For the first time since 1992, I watched the Summer Olympics solely as a fan. Previously, I had always been affiliated with the Games in some fashion – either in working for a sponsor or in consulting with clients who were activating their sponsorships.

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So, I was anxious to just sit back as a regular “consumer” and assess the sponsor activity going on in the States. On NBC, I was certainly impressed by what I saw. The Olympic-themed advertising – most notably from Visa – was compelling and forged a solid connection with both the Games and the U.S. athletes. But outside of :30 spots and “Presented by” tags with different sponsor logos on NBCOlympics.com, I was really surprised by how little sponsors did to activate their partnerships on U.S. soil.

In fact, outside of NBC’s domain, I found Olympic sponsors to be almost invisible during the Games. There was very little going on through promotions or retail that really broke through during the Games. It makes me wonder if these sponsors were caught off guard by the extremely high level of interest and ratings in the U.S. that the Games actually delivered.

My take away is that it was a lost opportunity for a lot of sponsors who didn't leverage their partnerships outside of a media buy on NBC. Surely, our industry has learned that sponsorship presents the opportunity to engage fans and translate their passion into meaningful brand relationships far beyond advertising. So, while all the talk seems centered on assessing if Beijing marked a new step forward for the Olympics, it seems like a bit of a step backward for sports marketing.