How smaller brands can profit from the Olympics

The main challenges for smaller brands

Precisely because official sponsors invest huge sums in the Olympics, there are strict rules on the use or referencing of the Olympic brand by non-sponsoring companies. This means that, unless you are Panasonic or McDonald’s, you won’t be allowed to so much as mention the Olympic games in your ads. In recent years, rules have been somewhat relaxed, particularly for social media campaigns, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy to set up an effective campaign without breaking any of them. Such rules include the limited use of certain words (“Olympics”, of course, is the first that comes to mind, but several sport-related terms are out of bounds as well) and a blanket ban on athletes wearing or displaying logos or appearing in ads of non-Olympic brands. Exceptions can be made for brands that apply in advance and satisfy the Olympic Committee’s requirements.

Market to local crowds, not tv audiences

Smaller brands might still find it difficult to qualify and be approved for the kind of waiver that allowed brands such as Gatorade to sponsor individual athletes without investing in the whole event. This doesn’t necessarily mean that there is nothing to gain by being present during the games, in the specific city that will host them. Marketing to local audiences, in fact, is a cost-effective way for small brands to ride the Olympic wave. When a city is approved to host the Olympics, the tourist industry skyrockets and investments soar in anticipation of the crowds that will be drawn by the event. Such crowds include sports fans from all over the world, of course, as well as athletes and their crews, managers and media professionals. This will inevitably result in increased foot traffic and an international audience to cater to. If you are a small brand, this is the crowd you should be advertising to.

Open a pop-up shop and go guerrilla

This is the perfect time to open a pop-up shop in the city centre: even if your brand is not yet present on the local market, even if you are currently not budgeting for a new flagship store or working with local distributors, you will still be securing a presence on the high street and increasing your brand awareness. Booking your spot in advance, in this case, is absolutely essential: pop-up shop locations will sell like hotcakes once the official seat of the Olympics is announced, and prices will inevitably soar. Even if you end up paying more than the normal rate for your location, however, you will still be able to contain your budget by saving on storage room and advertising. Instead, go wildly creative on your guerrilla marketing campaigns: find ways of surprising your audience, catering to different nationalities and crafting messages in different languages. Finding out in advance where the fans of certain teams will be staying, for instance, you will be able to plan “impromptu” experiential campaigns in the neighbourhood and draw attention to your product and brand, maybe even go viral. Don’t miss out on the opportunity of using public transport as your own brand stage: buses and trains are excellent locations for flash mobs. Even though you can’t mention athletes or teams by name, you can still target them by speaking their language.