IOC Seeking Sponsorship Replacement for Acer

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said it is seeking a new sponsor to replace Taiwan-based computer company Acer as a member of the TOP Olympic sponsorship programme.

Gerhard Heiberg, thumb head of the IOC’s marketing team said Acer would no longer sponsor the Olympics and that the success of the London 2012 puts the IOC in a good position to find a replacement.

Heiberg said that Acer would not necessarily be replaced by another computer company.

Acer’s departure from the TOP sponsorship programme is reportedly because of the changing technology landscape and potential for other TOP Olympic partners to encroach on the exclusive computer category.

Heiberg said there may be some changes to the computer sponsorship category.

“We have plans and we are looking at that (computing) category and I hope to see the deal within the year. There are some possibilities with PC producers or some other companies to expand the category a little bit,” he told Reuters.

“There are developments in this technical category. You have producers of TVs, PCs and other IT gadgets. There is such a revolution here.”

The IOC currently has 10 top sponsors signed up to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, including technology firms Samsung and Panasonic, and has set a maximum limit of 12 sponsors.{jcomments on}