Brands are beginning campaign efforts for the Olympic Games, with athlete partnerships being a key strategy. Despite strict advertising regulations, marketers are selecting Olympians to leverage their organic reach. Samsung is sponsoring Skateboarding UK to capitalize on the sport's novelty and skateboarder Sky Brown's profile. Powerade is working with athletes across 30 markets, including Alberto Abarza, Mathilde Gros, and Simone Biles, in its largest Olympics campaign yet.
Joe Weston of We Are Social suggests athletes offer an organic reach that brand channels can't achieve. Advertisers can gain larger reach by boosting posts made by athlete partners. Choosing the right athletes is crucial, with some advertisers matching key markets against popular events and athletes with strong social media presence.
Powerade selected athletes who had comeback moments in their careers, fitting its "Pause is power" positioning. Reese’s Pieces chose high profile Olympic and Paralympic athletes and newcomers for a campaign promoting Reese’s Medals. Old El Paso is associating with families and teams, working with four U.K. Olympians and showcasing their family lives and training regimes.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) maintains strict advertising rules, with athletes not allowed to issue brand endorsements or imply a product enhanced their performance during the Olympic Games. Marketers need to tread carefully.
Weston suggests the Olympic Games and the Olympic Village can act as a training ground for sports personalities. Marketers should monitor competing athletes’ social platforms as they could become major sports personalities post-Games. Powerade, in partnership with the IOC, has built an annex to the grounds offering athletes a quiet space away from training or other media duties.
