Brands Take the Podium at Paris 2024

Alison McConnell, Chief Marketing Officer, Publicis Health Media

In an environment rife with divisions, we hunger for reasons to come together. Over the past two weeks it was to witness athletic accomplishment as Olympians showcased their sharply honed excellence. Beyond their talents, though, it is also a joy to see these athletes’ personal stories further define their greatness. The followings and niche communities that crop up around the Olympics are great cultural anchors around which we harbor, across borders and differences, in shared awe. 

Countless moments during this year’s Olympics have resonated thanks to creative cultural acuity, and the volume turned way up with more content amplification than ever before. Across both athletic performances and personal storytelling, human stories shone bright and brand engagement with these stories garnered unprecedented attention.  

Learning about athletes’ lives outside the games has always been part of the Olympic experience. Through a new rule, athletes have been allowed to share their own stories to social media, giving us more visibility this year than ever before. The result? Wide-ranging fan demographics rallied around athletes, including those who may not have engaged with Olympic content had it been distributed on traditional video platforms alone. A personal favorite: Pommel Horse Guy Stephen Nedoroscik’s Instagram following increased 1200% between July 25 and August 1^st, lifting his perspective and persona as an athlete to the international stage. Brands took note, and memes about Nedoroscik cropped up across social platforms from those looking to tap into his relevance.   

Charmingly, Italian gymnast Giorgia Villa earned a Silver Medal while also inspiring a lot of us to eat more cheese (personally, I would love to be sponsored by a Dutch gruyere). This unexpected partnership broke through the noise to deliver significant earned media coverage in addition to delight from consumers. Brands who lean into joy always catch my eye. 

Beyond comedic gold, brands are also delivering value by driving social momentum – like Pampers’ partnership with Allyson Felix to create the first-ever Pampers Nursery in the Athletes Village. This brand relationship made a powerful statement, affirming that mother and athlete are not mutually exclusive identities — an especially poignant move on Felix’s part given her history with Nike cutting her pay by 70% during her pregnancy. (Thanks to Felix and other female athletes’ advocacy, Nike ultimately made changes to add maternity protections for sponsored athletes. Can you say women empowering women?)  

In this same vein, there is Instagram’s most followed rugby player Ilona Maher’s sponsorship by Secret deodorant. Since her popular 2022 Ted Talk, Ilona has been a strong advocate of greater respect for and inclusion of all bodies — no small feat in today’s landscape, especially in light of the media storm around the outfits female athletes are asked to wear. Secret sponsoring Ilona makes sense within both the context of the games — a lot of sweat is involved, after all — and in terms of multiplying the power of Secret’s brand by amplifying Ilona’s values. 

Another notable brand partnership with athletes was, ironically, completely void of any branding at all. The “Unsponsored Project” supported 35 emerging athletes during the 2024 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials by outfitting them in brandless, all-black uniforms. By supporting these athletes with free gear, Bandit is sparing these earlier career athletes a significant expense by empowering breakout stars to demonstrate their availability for “traditional” sponsorships by bigger brands (shoutout to flexible release clauses). This demonstration of values-driven marketing aptly and indisputably positions Bandit as a brand dedicated to showing up for athletes. 

And perhaps the most notable brand building? Surprisingly, not an athlete at all. Snoop Dogg was everywhere, amplifying his own personal brand of positivity and support. All he had to do to earn an all-around Gold was just show up and be his authentic, wonderful self. Bravo. 

The 2024 Olympics has set records in so many capacities, especially by way of connecting with viewers. It has really, truly been a joyful two weeks, amplified by all the strategic choices brands made to dive in and support incredible athletes while resonating with new audiences. Quite a win in my book. Until LA 2028! 

Connect with Alison on LinkedIn.

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