it might be."

Rapp, who served as chairwoman of the torch relay task force in Santa Barbara, said crowds far exceeded expectations.

"Our noonday celebration had about 5,000 people, and that doesn't count people lining the streets," she said. "It was such a great event."

In past years, Tillotson said Coke had been the torch relay's sole corporate sponsor. This year Chevrolet joined the ranks. In the Northwest, Coke partnered with Safeway stores as well.

With corporate sponsorship comes a share of the torch-carrying slots.

Nationally, about 7,200 slots were doled out through a national contest open to public nomination.

The remaining 4,300 were split between Chevrolet, Coke and the Salt Lake Organizing Committee.

Coke and Chevrolet designated the bulk of those through their own public contests.

Tillotson said Coke used a third-party clearing house to pick the finalists, and Chevrolet used a similar method.

Of the 45 legs in the Olympia-area relay, the city of Olympia, Chevrolet and Coke each got about a third of the slots.

Special relay slots

There also are a few special slots designated for use by Coke, Chevrolet and the Salt Lake Organizing Committee.

In Seattle, the Coke slots will be filled by television personalities, such as news anchor Lori Matsukawa, and people with close business ties with Coke.

In South Sound, Titus Will of Olympia stepped up with a celebration sponsorship that earned it a slot as well.

More than 4,300 Chevy dealers across the country were given the opportunity to be sponsors, at a reported cost of about $15,000

Titus Will was one of three dealers in Washington state to fund sponsorships, said Michael Wysup, general manager of Titus Will Olympia.

"We were asked to become an official sponsor, we accepted the honor and selected a local dignitary," Wysup said.

That dignitary is Steve Boone.

"I'll be running the leg from Legion Way to State Avenue on Capitol Way," Boone said. "It's right in the heart of downtown, and I feel really fortunate. It will be a lot of fun."

Wysup said Boone's long history of community involvement -- he's the board president of the Boys and Girls Club of Thurston County and is a past president of the United Way of Thurston County -- and his role in the automobile industry -- he owns Northwest Harley Davidson and is former owner of Boone Ford -- made for an easy selection.

Wysup also said the sponsorship is a way to reciprocate Chevrolet's support of dealers nationwide after the Sept. 11 attacks.

"Chevrolet's Keep America Rolling program really helped to keep our community and industry rolling," Wysup said. "Being a sponsor is our way to support them and the country in some way."

Unlike the other dealer sponsors in the state, there won't be an event at Titus Will. Instead, the dealership will set up a tent at the market.

"We're not doing it to sell cars, and we don't plan to bring any of our products," Wysup said. "Chevrolet will have some models there, but the main visibility for us is transporting torch bearers to and from their run sites."

Other local businesses

Other South Sound businesses are stepping up with donations and volunteers -- though only official sponsors can use the event promotionally.

Anthony's and Meconi's Italian Subs will feed about 125 volunteers.

"The event was brought to our attention about six months ago," said Westberg, general manager at Anthony's. "And I leaped at the chance to help."

She said Anthony's will provide chowder to relay volunteers.

"We won't be wearing logos; we'll just be anonymous chowders servers," Westberg said. "We are sports fans, and it's a chance to tell our grandchildren we were part of the Olympics in our own way."

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