Will the Paris Olympics Pay Off for Brands?

A survey from Numerator shows advertising recall from past Olympics is extremely low, while product endorsements by Olympians boast only a moderate influence on purchasing decisions.

The findings come as the Paris Olympics, which runs from July 26 to August 11, is widely expected to show a strong recovery in viewership from recent games, opening up opportunities for brands sponsoring and/or advertising around the event.

According to Numerator’s survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers in July, only 14% distinctly remembered specific Olympic commercials from past years. Among those who do, Coca-Cola and Wheaties advertisements, as well as commercials featuring Michael Phelps and Simone Biles, were the most commonly mentioned.

The survey further found that only 13% of consumers were “significantly more likely” to buy a product endorsed by an Olympian they like, with 36% “somewhat more likely.” A notable 51% were unaffected by such endorsements.

Nonetheless, NBCUniversal said in early April it had sold $1.2 billion worth of advertising across linear TV and digital for the opening and closing nights of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, putting it on pace to pass the record for most ad revenue ever generated by an Olympic Games. 

Among the factors driving interest from advertisers are surging momentum for women’s sports, strong awareness that the Olympics occupy prime real estate in terms of live tune-in, and the growth of NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming platform.

For the first time ever, every single event will stream live on Peacock, amounting to more than 5,000 hours of overall live coverage that enable advertisers to tailor messages aligned around certain sports.

“The Olympics used to be monoculture when it was only on NBC and there were [only] three channels,” Robert Lambrechts, chief strategy officer at creative agency Pereira O’Dell, told The Current. “NBC had the Olympics and you had no choice. But then the fragmentation of media has actually made the Olympics more of a niche player, probably in a good way, a targetable play for people.”

Other research shows the Olympics can pack a long-term benefit for affiliated brands.

Findings from NBCUniversal and BAV Group show that official partners see more than a significant increase in positive association among Olympic fans, as well as an increase in loyalty and esteem and greater differentiation tied to excitement about a brand. Smaller post-sponsorship comparative benefits were seen in preference and consideration.

Research from Nielsen shows that long-range sports partnerships around mega-events such as the Olympics can provide a significant boost to brand awareness, while streams, game highlights, and following athletes on social media can further build engagement, consideration, and conversion.

Adam Isselbacher, SVP and group director of research and analytics at UM Worldwide, told Nielsen, “Brand building is not just about making a brand visible. It’s about embedding into the consumer consciousness.” 

Advertisers are also hoping that linear viewership will rebound. As noted by the Washington Post, the prime-time telecast for the 2021 Tokyo Summer Games dropped 27% from the Rio Olympics in 2016. Months later, the tumble in Beijing was worse for the 2022 Winter Games, a 42% decline from the 2018 PyeongChang Games.

While the Olympics continue to face concerns around doping, corruption, and geopolitical risks, viewership at the Paris Games is expected to benefit by avoiding the pandemic-driven disruptions that caused delays and led to the absence of crowds. The Beijing Games headwinds included a focus on human rights abuses in China. Only six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time, Paris also offers a more viewer-friendly scheduling versus the Asia-based events.

Additionally, Paris is planning a spectacle, starting with Opening Ceremonies featuring over 10,000 athletes sailing down the Seine in what is poised to be the most ambitious Olympic opening ceremony ever attempted.

“I see Paris as a chance for the Olympics to get its mojo back,” Bob Costas, who hosted NBC’s prime-time Olympics coverage 11 times, told the New York Times.

Numerator’s survey found 57% of U.S. consumers sharing that they’re somewhat or very interested in this summer’s Games. Gymnastics, swimming, track & field, diving, and volleyball are the top five sports consistently favored across generations.

However, a just-released Gallup poll predicted that the U.S. viewing audience for the 2024 Paris Games is poised to be the smallest for any prior Summer Olympics since Gallup began measuring the metric in 2000. Of U.S. adults surveyed, 35% plan to watch a great deal (10%) or a fair amount (25%) of the games, down from 48% measured for the 2016 Olympics and “figures just shy of 60% from 2000 to 2012.”