Eastman Kodak company is shuttering its long-standing Olympic Games sponsorship.
Eastman Kodak said Friday that it would conclude its sponsorship of the Olympics after the Beijing 2008 SummerGames, where it is official imaging sponsor.
Currently going through a major digital overhaul, the company said it needs to reassess its marketing tactics in the new environment as well. It ends an association that dates back to the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, when it ran ads in the program.
“As we complete the transformation of Kodak, it makes sense for us to take a new direction,” said Elizabeth Noonan. Kodak director of brand management, in a statement.
Kodak’s Olympic run ends after it spent $100 million in an eight-year deal to continue its sponrship through the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, the 2004 Athens Games, the 2006 Turin Games and the 2008 Beijing Games.
Kodak is one of 12 sponsors in “The Olympic Program”, the top-tier partnership level for the Games.
At the 2008 Beijing games, Kodak will provide an imaging center for journalists, a clinic for diagnostic imaging of athlete’ injuries and accreditation badges for Olympic participants, officials, volunteers and journalists.
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