Most PR professionals will agree that you have to seize the opportunity and promote your brand, name and image whenever a suitable platform emerges. And for a lot of companies and brands, the 2012 Olympic Games has presented itself as the perfect platform. But there are lines that should not be crossed and organisers of the Olympic Games have announced a clamp down on marketing around the event. Organisers have announced that because sponsorship money makes up a huge proportion of the money needed to put on the event, it’s important that ‘ambush marketing’ is tackled. Organisers want to properly manage the advertising and trading that may occur close to the venues for the event. Ambush marketing is when a brand tries to affiliate itself with an event without authorisation. This can really detract from the official sponsors, who may have paid a lot of money to be associated with the event legitimately. The organisers have stated that the restrictions will only be in the immediate areas surrounding the venues and the restrictions will also only be in place while the Olympics is taking place. Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson said: ‘They aim to strike the right balance between preventing unauthorised advertising and trading that damage the rights of the sponsors and enabling businesses to operate as usual.’