Game On! How Sponsors are Gearing Up for Paris 2024

Game On! How Sponsors are Gearing Up for Paris 2024
Credit: REUTERS – Christian Hartmann

La Ville Lumière (The City of Lights) is one of the many nicknames given to Paris and the beautiful city is about to ignite the global sporting stage. The excitement and anticipation surrounding the Paris 2024 Olympics is intense, with a palpable sense of energy and enthusiasm. As the games draw near, athletes from around the world are gearing up to showcase their skills, and fans from all over are keen to witness the spectacle. But it's not just athletes who are training for their moment in the spotlight. Behind the scenes, sponsors are meticulously crafting their activation strategies, ready to capitalise on biggest sporting event in the world.

Why is sponsorship activation such a big deal for Paris 2024?

  1. Global Exposure: The Olympics are one of the most widely viewed events on the sporting calendar, providing sponsors with a massive platform to reach an international audience and boost brand awareness.
  2. Brand Association: Aligning with the Olympics instantly elevates a brand’s reputation. Sponsors become associated with excellence, athleticism, and positive values. This powerful connection can significantly impact consumer perception and loyalty.
  3. Engagement Opportunities: Sponsors can create engaging global, regional and local activations and campaigns that align with the Olympic values of excellence, friendship, and respect, fostering deeper connections with consumers.
  4. Prestige: Being associated with the Olympics can significantly boost a brand’s image and prestige. This association enhances a brand’s reputation and elevates its status. Additionally, being in the company of other prominent sponsors further solidifies the brand’s position as a major player in its industry.

A Growing Challenge – Name, Image, Likeness

Whilst Rule 40 of the IOC Charter provides a level of protection to Olympic partners in terms of non-sponsoring brands ability to associate with the Olympic Games, a growing challenge remains for Olympic partners in the form of ambush marketing. The current structure of Rule 40 allows non-sponsoring brands to associate with Olympic athletes so long as there is no reference to the Olympic Games, and that the advertising is generic.

With the growing power of influencer marketing via social media, sponsors need to weigh up the value of their Olympic investment versus the opportunity to associate directly with Olympic athletes without paying the high Olympic marketing rights fees.

Brands and the IOC need to manage this in real time as the Games approaches and unfolds. The ‘real world’ brand engagement is rapidly shifting towards social media, and name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights will become an increasingly valuable asset that will likely see Rule 40 requiring enhancements for future editions of the Games.

How should brands activate their sponsorship for Paris 2024?

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics, held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, presented a unique challenge for brands. Now, with the Paris 2024 Games on the horizon, the landscape has shifted dramatically. There are several key differences for brands activating sponsorships for Paris 2024 compared to Tokyo 2020 Olympics:

1. Fan Engagement

Due to the limitations of the pandemic at the Tokyo 2020 Games, brands had to pivot to digital channels and innovative campaigns to capture the Olympic spirit and connect with fans. According to an IOC Marketing Report, over 3.05 billion unique people watched the Tokyo 2020 Games with 64% of viewers using both TV and digital platforms. The event garnered an impressive 6.1 billion engagements across the Olympics' official social media platforms.

"Beijing 2008 was perhaps the first digital Games, London 2012 was the first social media Games, and Tokyo 2020 is the first streaming Olympic Games." Timo Lumme, Managing Director, IOC Television and Marketing Services
Credit: International Olympic Committee (IOC)

With Paris 2024 poised for a more traditional in-person experience, brands like Airbnb stand to capitalise on tourists travelling to the Games by offering a wide range of accommodations and activities. As a Worldwide Olympic Partner for Paris 2024, they will achieve this by:

  • Providing accommodation for those involved in the Paris 2024 Games, from athletes to committee members.
  • Creating unique and memorable experiences that will help fans connect with the Olympic spirit and the city of Paris.
  • Leaving a lasting legacy in the communities that host these events, ensuring that the benefits of the Olympics extend beyond the games themselves.

In an environment where some major tourist destinations are re-considering the availability of short-term rentals, it is possible that Airbnb can use their involvement with Olympic hosts such as Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028 for access to local politicians to lobby their position as an essential part of the accommodation landscape.

Credit: Samsung News

On the other hand, Samsung, one of the largest producers of electronic device, has opened an innovative showcase in Paris to engage fans during the Olympic Games. The Olympics Rendezvous @ Samsung (OR@S) can be found at the iconic Avenue des Champs-Élysées. The futuristic space allows visitors to experience Samsung’s cutting-edge mobile technology, learn about its Olympic partnership, and engage in a variety of interactive activities related to the Games. Samsung have also used the proximity of the Olympics to launch their next generation of products in Paris to increase the awareness of their Olympic sponsorship programme.

Credit: Xinhua
2. Digital vs. Physical Activation

During Tokyo 2020, brands adapted their strategies to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, with a strong emphasis on digital channels to engage with fans. Influencer partnerships, social media campaigns and virtual experiences became the go-to methods for building awareness and excitement around the Olympics.

Digital will still play a significant role but, as the world returns to a new normal, Paris 2024 is poised to welcome a resurgence of physical activations, allowing brands to once again tap into the power of face-to-face interactions.

Credit: Sean Davidson, Behance

Coca-Cola's activations during Tokyo 2020 were focused on digital engagement and aimed to create a sense of community and togetherness. The “I Belong Here” digital campaign was a collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and aimed to promote diversity and inclusion among a younger Gen Z audience. It offered a digital platform with features like:

  • Social media filters: Fans could use a special filter to explain why "they belong here" and recreate iconic Olympic moments.
  • "Living Olympic Award": Users could vote on athletes who embodied the shared values of Coca-Cola and the IOC.
Credit: The Coca-Cola Company

This year, with a return to more in-person attendance expected, Coca-Cola has pivoted to a theme of closeness through the “It’s Magic When the World Comes Together” campaign. This extends beyond the Olympic competitions with the placement of a ‘Coca-Cola Village’ in each of the 65 stage towns for the Olympic Torch Relay. Spanning 300 square meters, these spaces offer a vibrant, musical atmosphere and a variety of engaging activities for the public to enjoy. In a display of brand partnership, two custom-designed vehicles representing Coca-Cola and Fuze Tea have been accompanying the Torchbearers on their journey across over 400 French towns and cities.

These branded conveyances will serve to heighten public engagement and celebratory spirit throughout France, providing opportunities for local communities to connect with the event.  To add to the festivities, Coca-Cola representatives will be stationed along the route, offering samples of Coca-Cola Sugar Free and Fuze Tea. This initiative represents a significant opportunity for Coca-Cola to establish a physical presence and connect with fans and communities on a more personal level.

Credit: Paris 2024 Organising Committee
3. Messaging

One of the themes for Tokyo 2020 was “Unity and Perseverance” where The Games aimed to project a message of overcoming challenges and global unity in the face of the pandemic. It also focused on Innovation and Safety where it emphasised the use of technology to create a safe and engaging experience for athletes and fans despite limitations.

As the first post-pandemic edition of the Olympic Games, Paris 2024's slogan is "Games Wide Open". Further, Sustainability and Innovation is one of the key values for the Paris 2024 organisers. Many of the initiatives undertaken to deliver the Games highlight their commitment to environmentally responsible practices and cutting-edge solutions throughout the Games.

Procter & Gamble (P&G), a Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner, committed to first-of-its-kind, citizenship-driven partnership to advance different areas including sustainability and innovation. It has been a leading partner in the development of sustainable solutions as well as supply of products and services to match this vision.

P&G has changed its previous Olympic approach to focus more on individual brands. Some examples of this are:

  1. Ariel: Their “Champion of Stain and Odor Removal” campaign takes care of clothes on and off the field, even in tough washing conditions.
  2. Venus: Launching “The Power of Smooth” campaign to highlight Venus as the razor athletes trust for smooth skin.
  3. Gillette: Featuring a gold razor for Paris 2024 and their highest performing Gillette Labs product line.
  4. Always: The Official Period Product of Paris 2024, addressing period anxiety in sports through superior protection.

P&G will activate in retail stores across Europe with their “Everyday Champions” campaign, providing products that meet the needs of athletes, families, and fans. Athletes staying in the Athletes’ Village during the Olympics will receive a Paris-themed reusable bag equipped with P&G brand products like Oral-B, Head & Shoulders, Aussie, Safeguard, and Febreze to support their health and hygiene.

Credit: Getty Images

Summary

Brands sponsoring the Tokyo 2020 Olympics had to focus heavily on digital activations due to the limitations of the COVID-19 Pandemic. According to data released by the International Olympic Committee, they achieved:

  • Global audience of 3.05 billion people
  • 28 billion digital video views
  • 23 billion hours consumed across TV and digital
  • 10,200 hours of content produced by Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS)
  • 196 million unique users on the Olympics website and app
  • 6.1 billion digital engagements on Olympics social media channels

Today, with the pandemic better controlled, sponsors have greater flexibility to activate around Paris 2024. This shift allows them to focus less on overcoming logistical challenges and more on the positive, unifying aspects of sport, exploiting the brand engagement opportunities this presents. Paris 2024 is seeing a return of a more balanced approach, with sponsors creating a strategic mix of digital and on-site activations. This involves interactive experiences at venues, product demonstrations, and engaging marketing events. While social media will undoubtedly remain important, Paris 2024 will usher in a return of more 'real-world' brand engagement, fostering a deeper connection with the audience.

Maximising the opportunities from Paris 2024 is a global activity. Sponsorship at all levels require the same focus, albeit at a smaller scale. Contact IPSEM Squared today to discover how to best leverage your own sponsorship opportunities and activities, plus make the most of any sponsorship investment as a Sponsor, Rightsholder or Host.

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