We spoke with some of New Zealand’s leading branding and marketing brains to get the low down on what’s hot at this year’s Olympic Games. What makes a brand standout, and could it be anywhere near as tough as nailing a perfect ten at synchronised diving?
The curtain has now fallen, but for the last two months, all eyes were on Paris for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Total viewership of the 2024 Games has yet to be revealed but the 2020 Games in Tokyo hit an eye-watering audience of 3 billion people around the globe.
Without a doubt, the Olympics is the world’s largest sporting event, and has even grown beyond being the ultimate demonstration of sporting prowess and athleticism into a cultural phenomenon.
The four-yearly event is used as a giant tourism billboard to promote the host nation to the world (with a view to recouping the billions of dollars invested in hosting the event), as well as being the ultimate showcase for brands and celebrity alike. Possibly only the Super Bowl has similar cultural impact and cut-through.
For the Paris Games, even the announcement of Olympic team kits was both news and social media worthy. Teams vied for the crown of best dressed, and there was controversy around certain countries and the cut of their chosen gymnastics attire.
Like Taylor Swift at the Super Bowl, celebrities are totally down with the play. Snoop Dogg was adopted as an unofficial mascot of the US team, spotted at everything from Dressage & Equestrian events to fanboying the GOAT, Simone Biles, at the gymnastics arena, randomly popping up in places that would seem quite unlikely for the LA-born gangster rapper and record producer.
But if the Olympics is big business for the host nation and for celebrities, it is arguably even bigger for brands and the competition to grab attention is fierce.
“Events that bring the world together are few and far between so they’re catnip for global brands looking to build relevance and connection with large scale audiences,” says Comms Council CEO Simon Lendrum.
“The Olympics, like the Superbowl, are huge drawcards for brands who want to borrow the values associated with the pinnacle of performance, hard work, and human endeavour that the Olympics represent. There’s no shortage of big, inspiring ads targeting the Olympics this year – Nike, Toyota, and Coke all getting in on the act.
“Brands that celebrate the spirit of the Olympics and add to our enjoyment of the event do great work for the audience and great work for brand perception.”
Brands globally spend hundreds of millions of dollars vying to be event and team sponsors and brands of all sizes, with or without official relationships and status, attempt to ride the cultural zeitgeist that the Games creates.
Paris itself played a master stroke of bravery and showmanship, by choosing to host the opening ceremony on and around the Seine, instead of inside the controlled environment of a stadium, a showcase of their beautiful city and the best of French culture and diversity.
“Paris transformed the Olympics into a marketing masterpiece by integrating iconic elements like the Eiffel Tower into medals and taking the Opening Ceremony to the city’s streets. This innovative approach not only showcased Paris’s beauty but also turned the entire city into an immersive Olympic experience, solidifying its brand as a dynamic and vibrant global destination,” says Danielle Tolich, NZME Head of B2B Marketing and Engagement.
The eagle-eyed would have noticed official Olympics sponsor, Samsung, handing over their latest flip-phone to Olympians to capture a podium selfie – both for posterity of the occasion and to help Samsung capture some of the cultural cool.
Meanwhile, DoorDash NZ became the cheeky brand of the Games. While not a sponsor, the delivery service grabbed attention with a series of hilarious spots targeting fans, where its offer of $1 Medal Deals disrupted the usual ecosystem of noise in big game advertising breaks.
DoorDash knocked it out of the park for freelance Creative Director Billy McQueen (the mind behind Pak’nSave’s Stickman).
“There are a lot of Olympic ads that play on the heartstrings, and a lot that just don’t get noticed at all. But sometimes the ones that work the best are the disruptive ones that leave you smiling. The playful nature of DoorDash’s ‘supporting the supporters who support’ while openly admitting they’re not an official sponsor has that Kiwi cheeky attitude. Their approach with their Medal Deals absolutely hit the spot, and who doesn’t love a $1 Big Mac?”
Aside from DoorDash, St Pierre’s Sushi Senior Marketing Manager Chelsea Lung says it was official Olympic time keepers Omega whose ad was her favourite.
“I thought it was a great integration of using athletes from across the globe, using Paris as the backdrop in a dreamlike arena. I also love how they included Paralympians as they have actually sponsored them for longer than the Olympics.”
Looking a little further afield, Group M Chief Strategy Officer Emily Scovell loves Amazon Prime and Wieden+Kennedy London’s new ad, titled ‘The Best’.
“A story of rivalry between twin sisters… it celebrates women and sports, and also the impact that spectating has on supporters and their own ambitions and determination. It manages to perfectly balance brand and product, demonstrating the expansiveness of Amazon – whilst staying relevant to the moment and context.”
For these brands, creating cut-through in such a crowded environment is no small feat, says Dan Bye, Federation Chief Strategy Officer.
“Everyone wants a piece of the action, and some brands have the luxury of near limitless resources from purchasing coveted ad space around the Games and in crafting beautiful ads in an attempt to resonate with viewers. Consumers are now savvier than ever and so this is no longer about economics alone.
“Brands that want to succeed and be noticed for the right reasons have to find a way to be authentic in how they tap into the cultural moment. It’s this authenticity that can elevate the way their brand connects from being merely memorable to being truly iconic.”
For me, the biggest brand at this year’s Games is actually an athlete – Simone Biles.
Biles, and the team around her, have been outstandingly brave in how they’ve built from the mental health challenges she has had to overcome from Tokyo 2020 to be her unbelievable best at Paris 2024.
The approach has been both clever and brave. They brought the audience on the journey with the Netflix documentary, “Simone Biles – Rising”, (a must watch, if you haven’t seen already!). They leveraged Biles’ endorsement deal with Powerade and the beautifully shot “The Vault” ad, which is refreshingly candid in showing the human side of sporting endeavour and shining a light on mental health and the battles that even our greatest athletes have to overcome.
