Over the years, I’ve observed an “expectations management gap” from Olympic sponsors that grows a bit wider with each Games.
The IOC and Olympic movement, quite rightly, place “athletes” at the center of the Games.
Olympic sponsors, often using a “traditional sports marketing” approach, put fans in the center of everything they do.
Neither are wrong, and each needs the other to deliver on their respective objectives.
I will say, however, that the refrain “why can’t you be more like the NFL…?” means someone hasn’t done their homework.
And, offering brands as different as Coke and Intel (just examples) the same set of marketing rights and benefits is fraying as a strategy (the folks at the IOC know this) and needs to evolve (they know this too).
But, there is a baby in that bath water that many are urging the IOC to pour down a Swiss mountainside. So, let’s take a breath before we summarily dismiss the greatest global sponsorship program in history.
I’ve often felt that many sponsors tried to force a round peg into a square hole by approaching the activation of their Olympic sponsorship based their experience with other sports property investments. It’s apples and oranges. Not good, better, or worse…just totally different.
Conversely, the Olympics, in attempts to “remain current” or in reaction to the “expectations gap” of their commercial partners, have at times tried too hard to capture the “new” at the expense of refocusing on what makes the Olympic brand most powerful, namely, its unduplicatable universal values.
I have thoughts, but I’m more interested in yours.
International Olympic Committee – IOC LA28 Olympic & Paralympic Games Paris 2024 - Comité d'organisation des Jeux Olympiques et Paralympiques de 2024 Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee
#olympics #sportsmarketing #sportsbusiness
VP Marketing chez OMEGA SA & Head of Media Strategy chez Swatch Group
1mo💯🙏🏼❤️