Over the years, the Lausanne cash drawer has continued to ring to the rhythm of the money it collects.
The biggest supplier to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is the American channel NBC, since it acquired the television rights to the next Games until 2032.
To do this, she had to pay CIO the plump figure of 8 billion dollars.
To ensure the exclusivity of the Games from those of 2014, in Sochi, to those of Tokyo, in 2021, the network had already paid a record sum of more than $4 billion.
To these figures, we must add what NBC will invest in covering the Paris Games, in less than two months: the American channel will send no less than 1,800 people.
In addition to having a studio on one of Paris’s bridges for the description of the opening ceremony, with the trio composed of host Mike Tirico, former NFL star Peyton Manning and singer Kelly Clarkson, NBC will install its main studio on the terrace of the Café de l’Homme, which overlooks the Trocadéro gardens, with the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop.
Coca-Cola at the Pyeongchang GamesPhoto: Getty Images / Marianna Massey
The Olympic select club
To have exclusive rights to the rings during the Games, again, you have to pay. In 1985, the CIO created the TOP program, to Tea Olympic Partner (The Olympic partner). Today, there are more than fifteen of them who have afforded this privilege.
The entry fee for a three-year Olympic cycle is several hundred million dollars.
The first to raise his hand, or rather to put his hand to his wallet, was Coca-Cola which, since 1928, has associated its famous drink with the Olympic Games.
But is not part of this very select club who wants, but who can. The latest entrant is the Chinese giant Alibaba, which reportedly paid $800 million to be a partner until 2028.
Today, some estimate that we would have exceeded $1 billion to be part of the TOP.
The last Olympic cycle, which ended with the Tokyo Games, would have brought in $10.4 billion to the CIO.
If you’re already stunned by these enormous sums of money, hold on tight, because we haven’t yet told you about the national sponsors. There will be 63 of them in Paris – including Orange (telecommunications), EDF (Électrcité de France), BPCE (bank), Sanofi (pharmaceutical) and Carrefour (food) – which so far represents a windfall of $1.5 billion for the organizing committee of the Games.
To this, we must add the latest entrant and not the least, the LVMH group.
The luxury goods group LVMH signs an agreement with Paris 2024.Photo: afp via getty images / JULIEN DE ROSA
The chain, which brings together 75 luxury product brands, including Louis Vuitton, Dior, Berluti and Moët Hennessy, is said to have paid the tidy sum of $230 million to partner with the rings.
We only lend to the rich
, wrote the novelist Tristan Bernard. This could not be more true for Paris 2024.
These 63 sponsors will be entitled to a 25% tax exemption at the end of the Games. This shortfall in tax revenue for the French government is estimated at $454 million.
We will have understood, to be around the Olympic table, you have to take out your wallet. But we are increasingly questioning, in financial circles, about the return on investment.
Investing in the Games, is it still profitable?
Are these investments still worth the cost?
Not sure, if the appearance of ambush marketing is anything to go by, or ambush marketing. The idea is simple: you indirectly associate yourself with an event, but without paying the entrance fee. The public sees nothing but fire and thinks that you are a generous Olympic benefactor.
It was during the Los Angeles Games in 1984 that this practice was born, which, by the way, is not illegal. The Fuji photographic brand then won the bid to become the official partner of the Games. However, its competitor Kodak did such an advertising campaign that the world associated it with the Olympics.
Tax deals between Nike and the Netherlands are under investigation by the European Commission, a direct result of the Paradise Papers.Photo: Reuters / Grigory Dukor
In this game, the undisputed champion is undoubtedly Nike. Since the Los Angeles Games, the creators of the gigantic company have competed in audacity and inventiveness so that the public associates it with the Olympic Games.
Store opening near the Olympic sites with the presence of athletes wearing their clothes, while their rival Reebok had paid top dollar to be an official sponsor.
Organization of a press conference with the Dream Teamthe fabulous American basketball team (Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley…), which was dressed by Nike.
The pinnacle was reached at the London Games in 2012. While Adidas had paid some $90 million for its exclusivity, Nike took the opportunity to shoe athletes with its products. Claiming that it was their work tool, the athletes did not have to hide the brand during competitions.
Before the start of the London Games, the Brandwatch agency, specializing in social media monitoring, carried out a survey of the brands associated with the Games. Result: 77% of respondents mentioned the American equipment manufacturer, compared to 0.49% for the German Adidas, as being, according to them, the official sponsor of the Olympics.
Just do it, as the famous Nike slogan said.
Serena Williams at the Nike partyPhoto: afp via getty images / EMMANUEL DUNAND
Having become the undisputed king in the art of confusion, the famous equipment manufacturer has already started its campaign for Paris 2024.
First phase, a gala evening.
On April 11, Nike rented the famous Palais Brongniart to present its latest collection of Nike Air. Statues 11 meters high adorned the entrance to the palace. All orange, in the brand’s colors, of course.
On the orange carpet, we could see stars such as soccer player Kylian Mbappé and former Brazilian star Ronaldinho, basketball players Victor Wembanyama and Lebron James as well as ex-tennis player Serena Williams, among other prestigious guests.
Second phase, a permanent exhibition.
During the Games, Nike organized a permanent exhibition to showcase its latest innovations, and its base camp will be located in the heart of Paris, at the Center Pompidou.
On the lookout for the slightest bad move, Nike strikes hard with its third phase!
THE CIO recently brought out all the drums and trumpets to present the team of refugees who will participate in the Paris Games. It was no less necessary for Nike to release its documentary entitled Watch Where We’re Going about… the refugee team!
And to be sure of its success, the American equipment manufacturer has decided to change its marketing strategy: fewer advertising campaigns, but more targeted campaigns. It is therefore no coincidence that, during the last quarter, its marketing expenses were estimated at $1 billion.
Sponsors leave the Olympic ship
The first major sponsor of the TOP program who left the CIO is McDonald’s, a member of the Olympic family for 40 years.
The divorce took place after the Pyeongchang Games in 2018. It is said that during the last Olympic cycle, the famous fast food chain spent more than $1 billion, or $250 million per edition of the Games.
On the side of CIO, it is claimed that it was necessary to renovate the Olympic house and that times had changed. The association of junk food and Olympic exploits was no longer the image we wanted to convey in Lausanne.
Akio Toyoda president of Toyota and Thomas BachPhoto: Getty Images / Chris McGrath
If the reason for this first separation may seem laudable, the latest departure, that of sponsor Toyota, brings with it its share of questions.
In 2015, the Japanese automaker signed one of the largest sponsorship deals in Olympic history, which ends with the Paris Games. In total, $1.143 billion!
What is important here is not the pharaonic amount that the CIObut rather the reasons given for the separation.
According to the major Japanese news agency Kyodo, Toyota officials are unhappy with the way the CIO uses sponsors’ money. According to the latter, the amounts go neither directly to the athletes nor to the financing of sport.
Will this departure and these justifications snowball? It is too early to tell.
One thing is certain: the CIO must remain vigilant if he does not want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
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