By R. Larsson, Advertising Week
With the Paris 2024 Olympics underway, we have seen brands both big and small gear up to seize a unique and coveted opportunity to engage with global audiences. And there’s no surprise as to why. With billions tuning in, the Games serve as a powerful platform for both brand storytelling and marketing innovation – and by tapping into existing fandoms brands can not only enhance visibility and connect with new audiences, but also foster long-term loyalty.
But with opportunity comes competition. So, we spoke to leaders in Adland to see how brands can win big and activate around the Paris 2024 games…
Danielle Barwick, Group Director, Fuse
The Olympics has long been heralded as the pinnacle of global sporting events. But, as consumer behaviour and the media landscape evolves, brands must innovate to remain relevant – and there are three key ways brands can win big at the Olympics this year.
- Brands need to attract younger, more diverse audiences by ageing down their marketing and advertising strategies. With the inclusion of more niche sports this year, including breaking, sport climbing, skateboarding, and surfing there are new opportunities for brands to attract viewers. With TikTok an official partner of team GB and sport-related hashtags garnering billions of views, brands who tap into the power of social media will win gold at this Olympics. Furthermore, recent news revealed that global advertisers are hiring more female athletes to launch marketing campaigns ahead of the Olympics – a move described to capitalise on record ratings for women’s sports in the US and Europe to reach new audiences.
- Creative storytelling and humorous content were two recurring themes drawn from the Cannes Creativity Festival last month. When it comes to sport, it’s refreshing for consumers to see brands take a lighter approach to marketing and celebrate performance and all things good about the games. As we know from our own research with System1, tapping into humour is a great driver for effective advertising.
- Brands who prioritise a fan-first approach to advertising are already reaping long-term rewards. Fans thrive on inside stories and unique moments – which has been driven by a surge in sports docu-series – and want to feel like brands are genuinely connecting with them in a meaningful way while understanding their culture. The Olympics is a great platform for brands to encourage people to try new sports and appeal to non-fans with ‘behind the scenes’ content. For example, in the lead-up to Paris 2024, Deloitte’s “The First Effect” showcased inspiring athletes who defied barriers and made history – something that may be of more interest to someone than watching the game itself.
Jiri Bures, Executive Creative Director, New York, Imagination
There is no other sporting event like the Olympic Games. It offers a scale and connection that cuts across national boundaries, sporting personalities and audience segments – unifying and inspiring in equal measure.
But the scale also risks it feeling impersonal. So brands associating themselves with the Olympics must maximise the more intimate opportunities. There is a huge opportunity for brands to redefine fandoms by leaning into how sports create community spaces. Brands can align with the comradery and “team” aspect of the event, to tap into people’s desire to feel part of something. Brands like Hoka and Gymshark are already experimenting in this space through the creation of running clubs.
Stephanie Himoff, Executive Vice President of Global Publishers at Outbrain
The Summer of Sport is in full swing and the 2024 Paris Olympics is underway. And as one of the lucky ones who managed to snag tickets, I couldn’t be more excited.
Consumer behaviour towards sports has shifted exponentially since the last games. Fans enjoy sports differently – more than half of consumers simultaneously access online sports content while watching games. As for the sources they choose, more often than not they prioritise credible sites on the open web over the walled gardens of social media.
This year, brands need to invest in partnerships with premium publishers. Consumers value responsible news, in fact 84% of consumers agree that advertising alongside responsible news has a positive impact – influencing that all important brand trust in an age of decline. By combining premium news sites with brilliant creative, brands can win fanfare, establish a meaningful connection and win big this Olympic Season.
Helenor Gilmour, Director of Strategy, Beano Brain
The Olympics are the ultimate feel-good family event with broad appeal for all ages – including Generation Alpha – which makes them a prime opportunity for brands wanting to win long term loyalty. But an expensive TV ad won’t cut it with this generation. Instead, brand investment should focus on engaging, inspiring and funny content that has the potential to go viral. Short, snappy and authentic wins at all times – show the lows as well as the highs, the stories that kids can identify with, and the exploits that thrill them. And remember, Gen Alpha love to share memes and short form content with friends and family – shareability is where it’s at for them. Brands that cater to their tastes will benefit in the long run and those that don’t will be for the high jump.
Kevin O’Farrell, Vice President EMEA, Analytic Partners
To make the biggest splash with a sponsorship on an Olympics scale, it must be supported by a range of other marketing activities such as paid media, promotions and offline activities. Our analysis shows that when the sponsorship is supported by a range of other marketing, it can drive 2-6 times larger impact in demand in the long-term.
So, brands need to see the sponsorship as just the starting point, a basis for content creation, and build the rest of the campaign around it. Then the impact can be maximised across multiple different touchpoints – from store shelf promotions to emotional TV campaigns, from social media posts reacting to gold medals to long-form content celebrating sports – to build on the excitement and focus of such rare global cultural moment.
And with that much potential impact and that many channels involved, sponsorship is no vanity exercise – it needs to prove itself with quantifiable returns. Holistically measuring sponsorship and its incremental business impact over the short and long term is therefore vital – and despite much talk to the contrary, can be done. Instead of being limited to attendee numbers or reach impressions, brands need to zoom out and look at everything impacting their commercial success and how it’s all working together.
