Olympic sport of schmoozing eludes corporate sponsors

NEW YORK (AP):

Screaming fans will not be the only thing missing from this year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo. Behind the scenes, there will not be much schmoozing for corporate sponsors either, thanks to the pandemic.

The corporate sponsorship programme has been a key part of the Olympic experience since it began in 1985. More than a dozen or so names like Coca-Cola and Proctor & Gamble pay millions of dollars in each four-year cycle on sponsorship and marketing programmes that includes wining and dining athletes, top employees and key clients at Olympic events.

But all that networking opportunity has been undermined because of the virus. Brands were already dealing with uncertainty regarding the fate of the Tokyo Olympics, which had been delayed from 2020. The Games have now turned into a mostly TV-event after the Japanese government put Tokyo under a COVID-19 state of emergency because of rising new infections and the highly contagious delta variant.

Rick Burton, professor of sport management at Syracuse University, said worldwide sponsors typically use the event to entertain dignitaries from other countries where they hope to pursue a business venture as well as clients with whom they hope to cinch deals or deepen relationships.

“There are so few opportunities to take someone to somewhere else in the world – it’s an extravaganza,” said Burton, who served as the chief marketing officer of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) for the 2008 Beijing Games. “I can take you to an NFL game or an NBA game, but it isn’t as big as the Olympics.”

But even with a muted Tokyo Olympics, corporate sponsors still see a golden opportunity to market their brand with such trademark symbols as the torch.

OLYMPIC SPONSORSHIP DEALS

“The Olympic brand is so strong in the hearts and minds of people around the world,” said Rob Prazmark, founder of 21 Marketing, which has helped the International Olympic Committee (IOC) evaluate its global sponsorship programme and has brokered more than $3 billion worth of Olympic sponsorship deals. “(The sponsors) are in it for the long haul. They’re not dealing with it as a one-and-done thing. They are viewing it as an asset for their company long term.”

Experts believe corporate sponsors will be able to salvage networking opportunities by hosting their own parties or reinvesting more money in social media. Tony Pace, the former chief marketing officer of Subway who now has his own marketing firm, thinks sponsors will likely hold viewing parties with former Olympic athletes – in person or virtually – or be creative with current Olympic athletes by perhaps using social media or remote conferencing for private events with their clients.

Many of the worldwide sponsors either declined to comment or did not respond to queries from The Associated Press on what events they had planned. Bridgestone Corp, the world’s largest tyre and rubber company and one of the worldwide Olympic sponsors, would only say in a statement that it is not creating any events outside of Tokyo, but focusing its efforts in its marketing campaigns on broadcast, digital and social media as well as “supporting its athletes along the journey”.

Prazmark estimates the worldwide sponsors spend on average $400 million for each four-year cycle, which gives them marketing rights to one summer and one winter Olympics. The worldwide partner programme accounts for roughly 20 per cent of the IOC’s revenue, with the rest largely coming from TV rights, according to the IOC. And athletes often sign separate pacts for themselves.