The final countdown has begun for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics and, in conjunction with consultants Sociagility, the Holmes Report has begun a weekly analysis of the social media performance of the main sponsors.

The report uses Sociagility's PRINT methodology to determine how actively sponsors are engaging with customers via social media and networks.

The 25 main global and local sponsors have paid heavily for official rights to the five rings. Published estimates are around £1 billion ($1.6 Bn). But this is just part of the cost. Partners and sponsors will have to spend much more on PR and marketing to gain the full benefit from their involvement.

Sociagility has been measuring their social media performance since 18 April, 100 days from the start of the Games. The scoreboard below shows the starting positions on that date, ranking lead sponsors by their PRINT Index scores. Much has changed since as sponsors have upped their game – for example Cadbury is now pushing P&G for the top slot.

The Holmes Report's weekly analysis will begin on Friday 15 June, six weeks out from the opening ceremony. If you’d prefer to track daily changes for yourself, you can use Sociagility’s interactive site. 

Notes on methodology:
• The PRINT Index is calculated using Sociagility’s PRINT™ social media performance measurement methodology, which provides an indicator of a brand’s effective use of social media to drive profile and engagement.
• The only brands measured are top-tier Games partners listed on the London 2012 website.
• The PRINT Index factors in multiple channels (sponsorship website, Twitter account, Facebook page and YouTube), but measure only those sites and accounts designated or dedicated to sponsorship activation by the brands themselves.
• This is a quantitative analysis looking at the numbers using the PRINT algorithms based on more than 50 sub-metrics.
• Sociagility has identified each brand’s sponsorship activation profiles and accounts for each channel (no easy task), but there may be some missed. If you think that might be the case, please let us know and we will incorporate in our next update.