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Maarten van Seggelen from FANexperience
0 July 26, 2024 at 3:00 PM 5 minutes read
The Olympic Games, an event that brings the world together in a celebration of sport and cultural exchange. Dive into how companies use the values of the Olympic Games to strengthen their brand and achieve peak performance.
The Games not only offer athletes a platform for top performances, but also brands and companies a golden opportunity. While the eyes of the world are focused on the performances of top athletes, they see opportunities to ride the wave of the Olympic idea.
Also in Paris 2024, where the slogan Games wide open sets the tone for inclusivity and openness, brands are preparing to connect with this global sporting event in a creative and often emotionally appealing way. In this article I will focus on the various commercials surrounding the Olympic Games. First by looking at Dutch players and then at a number of international participants.
With 206 countries and 10,500 athletes participating, there are undoubtedly examples that are missing, feel free to leave them in the comments. The games have over 30 global partners, each of whom is committed to their rights in different countries. And many of these organisations also contribute to the organisation of the games, for example VISA as a means of payment, Alibaba as a digital partner, Toyota for mobility, Omega for time registration, Airbnb as an overnight partner and so the list goes on. See more about the partners of the games at the official website.
What about Rule 40?
For companies, it is a huge puzzle to get involved. In many cases, it is not possible for companies that are partners of an athlete to be very active in their partnership with a sport or athlete around the Games. This is mainly due to Rule 40. This is a guideline of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that limits the commercial activities of athletes during the Olympic Games. The aim is to protect the exclusive rights of official sponsors. According to this rule, athletes are not allowed to promote personal sponsors during a certain period around the Games without prior permission. This period is often referred to as the Rule 40 period and usually covers the days just before, during and after the Olympic Games.
The companies that do have permission to use rights, therefore have a great interest in using their rights well, sometimes even per continent or country. Think of many regular and VIP tickets for customers, visibility and give-aways.
Dutch examples
Odido en Samsung – Voices of Galaxy
Odido jumps on the messages behind the athlete. Who is ready to deliver the top performance? With TeamNL top athlete Sifan Hassan as the main character in this commercial.
A campaign that Odido, together with Samsung, can promote worldwide. Samsung is also a partner of 25 Para and Olympic athletes and Samsung even puts the S24 Ultra to cover the opening ceremony of the games.
Dutch Lottery(s) – Supporter of Opportunities
A nice nod to the opportunities of sports and the opportunities of lotteries. Every year, lottery players contribute more than 50 million euros to sports. Let’s hope that this will continue in the future. A permanent partner of top and broad sports and various charities in the field of health and exercise.
M line – Dreaming with…
A whole series of videos about the dreams of top athletes. M line also supplies the mattresses for the TeamNL athletes. So despite the fact that they lie on a cardboard bed, they can still enjoy a good M line mattress. And dream of top performances.
In addition to being a global partner of the Games, Toyota is also a partner of TeamNL; for example, a real Toyota medal taxi drives through Paris to quickly transport athletes to the TeamNL house.
International examples
Corona – For Every Golden Moment
Well, beer and sports. Still a strange combination for me when the athletes are put so centrally in a campaign. But Corona also takes a piece of the pie as a partner of the games.
Despicable me – Jump around
Even before the launch of the new Universal film Despicable Me, the Olympic Games are featured. A fun tie-in that uses the stage.
Louis Vuitton
This super luxurious and, not coincidentally, originally French brand makes beautiful cases in which the medals are offered. The company, founded in Paris in 1854, clearly uses the games as prestige to strengthen the grandeur of its own brand. People like to show that sporting success travels in the style of Vuitton.
Nike – Winning isn’t for everyone – Am I a bad person?
Nike is not a partner of the games, but it is of several athletes. And the top brand naturally likes to affiliate itself with the top performances of the games. There are quite a few names that the brand shows off; Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kylian Mbappé, Serena Williams, Sha’Carri Richardson, Sophia Smith, Bebe Vio, Qinwen Zheng, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Cristiano Ronaldo, A’ja Wilson, Ixhelt Gonzales, Victor Wembanyama, Vinicius Junior, Sabrina Ionescu, Eliud Kipchoge, Alexia Putellas. If you want to know more, take a look at the special website.
Tasva – The Official Ceremonial Dress Partner for Team India
From Nike to another clothing brand. Denham may wear the TeamNL clothing make, but Team India is certainly dressed just as chic 😊
Coca Cola
Coca-Cola, partner of this sporting event since the games in Amsterdam. The global brand is committed to the Olympic Games in its own way in each country, but is present worldwide. It clearly makes a connection with the ‘feel good’ emotions that are released. With special cansmany ticket contests and many commercials.
Nestlé – Bring the cheer
More and more brands are also seeing the growing power of the Paralympic Games. For example, Nestlé is a partner of TeamGB and uses all rights specifically around the Paralympians. And in particular the healthy food they eat, with of course a Cheerios breakfast.
Allianz – Ready, Paris, Go!
Allianz is a partner of the games and gives a look behind the scenes of the organization for all top athletes. On the IOC channel you can find various videos in which Allianz shows that athletes and organization are ready for the games and if possible how Allianz has contributed to this. In addition, Allianz will be visible with many videos in the stadiums and at home on TV. Here too, a brand uses the rights of the games in different ways per continent, In Australia, a very specific campaign is being implemented; Go Australiaahhh.
Even more commercials and hooks
Here you will find a complete playlist with over 50 examples of how brands, companies and media organisations are getting involved around the Olympic Games. This playlist will be updated during the games and will certainly not be complete, given the many partners and countries involved.
