5 Technologies Helping Big Companies Harness The Upstart Ethos

Companies spent more on acquisitions in 2015 than ever before, and it seems safe to assume that the working world of the future will be dominated by big businesses.

Yet many large companies are increasingly finding that real success may actually come from thinking small. According to PwC's “Future of Work” study, which surveyed over 1,300 workers and 200 C-level executives, employees at small businesses are significantly happier than their counterparts at larger corporations are, thanks to less red tape, more flexible work arrangements, closer-knit company cultures ― not to mention the latest communications technologies helping to make those workplace communities a reality. These feelings of meaning, satisfaction and independence can lead to greater productivity and innovation on the part of workers, and big businesses are taking note. Now, with the help of data-sharing platforms and collaboration tools, enterprises are achieving the best of both worlds: the intimacy and personal touch of the small-business approach, expressed across an international organization and bolstered by deep pockets.

As part of the What’s Working: Purpose + Profit platform, we partnered with PwC to profile the emerging technologies that big business are using to build the workplace of tomorrow. By emulating the perceived benefits of smaller companies, these big firms are boosting employee morale and productivity, as well as increasing satisfaction among workers and customers.

Replace Water Cooler Conversations With New Communication Tools

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In a small office, you can merely walk down the hall to catch up with Steve in Marketing. But having that check-in about the latest sales strategy or your March Madness bracket becomes a more onerous task when Steve is based on the other side of the country. That is, unless you have a powerful enterprise social networking tool at your disposal. Virtual coworkers can feel free to discuss sensitive company information or fire off one-liners about more lighthearted matters ― the network’s private, so you only see what’s in your channel.

This ability to keep lines of communication wide open, strengthening an employee’s connection to her team and company, is catnip to C-suite decision makers: 85 percent of Fortune 500 businesses are using services like these to bolster internal networks.

Let Employees WFH (Finally!)

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It’s not just about being able to video conference into a meeting in your pajamas. Working from home means fundamentally tipping the scales of work-life balance in favor of quality of life. Things like a stress-free commute and greater childcare options are becoming bigger priorities for employees, and can actually lead to greater productivity. But according to the PwC study, workers at larger companies don’t get to exercise this option the way their counterparts at smaller businesses do: Only 26 percent of employees at large companies report having the opportunity to work from home, while over half of small-business workers say they do.

 With sophisticated telepresence tools now on the market, big businesses can mirror the flexibility inherent in smaller companies when it comes to allowing employees to work from home. A popular (though now defunct) “always-on” group video chat that streamlined the process of connecting co-workers paved the way for other tools that create virtual workplaces.

Nurture The Startup Innovation Mentality

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These days, it goes without saying that large companies have a healthy respect for the startup model. They’ve been disrupted by it enough times to see that staying nimble, eschewing bureaucracy and teasing out innovative ideas from unlikely places can reap serious dividends. That’s why they’re creating startup environments within their ranks, hiring smaller companies as mentors and designing employee incentives to encourage outside-the-box ideation.

That brainstorming process gets a big boost from enterprise services that facilitate collaborative coding. As the preferred tool of developers who dream of building the next industry-leading company, this system is a natural fit for big businesses that are looking to tap into the entrepreneurial spirit. Its repository hosts projects and keeps track of revisions, helping users collaborate as efficiently as possible. 

Track Team Spirit

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As popular wisdom would have it, a happy employee is a productive employee. And productive equals profitable: There’s a considerable payoff for an employer if she can figure out the magical formula for worker satisfaction. For small businesses, it’s easy to check in with employees and stay engaged. But what’s an executive to do when you have to ask 10,000 people how you’re doing?

Enter apps that employ the now-ubiquitous swipe-to-match model to gauge employee satisfaction: Swipe right if you’re happy with the status quo or left if you’d like to see some changes. Companies can customize the platform to include more built-out surveys, and can also seek a yea-or-nay on specific issues, such as whether staffers think the office is overdue for a good cleaning. Though it may seem simplistic, this approach is easy to scale, which may make it an attractive option for big companies hoping to discern if they have happy ― and therefore productive ― employees.

Create A Personal Connection With Customers

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In sales, size can be both a blessing and a curse. A mom-and-pop store doesn’t have the deep pockets of a national retailer, but because it’s small, mom and pop have a clear advantage when it comes to cultivating personal, profitable relationships with customers and sharing their purpose. According to PwC’s “Putting Purpose to Work” survey, both consumers and employees want to hear about an organization’s purpose and impact via social media

It’s this personal touch that certain startups are looking to replicate on a large scale. By analyzing publicly available data from other social media networks, this company assigns people personality types and then suggests the preferred and less appealing ways to communicate with them. For example, would a potential international client prefer a more formal greeting, or would she be more receptive to your pitch if you dropped the stuffy “Dear” in the salutation of your email? Technology can guide you on this point and a number of others, optimizing the relationship-building process.

The workplace of today is rapidly evolving, but PwC can help you map your company’s path forward. For more information, click here.

NerdWallet's Best Credit Card Tips for August 2016

by Ellen Cannon

August is a bittersweet month. Summer is winding down, and the days are getting shorter. At the end, kids go back to school, and adults have to turn their full attention to work. But first, everyone tries to squeeze in as much summer as they can. We think you should also squeeze as many benefits as you can out of your credit cards this month.

Every month, the Nerds round up a new set of tips to help you maximize rewards and minimize costs with each use of your credit card. Here are our tips for August 2016.

Find back-to-school shopping bargains

Back-to-school shopping is "the second-largest retail event of the year, behind only the winter holiday shopping season," according to Mintel, a market research company. Obviously, people are buying a lot more than pencils and erasers. If your kids -- or you -- are heading back to school, your shopping list may include school supplies, books, computers and clothing. For college-bound teenagers, outfitting a dorm room or off-campus apartment can put a dent in the budget.

Save some money or earn cash-back rewards by choosing the right credit card when you shop. A flat-rate card gives you rewards on everything you buy. If you have a cash-back card with rotating bonus categories, know where to go to get maximum value this quarter -- it might be wholesale clubs, for example, or Amazon.com, depending on your card. You can also save a little by taking advantage of a sales tax holiday. This is a period during which some states don't charge sales tax on back-to-school items. Read our guide to choosing the right credit card for back-to-school shopping, which also includes a list of sales tax holidays.

Teach students about credit

People go to college to prepare themselves for the work world -- but few students learn the financial information they need to know for living in the real world. That's where moms and dads have to be teachers. Students in college should learn the basics of building credit and using credit cards before they graduate. There are three ways to go with credit cards: get a student credit card, become an authorized user of a parent's card or get a secured card.

Most of the major credit card issuers offer student credit cards, which are designed for college students with limited credit. They can be difficult to qualify for, however. If your student doesn't qualify, you may need to co-sign for the credit card. This means you agree to pay the balance if your student does not, so any misstep can hurt your credit, too.

Another option is to make your child an authorized user of your card. You're still liable for any charges made by the authorized user, but your child will be building credit. Make sure your card issuer reports authorized user activity to the credit bureaus.

If neither of those options seems like a good fit, consider a secured credit card. Your student puts up an amount of money -- usually around $300 -- and this becomes the credit limit. (A low credit limit also limits the potential for getting into trouble with debt.) The card issuer holds the money as collateral in case the student doesn't pay the bill; when the account is closed or converted to a regular card, the issuer refunds the money. Before applying, be sure that the card reports to one of the credit bureaus so that you achieve your goal: to build your child's credit file. Managing a secured card responsibly for several years will make it easier for your child to get an unsecured card after college. Be aware that just like any credit card, a secured card requires the student to have a source of income.

Whichever route you go, be sure your child learns the right way to manage credit. Explain the importance of looking at the monthly statement, paying the bill on time and not maxing out the credit line.

Another good teaching opportunity is to get your credit report and go over it with your child. Every consumer is entitled to a free credit report from each of the credit bureaus once a year. You can download yours at AnnualCreditReport.com. Once you've scrutinized the credit report, get your credit score and show your child how to get his or her own. There are many places for consumers to get free FICO scores these days; take advantage of them.

If you want to give your children a credit head start, begin teaching them about credit in high school. A 2016 survey by the Council for Economic Education found that only 17 states require high school students to take a personal finance course. If you don't live in one of those states, it's up to you to be the personal finance guru. People under 18 can't apply for student credit cards, but they can be authorized users on your card, or you can co-sign for a card. In addition to reviewing credit reports and scores, you can show them how you check your transactions and balance throughout the month, and pay your bill on time. By the time they head to college, they'll be credit scholars.

Consider applying for a hotel card

Vacation season is winding down, but if you want to eke out one more trip before summer ends (or get started with planning for your next one), think about applying for a hotel credit card. August is the best time to apply for a hotel card, according to a NerdWallet study, because that's the month when hotel credit cards make the most special offers. What's a good offer? A sign-up bonus that runs from 25,000 to 80,000 points after you spend a certain amount within a specific time period. Hotel cards usually offer bonus rewards for money spent at their properties, and many offer perks like a free night's stay each year. Check out NerdWallet's comparison of hotel rewards programs to help you make a good choice.

Ellen Cannon is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: ecannon@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @ellencannon.

This story originally appeared on NerdWallet.

Waiters Score Big Win Against Industry Effort To Pocket Their Tips

Pam Walter took a job as a banquet server at the Hilton Garden Inn in Missoula, Montana, in 2006. At first, she was paid an hourly wage plus a share of customers’ tips. But Walter said those tips didn’t last long.

The gratuities earned by servers like herself at several Montana hotels were renamed “service” or “setup” fees, according to a class-action lawsuit Walter filed last year. The hotels continued to add these automatic charges to their customers’ bills, but instead of dispersing the cash among the servers, the house started pocketing it.

Now, that money is finally making its way back to Walter and her fellow servers. Earlier this month, they reached a $4 million settlement with the hotels’ owners and a common subcontractor, according to a settlement agreement approved by a Montana state judge. The lawsuit involves more than 500 workers.

Many of them will receive just a thousand bucks or so, but some will recoup as much as $80,000, depending on how long they worked for the hotels.

“We’re very happy,” said Jason Armstrong, one of the lawyers representing the servers. “The named plaintiffs were very brave in putting their names on the complaint. Any time you go up against your employer you’re putting yourself at risk. They held their [employers’] feet to the fire.”

The Huffington Post first reported on this dispute last year, when a hotel worker in Bozeman, Montana, filed an unrelated lawsuit against the Hilton Garden Inn there. Laurie Zabawa said the hotel switched to “service” fees in 2012, after it outsourced the banquet work to a subcontractor called Gateway Hospitality Group. The policy change meant the workers themselves no longer received the gratuities attached to banquet bills, she said. As banquet manager, Zabawa was tasked with enforcing the new policy.

“It was awful,” Zabawa told HuffPost at the time. “Just imagine working there with those people for years. They were my family. It was horrible to go through, and I had no options.”

What happened at Zabawa’s hotel is surprisingly common these days. Many businesses in the service industry have pocketed as “fees” the money that customers likely thought they paid as tips for frontline workers. In 2010, catering employees who worked the U.S. Open in New York accused the concessions company of swallowing a 21 percent fee that was tacked onto customers’ bills. The workers said the service fee looked to customers like a gratuity. They settled the lawsuit for $600,000.

As HuffPost reported in 2011, Yankee Stadium was accused of pulling a similar move. Beer and hot dog vendors said the stadium’s concessionaire, Legends Hospitality, was tacking a 20 percent service fee onto the drink and food orders in the stadium’s luxury boxes, while giving the vendors only 4 to 6 percent in commission. The difference, they said, went to Legends, which at the time was jointly owned by the New York Yankees, the Dallas Cowboys and Goldman Sachs.

Big pizza chains have gotten into the act, too. As HuffPost reported in 2014, Pizza Hut, Papa John’s and Domino’s now commonly add nominal “delivery fees” to the tabs for delivery orders. The fees, which range from $1.50 to $3 a pop, don’t go to the drivers ― even though many customers assume they do.

Adding such service fees allows companies to raise their real prices without raising their sticker prices. By implying the fees are tips for services rendered, they leave customers with the impression that the money goes to the workers. To critics like Armstrong, the practice cheats both workers and customers.

Montana is one of a handful of states that have tried to solve the problem by mandating that any such fees go to workers. The state law under which Walter sued her hotel defines a service fee as “an arbitrary fixed charge added to the customer’s bill by an employer in lieu of a tip.” Such a fee “must be distributed directly to the nonmanagement employee preparing or serving the food or beverage or to any other employee involved in related services.”

Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York and Washington state have their own laws addressing service fees. The Washington law allows businesses to charge a service fee but requires them to note on the receipt exactly how much the employee will receive.

In the Walter case, the hotels and the subcontractor agreed to cough up the employees’ shares of the original gratuities, plus a surcharge in penalties. Of the $4 million settlement, around $1 million goes toward the plaintiffs’ attorney fees.

Armstrong said it would have been hard to recoup the fees if state law hadn’t clearly established that they belonged to the workers.

“The laws in the state of Montana protect vulnerable people from this type of wage-and-hour violation,” he said. “These workers are relying on their tip income to pay their rent and buy their food.”

Entrepreneurs: How to Avoid Screwing Up Your Most Vital Relationships

Best way to wreck your business?

Easy: sabotage your most promising relationships.

Yes -- it boggles the mind. Entrepreneurs will go to extraordinary lengths to connect with people who can help them -- potential investors, mentors, partners, employees, customers -- and then permanently damage these relationships with unnecessary mistakes.

What mistakes are these? I give you three of the worst -- and better yet, I talked to two expert relationship builders to show you how to fix them.

First up: meet Ryan Westwood, founder of a software company called Simplus, contributing writer on Forbes, and organizer of Evening on the Terrace -- an event which brings together people from many different backgrounds, to take part in a meal and talk about anything except their work.

Turns out, the foundation of valuable conversations is simple: stop and listen.

1) Don't pitch. Listen as if your life depends on it.

Never made sense to me: an entrepreneur finally manages to reach an experienced person in their field, and then talks over them. Worse, they even try to pitch. Yikes.

Westwood suggests the exact opposite. While interviewing people for Forbes, he realized the value of such conversations.

"I feel like I've accelerated my growth as an entrepreneur by doing these interviews better than any school I did, or anything else."

"It was the best way for me to get educated as quickly as possible and with the smallest number of mistakes by simply listening to people with experience."

And hence, he founded Evening on the Terrace, to take this personal and business growth to the next level.

The point? The atmosphere of trust and cooperation at these gatherings made it easy for people to discover new ways to attack old problems.

For instance, at one such event, when Westwood put a problem into play in the conversation -- something he and his staff at Simplus struggled with for some time -- it gave him a fresh look on his business. Novel angles to a current problem, discovered only because he listened like crazy.

Same for you. Take this to heart: when the other person talks, you listen. Mouth closed, ears open. Full attention on their words and message.

Make sense? Good -- because if you fail at this, you lose on two counts. Once, because you can't learn anything, and then again by wasting the other person's time.

2) Do not let relationships die. Nurture them.

Sad fact: many entrepreneurs connect with influential people once, and then never again. Huge waste of potential.

Our second expert, Cheryl Snapp Conner, founder of SnappConner Public Relations, shared a powerful story with me.

While running her firm, she connected with Tom Post, who at the time ran the Entrepreneurs content channel on Forbes, and asked if she could have a column on his platform.

He agreed. Several years later, she made him a job offer...and now Post acts as SnappConner PR's "feet on the street" in New York.

How did this happen? Conner had a gut sense Post was ready to become an entrepreneur himself. Plus, due to internal changes at Forbes, Post now faced a long daily commute. And Conner was attuned to all of this.

See the point? To nurture a relationship, you need to tune into the other person's world. To continually support them on their journey. You must ask yourself: since they live in their world, and you in yours, where can the two connect such that the other person gains from it?

Try this: pick 10 people you respect and would love to build relations with. Now go and see what they've been up to for the past couple months. Can you spot an opportunity to be helpful to some of them?

But look -- you can touch base in small ways. Congratulate them on a recent achievement, thank them for something they helped you with, or just take the time to thoroughly read something they wrote and then tell them about it -- any of these count.

Once you identify a way to provide value for them, go for it -- and better yet, don't expect to get anything in return.

3) Take the self-interest out of it.

Conner nailed this one. She told me:

"When something is genuinely given, nobody has to keep score."

True. To constantly keep score means you did not truly commit to giving.

As an entrepreneur, you need to "take the self-interest out of it," as Conner puts it. She sees this in many of her clients: they set out to get published on various platforms, to achieve their own business goals, rather than provide value for readers.

Bottom line? Sounds strange, but it rings true: you rise above the noise when you genuinely help another person. Barriers vanish which you couldn't even see before.

Westwood sums it up for us. The most valuable asset is not money, but human relationships:

"My view: relationship capital trumps actual capital. If you have the right relationships, it will pay immense dividends in the long run."

Now -- guess what? When you do all the above with diligence, things change. People start to take you seriously. The strength of your relationships will no longer take a nosedive every time you talk.

6 Questions You Should Ask Your Credit Card Issuer

by Ellen Cannon

Actively managing your credit card account can save you money, improve your credit scores and help you manage your overall financial life. If there's something your credit card issuer can do to make things easier, it never hurts to ask. You might be surprised at what they're willing to do to give you a little help.

Here are six questions to ask your card issuer. The worst thing that can happen is you get a "no."

1. Will you forgive a late payment?

Obviously, paying on time every month should be a priority -- but sometimes life takes a sharp turn. Say you miss your payment due date for some reason. "If you have a good record with your credit card company, and you miss a payment due to illness or moving or something, ask them to let it slide and ask to have the fee removed," says Beverly Harzog, credit expert and author of "The Debt Escape Plan."

Some card issuers make forgiveness a policy. Others give their cardholders tools to make late payments less likely.

Discover, for example, doesn't charge a late fee on the first late payment or raise your interest rate, says spokesman Derek Cuculich. "We do not have a penalty APR, so the second missed payment would not result in a raised APR, but it would come with a fee."

Citi offers a card that doesn't charge late fees or a penalty annual percentage rate even after multiple late payments.

Capital One is trying to make sure customers don't pay late. "About a year ago, we automatically enrolled every customer in the payment-due alert," says Jennifer Jackson, managing vice president of Capital One's U.S. card division. "We're designing products and services to help our customers succeed. We're measuring the impact, and we know that it's impacting customer behavior."

Even if you do get a late fee set aside, be aware that the missed payment itself could still be reported to the credit bureaus, which would hurt your score. Usually, payments are reported to the bureaus once they're 30 days late. Whatever happens, consider it a learning experience and work to avoid repeating the mistake. Paying late is a terrible habit to get started.

2. Can I choose my payment due date?

One of the best ways to ensure you pay on time while managing your cash flow is to choose the date your payment is due each month. When you can pick your own due date, you can set it for a time when money isn't as tight. All major card issuers allow you to choose your own due date; some even let you do it online.

"When people can change their payment due date, they can set it to stay on track with their overall finances," Jackson says. "They can decide how they want to manage payments."

One thing to be aware of: You usually can't choose a due date of the 29th, 30th or 31st because not every month includes those dates.

3. Will you lower my interest rate?

If you've been a good customer and you're carrying a balance, consider asking your issuer to lower your interest rate. Harzog says there's another signal that it's time to ask for a lower rate: "If you start getting offers in the mail for premier cards, it means your score has probably gone up. You can call your issuer and tell them the offers you're getting, and leverage that to see if they can match it."

4. Will you raise my credit limit?

You can always ask for an increase in your credit limit -- but be sure you know both the upside and downside. A higher credit line gives you access to more borrowing power, and it can improve your credit score by lowering your credit utilization ratio. The downside is that the issuer may pull your credit report, which could ding your credit score.

"You can decide whether you want to take that short-term hit to your credit," Harzog says. "If you're close to the next level up -- from average to good, for example -- a hit of even five or 10 points could hurt you, especially if you're planning to apply for a mortgage or other large loan."

Asking for a credit line increase can also produce unintended consequences. Harzog says she knows someone who asked for a credit line increase and it backfired. "When the issuer looked at his credit history and saw some black marks, they actually decreased his credit line. If you don't have a good record, you don't want to ask them to look at your credit account."

Many times, issuers have mechanisms in place to boost your credit limit when they think you're ready.

Jackson says Capital One has a "credit steps program" to increase customers' credit limits. Customers "have to do two steps to get a credit line increase," she says. "Use your card, pay on time for the first five statements, and on the sixth statement you will get a credit line increase. We continue to evaluate accounts over time for additional increases, looking at on-time payments and the ability to pay. We want to make sure our customers won't inadvertently get into trouble. And we don't extend lines where we don't think they will ever be able to pay it off."

5. Which credit score do you use?

To reduce your chance of having a credit card application rejected, check your credit report and credit score before you apply. These days, you can get your credit score for free from many credit card companies. Discover and Capital One will give you your score even if you're not a customer. Once you know which card you want, call the issuer to see which score it uses when considering applications.

Here's why it matters: Each credit bureau collects its own information and calculates scores based on that information, so scores can vary from one bureau to another.

"You can ask which bureau they pull from," Harzog says. However, she adds, "I've noticed in the past few years, some issuers have changed their policy and don't tell you. The best strategy is to be sure all your credit reports are good so you don't have to worry which bureau is being pulled."

Federal law entitles you to a free copy of your credit report from each of the three credit bureaus once a year. You can access those free reports at AnnualCreditReport.com.

6. When do you report account information to the credit bureaus?

"If you're trying to raise your score, paying off your credit card balance before the issuer reports it to the credit bureau will help by lowering your utilization ratio," Harzog says.

Call your issuer and ask when it reports account information. If you don't want to call, your best bet is to assume it reports that information on your statement closing date, which you can find on your statement. It could take a few days for the credit bureaus to update their data. If you're working hard to raise your credit score, another alternative is to pay your credit card more than once a month so your utilization ratio is lower throughout the month.

The common thread of these six questions is this: Getting the most out of your credit cards means managing your accounts so they put you in the most advantageous position. Don't just passively accept what your issuer gives you. Ask your issuer to work with you to produce the best financial results for your situation.

Ellen Cannon is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: ecannon@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @ellencannon.

This story originally appeared on NerdWallet.

A Few Hundred Good Reasons to Avoid a Marijuana DUI

By Alex Glenn

Unlike laws for drunk driving limits, which are fairly uniform across the U.S., regulations on driving with marijuana in your system vary from place to place. Six states enforce specific limits on how much THC, the main psychoactive element in marijuana, drivers can have in their blood. Twelve others have zero-tolerance policies. Most states, however, still lack concrete marijuana laws for motorists, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.

The point at which stoned drivers are considered "impaired" fluctuates by state, but if you're found guilty of driving under the influence of drugs, or DUID, you will likely face an increase in car insurance rates at your next renewal time, no matter where you live.

To give you an idea of how high your rates could leap, NerdWallet looked at car insurance quotes in five states for drivers with a DUID, which can encompass other substances as well as marijuana. Check out the results here.

» COMPARE: Car insurance quotes

California car insurance rates were the most affected in our price sampling. Our research found that rates in the Golden State jumped by more than $1,500 per year for a first DUID conviction. Ohio had the smallest increase, $336 per year on average.

Higher auto insurance rates are just one of the possible costs drivers face if charged with a severe moving violation. Those convicted of driving high could also have to pay steep legal and court fines, drug-treatment program costs and a driver's license reinstatement fee, among other penalties. All told, a single DUID could mean thousands of dollars down the drain.

» MORE: Arbitrary marijuana limits on drivers impair legal judgment

We also tested rates for drivers who receive a repeat DUID citation within a year of their first conviction. Here are those results.

If you're hit with a second DUID conviction, expect rates to spike by several hundred dollars again. Having multiple serious moving violations on your record also increases the chances that your car insurer will drop you at renewal time. If you have trouble qualifying for a policy with another company, you may end up looking into coverage for high-risk drivers.

Shop around if you have an imperfect driving record
Because insurance companies treat accidents and violations differently, consider shopping around if you've recently been convicted of driving under the influence of marijuana. The company that offered the cheapest rate the last time you searched for a policy may no longer have the best deal.

NerdWallet's car insurance comparison tool lets you view quotes from multiple companies.

Alex Glenn is a staff writer for NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: aglenn@nerdwallet.com.

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METHODOLOGY

To estimate the car insurance increases after a DUID, we first ran rates for 30-year-old drivers with no accidents or violations, then we ran rates for those with one and two convictions. We did this by averaging the three lowest rates from the largest insurers across 10 ZIP codes in California, Colorado, Ohio, Texas and Washington.

Coverage included 100/300/50 liability insurance limits, 100/300 uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage, and collision and comprehensive with a $1,000 deductible. We used a 2012 Toyota Camry in all cases. These are sample rates generated through Quadrant Information Services. Your own rates may be different.

How The IOC Effectively Maintains A Gag Order On Nonsponsors Of The Olympics

Shontavia Johnson, Drake University

If you're one of the billions of people around the world following the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in any form, you're probably aware of its most talked-about sports moments. Simone Biles of the United States (with dual Belizean citizenship) confirming her spot as the world's best gymnast. The Fiji men's rugby team's emotional gold medal win - the first in their country's history. French gymnast Samir Ait Said's horrible leg injury during the men's qualifying rounds.

You may also have noticed a flood of social media posts using hashtags like #Rio2016, #Olympics or #TeamUSA. Given that the 2016 Olympic Games have been dubbed the "most watched and talked-about Games on social media yet," this isn't surprising. What may be, though, is the silence of most companies regarding the games.

Whether on television or the internet, the vast majority of businesses are blocked from nearly any mention of the 2016 Olympic Games - whether in conjunction with promoting their own products or even just saluting their national teams. The reason for this silence is rooted in U.S. trademark law and other laws around the world created solely to protect the Olympics.

As a trademark law professor and director of Drake University Law School's Intellectual Property Law Center, I believe these laws have been stretched too far. As currently applied, it's hard for companies, especially small businesses, to know when their activities are illegal. And it's increasingly difficult to obtain permission to do the right thing.

Olympic properties under lock and key

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), which organizes the Olympic Games, owns many Olympic-related trademarks - commonly referred to as the "Olympic properties." These include the interlaced ring symbol, flag, anthem, motto, emblems, mascots, the word "Olympic" and other Olympic-related terminology. As one might imagine, this list could include hundreds, or thousands, of items. While there is no official count, the IOC provides some guidance regarding permitted uses.

In the U.S., protected trademarks include the Olympic rings, torch designs, the words "Olympic," "Paralympic" and "Pan American" as well as any other word or symbol that suggests an association with the USOC, the American team or the Olympic Games themselves. A recent search of the United States Trademark Electronic Search System reveals more than 200 trademarks, including "Olympian," "future Olympian," "road to Rio," "rumble in Rio," "train like an Olympian," "let the games begin" and "go for the gold."

These trademarks are protected through the same domestic trademark laws that apply to any other entity doing business in a country. Most companies protect their trademarks to identify and distinguish themselves in the marketplace. If anyone uses that protected trademark without permission, a company has to sue and prove that consumers are likely to be confused by that unauthorized use.

But the IOC has also obtained unique, heightened protections that don't extend to other companies. First, a 52-country international agreement guards the interlaced ring symbol against commercial use without the IOC's consent. Each signatory nation can receive a portion of the revenues generated domestically if the IOC does consent to specific uses of the symbol. Between the 1988 Seoul Games and 2004 Athens Games, more than US$300 million was generated in licensing royalties, some of which went to the host countries.

Second, countries that host the games often create new, special laws to safeguard the Olympic properties above and beyond other existing law. These laws prohibit certain marketing tactics by companies that aren't official sponsors. Any new law typically provides much broader protection than basic trademark law and makes it easier to stop unauthorized activities. One day before Rio de Janeiro was chosen to host the 2016 Olympic Games, Brazil enacted the Olympic Act; it includes language that specifically protects the Olympic properties from unauthorized uses.

Illegal packets of cocaine marked 'Rio 2016' are an extreme example of what's not good for the brand. Reuters Handout

Don't cross the IOC

The IOC is notorious for its aggressive protection of the Olympic properties. Its stated purpose for this fierce vigilance stems from a desire to make sure "the integrity and value of the Olympic properties are respected."

This stance also extends to country-specific Olympic organizations. The United States Olympic Committee (USOC), for example, has stated it's intensely protective of its Olympic properties because it does not receive federal money to support athletes; it's left to generate funds primarily through licensing, sponsorships and partnerships based on the properties.

Unlike in other countries, American Olympic athletes are not financially supported by the government. There are no comprehensive statistics about how much these athletes get paid from the USOC, but media report their salaries are paltry. One study found that half of elite American track and field athletes make less than $15,000 a year.

Fierce patrolling of the Olympic trademarks has led to significant clashes between the IOC, USOC and the public. In perhaps the most famous American case, the USOC successfully sued San Francisco Arts & Athletics, Inc. in 1982 to stop it from using the word "Olympic" in its Gay Olympic Games. The USOC has also threatened lawsuits against and forced name changes for the Ferret Olympics, Rat Olympics and Olympets, among others.

So who can actually use Olympic properties legally? Regular people, news entities and official sponsors are in the clear. TV companies have paid more than $4 billion to broadcast the 2016 Olympic Games. This year, the 11 official sponsors are poised to make more than $9 billion in marketing revenue, and much of this value comes from keeping everyone else out.

Other businesses and brands, including an athlete's individual sponsors, are severely restricted. The IOC did change its rules this year to allow athletes, for the first time, to tweet about their nonofficial sponsors and do generic commercials that do not refer to the Olympics or use any Olympic properties. Olympic track star Allyson Felix, for example, has tweeted her ad for Bounty paper towels in this manner.

Cease and desist your retweets

Even with these changes, the IOC and USOC make it difficult for nonsponsoring businesses. Just weeks before the 2016 Olympic Games began, ESPN revealed that the USOC sent reminder letters to businesses that have endorsement deals with Olympic athletes but which are not official sponsors of the games. The letters reiterated that such companies "may not post about the Trials or Games on their corporate social media accounts," including using "hashtags such as #Rio2016 or #TeamUSA."

In addition, unless the company is news-oriented, it is not allowed to speak about Olympic results, share photos taken at the Olympics, or retweet or share anything from official Olympic social media accounts.

Oiselle, an athletic wear company, is one nonofficial sponsor that recently found itself at odds with the USOC. It received a takedown letter from the USOC after posting a photo of Kate Grace, a runner with an Oiselle endorsement deal, when she won the 800-meter race at the summer trials. According to the company's CEO, such behavior is frustrating for smaller companies who contribute to individual athletes but cannot afford to be an official Olympic sponsor - that club is limited to 11 deep-pocketed multinationals including McDonald's and P&G. It also harms athletes without big endorsement deals, who could better capitalize on their success if the boundaries were relaxed.

Most American Olympic athletes have day jobs and scramble to make a living while pursuing their sport. While protecting Olympic trademarks helps keep the properties valuable, these aggressive tactics keep companies with real connections to Olympic athletes from participating in the excitement of the Olympic Games. Maybe loosening control a bit would allow more money to get to the athletes themselves. After all, it's their amazing accomplishments that add the real value to the Olympic Games.

Shontavia Johnson, Professor of Intellectual Property Law, Drake University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.