The Tokyo Summer Olympics, being held from July 23 to August 8, is unlike any other. The 2020 Games—the first postponed for a reason other than war—are still occurring during a worldwide pandemic and with a COVID-19 variant on the upswing. Brands should naturally expect the unexpected. 

Despite the uncertainty, 15 global partners, including Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Visa, Omega and Airbnb, have paid a record $3.3 billion to participate—at least twice as much as previous games—and shelled out extra money due to the postponement. The deals have been conducted through Japanese-founded Dentsu, the official marketing agency for the games.

NBC secured its largest-ever advertiser lineup, and it will be the first time NBC Olympics will televise—on NBC stations, Peacock streaming service, NBCOlympics.com and NBC Sports—the opening ceremonies live in the morning. 

Many more brands will be on the sidelines, working hard to win their own medals in fan engagement, social participation and the consumer path to purchase. Here's what they need to know:

Tread carefully

The pandemic increases the possibility that something can go wrong—such as athletes testing positive for COVID or the cancellation or postponement of events. There is also less of an in-person audience this year, with spectators capped at 50% capacity—10,000 people per venue.

With diminished audiences and the huge time difference—13 hours in some regions—Jason Cieslak, president for the Pacific Rim at branding agency Siegel+Gale, believes making the Olympics relevant this year “will be a challenge unlike any other.” With nearly 70% of U.S. adults vaccinated, Americans, he says, are looking to travel or spend more time outdoors instead of fixated on their TVs as they were for the past year.

“Marketers will need to be inventive in finding ways to bring the Olympics, and their role in it, to people—not the other way around,” Cieslak says. “That means doubling down on social channels, facilitating shareable moments and utilizing retail pop-ups to bring the spirit—and the associated brand experience—to where people are.”

Brands should also be wary about appearing too celebratory since many parts of the world are still suffering from the pandemic, experts say. Many people are still opposed to the games happening and brands could see backlash depending on their approach. “Brands should recognize how consumers are feeling at this very moment and project the mood of the country during the games,” says Tony Pace, president and CEO of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board. He suggests messaging should take a middle ground with a “happy, but slightly subdued” approach.

Jay Bavishi, Twitter's head of quadrennial events and the Tokyo Games lead, says brands should approach the games with an “enhanced level of consideration and care. The brands that are going to ‘win’ the Olympics this summer are the ones that can stay in the moment and be prepared to pivot and amend their content as excitement around the Olympics evolves,” says Bavishi. He adds that brands should look to the Olympics as another opportunity to give back.

Non-Olympic partners have to abide by IOC rules

Before a brand sends a congratulatory tweet or TikTok, it must consider the rules set by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for non-Olympics partners and athletes that protect the interests of global partners and sponsors.

Rule 40 of the Olympic Charter and IOC's key principles govern how brands and athletes can engage in and benefit from commercial activities. In November 2020, the rules were loosened, allowing athletes to cut their own deals with Olympic sponsors. But the major rule still applies for non-Olympic partners: Brands cannot work with Olympians in a commercial capacity beginning a few days before the games until a few days after. Even a tweet celebrating an Olympian ambassador must be held until the games end and cannot reference the Olympics, even through imagery. Athletes themselves are limited to one "thank you" message to a non-Olympic partner, but still cannot make any connection to the Tokyo Games or say any product helped enhance their performance. Brands cannot repost their content.

There are still limited workarounds for non-sponsors, however. A campaign featuring an Olympian has to prove its been in the market for more than 90 days without any reference to the Olympics—even subtle imagery such as the Tokyo Tower appearing in a city skyline. There can also be no increase in the campaign’s frequency during the games. In other instances, brands can prove that a campaign with an athlete is “business-as-usual,” such as a back-to-school campaign, or can work with Olympians who are participating in other competitions. Either way, brands have to notify the IOC through its established online portal for multinational campaigns.

Brands don’t have to be sponsors to participate

Despite the rules, brands can still be part of the conversation even if they’re not a sponsor. “The vehicle to get into the event is the athlete, not the rings,” says Bob Ciosek, founder and CEO of World’s Greatest, a startup that works to pair brands with Olympian athletes for content opportunities.

Many of the more than 325 athletes the agency works with, including Harvard grad, epidemiology master’s candidate and track star Gabby Thomas, will become international stars next month as first-time Olympians. Also on the roster: Allyson Felix, one of the most decorated American Olympic sprinters; Olympian gold medalist sprinter Natasha Hastings; and Ryan Crouser, who recently beat the world record in shot put during the Olympic trials. World's Greatest is delivering more than 100 hours of content featuring these stars during the Olympic Trials for an ESPN series and July programming on Roku.

To make sure it complies with IOC rules, World’s Greatest does not work with Olympians during the games, but with athletes who did not make the team or are retired.

The company says that working with Olympian athletes is an authentic and cost-effective way to reach audiences interested in the Olympics and sports overall, even outside the Olympic time period. Many Olympians act as microinfluencers, some with hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, says Ciosek—who once ran creative on Coca-Cola as a creative director at BBDO and afterward ran his own agencies. Many athletes that don't make the Olympics have still garnered the respect and interest of large audiences.  

“At the end of the day, they’re called Olympians, but it’s not really the right moniker,” Ciosek says. “You don’t call Super Bowl players 'Superbowlians' or soccer players 'WorldCupians.' The Olympics have, in a way, hijacked a little bit of the athlete’s persona and their equity.”

There’s also a common misconception about the cost to work with Olympians, says Ciosek. The agency will work with brands on a social level for anywhere from $10,000 to $250,000. The average Olympian, he says, makes a $15,000 salary. And although the winter and summer games are held every two years, it’s actually a full-time job. “It’s a struggle to get by for most people.” It’s for that reason that the agency uniquely splits its revenue equally with its athlete partners.

Gen Zers are fans but not easily influenced

For many brands, the Olympics marks an opportunity to connect with Gen Zers, but they have to reach them where they are consuming most of the content. Mark Beal, assistant professor at Rutgers University School of Communication, conducted a survey of more than 200 Gen Zers between 13 to 25 years old to find out their tastes around the Olympics and where they plan on consuming the most content. As it turns out, 85% of Gen Zers are fans of the Olympics or are interested in the games; only 15% are not. The delay of the games has led to 14% saying they are more interested in the Olympics, while 10% say they are less interested because of the delay.  

With TikTok being a Gen Z favorite, it’s no surprise that 53% said they are planning to consume Olympics content there. YouTube is second with 52% of the vote, followed by Instagram with 51%. NBC-TV was chosen by 42% of respondents, ESPN 41%, Snapchat 30%, Olympic Channel 24% and Twitter 20%. While 19% said they would tune into NBC Sports Network, only 6% said they would visit the NBC Olympics website and only 4% said they would watch content on NBC’s Peacock streaming service.

When it comes to content, 77% said they were interested in the competition, 19% in human interest stories, 19% in behind-the-scenes footage and 16% in  Japanese culture. Activism and protest also attracts Gen Zers; 50% said they would be more interested in the Olympics if athletes use the games to stand up for a cause.

Whether brands are official sponsors or just on the sidelines, they will still have a difficult time inspiring Gen Z to purchase. The survey found that a whopping 78% said a brand sponsoring the U.S. Olympic team would not influence their decision to purchase products or services, with only 22% saying it would.    

“Nearly two-thirds of Gen Zers in the United States are interested in the Olympic Games, but sponsors and brands looking to engage them need to do it by distributing compelling behind-the-scenes and human interest content on the channels where Gen Z intends to consume the Games—TikTok, YouTube and Instagram,” says Beal.

The Olympics give female athletes their biggest stage 

Outside of the Olympics, women's sports receive a fraction of the media attention and brand sponsorships that men's sports get. But sports measurement and analytics firm Nielsen Sports says that the Olympics are the equalizer. Nielsen Fan Insights found that interest levels among women and men Olympic athletes are similar, unlike other sporting categories including the NBA and UEFA Champions League, where men usually dominate.

The percentage of fans interested in both women’s and men’s sports at the Olympics also makes up a larger percentage than fans who are interested in only men’s sports or women’s sports. For swimming, for instance, Nielsen Sports found that 67% of fans are interested in watching both men and women compete, compared to women-only competitions (14%) and men-only competitions 19%.

Jon Stainer, managing director of the Americas at Nielsen Sports, says the Olympics’ gender parity is something brands should lean into and support. “Forward-thinking brands would be well-served to pay close attention to the women competing in Tokyo and envision how supporting them can enable positive associations which move the needle on their businesses.” Nielsen Fan Insights found that 66% of U.S. fans are passionate about gender equality.

Brands can tailor their Olympic campaigns to broader audiences, such as P&G’s “Thank You Mom” and “Lead with Love” Olympic campaigns, according to Nielsen Sports. Many female Olympians have used the stage as opportunities to stand up for the issues they are passionate about and have switched sponsors to prove their point—showing the importance of brands maintaining healthy relationships with athletes. Allyson Felix and Simone Biles certainly gave Nike a black eye when they switched to partner with Athleta for its female-centric stance. At the end of June, Felix, who says she left Nike because the brand wanted to pay her 70% less after her pregnancy, added salt to the wound by launching her own shoe brand.

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