Brands invest significant amounts of money to be part of the Games and more on top of that to run marketing campaigns promoting their involvement in the event. However, that doesn’t only mean being associated with the positive values espoused by the Olympic movement, but also some of the controversies that recent editions have come to be remembered by, which can have a negative impact on a sponsor’s reputation.
Even so, as one of the most-watched events around the world with participants from more or less every country competing, many sponsors see past the risk and still view the Olympics as a unique opportunity to boost their brand awareness by reaching hundreds of millions of people globally. That means the Games have become an arena for medal-winning marketing activity as well as sporting achievement.
First things first… who sponsors the Olympics?
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has 16 worldwide TOP partners, the majority of which have exclusivity in their categories. That’s with the exception of Coca-Cola, which is the longest-serving sponsor of the Games having been involved in every edition since 1928, and Mengniu, who share a joint agreement for non-alcoholic beverages.
Anheuser Busch InBev (AB InBev) is the newest member of the TOP programmeand activating the partnership for the first time in Paris. But there are five brands whose deals with the IOC expire after 2024, including Toyota, which is already rumoured to have decided not to extend its partnership, meaning the TOP portfolio could look a little different by the time of the next Summer Olympics in LA.
As well as the TOP partners, the local organising committee sells domestic sponsorships for the Games, allowing local businesses in the host nation to advertise their services to consumers at a more affordable price point.
Speaking in May, Paris 2024 chief executive Étienne Thobois said that the organising committee had reached 99 per cent of its revised sponsorship target and could even surpass its goal of €1.24 billion (US$1.34 billion) by the time the Games start. If that objective is met, this summer’s Games will have made more domestic partnership revenue than any other edition apart from Tokyo, which secured more than US$3 billion worth of sponsorship deals before the postponement.
The domestic sponsorship portfolio for Paris 2024 comprises of five premium partners, which are Accor, Groupe BPCE, Carrefour Group, EDF, LVMH, Orange and Sanofi, as well as 13 official partners and 50 official supporters of the event.
Sponsors are ready to sing again
Domestic sponsorships for the Olympics are often in high demand but the strength of the Paris 2024 portfolio also hints at a wider trend.
Sponsor activity around Tokyo 2020 was understandably muted because of the pandemic, while the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing created a challenging environment for brands to activate amid press coverage of China’s alleged human rights abuses.
Paris 2024 is by no means free from controversy, but the early indication is that brands are preparing to return to something resembling business as usual for this summer’s Olympics, which many within the industry feel will see the Games back in their full glory.
TOP sponsor Procter & Gamble (P&G), for example, is launching Olympic and Paralympic campaigns for more than 30 brands in its portfolio and running in-store and online activations with over 150 retailers across more than 40 countries. Coca-Cola, meanwhile, has plans to be in over 70 markets with programmes focusing on the Games and Samsung has opened a store to showcase its products on the Champs-Élysées, one of the busiest shopping destinations in the world.
Indeed, on-site activations are likely to be more prevalent in Paris, including at the houses being used by national Olympic committees (NOCs) to host fans and sponsors. Canada Olympic House, for instance, will offer ticket holders the chance to celebrate Canadian medals and feature more than a dozen partner activations from brands such as Lululemon, Canadian Tire and Air Canada.
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Source: SportsProMedia