2024 U.S. Olympic Sponsorship Outcomes
- October 16, 2024
- SponsorPulse Staff
Key Insights:
The macro environment presents an interesting juxtaposition – a growing sport industry in a challenging marketing industry
Increased competition is coming from tentpole events and new leagues, tournaments, and franchises
The Olympic Games are an elite property, and there’s a clear playbook for ongoing activation and athlete partnerships
Although challenging to breakthrough as a new partner, it can be done, and Olympics provide a strong conversion opportunity
As we reflect on the recently concluded 2024 Olympics, it's clear that the global sporting events is heating up, leading to fierce competition for brands seeking sponsorship dollars.
In North America, the return of the Olympics to more favorable time zones—specifically Paris in 2024 and Milan in 2026—demonstrated gains in engagement. With LA 2028 on the horizon, major sponsors like Delta have already begun capitalizing on the next Olympics cycle. Additionally, the FIFA World Cup 2026 will bring another major sporting event to North American soil, placing it directly in front of U.S. consumers.
This surge in high-profile events is occurring alongside a growing array of sponsorship opportunities in emerging sports, women’s sports, and global properties that are expanding their fan bases in new markets.
Strength of the Olympic Games in the U.S.
Our latest data shows that the Paris 2024 games reached an incremental +10% pts of the U.S. population aged 13-64 vs. the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. A staggering 133MM+ US residents engaged with the property in the past year. This propels the Olympics from a competitive set of the NBA/NHL in terms of reach, up to nearing the exceptional reach of the #1 US property, the NFL.
Exploring our Olympics data further, we see momentum – sentiment among consumers that their consumption is set to increase – is nearing all-time highs for the Summer Games.
A consistent theme across 50+ activations emerged from our consumer research: brands sponsoring individual athletes, especially women, and including Paralympians, dominated the podium for strongest outcomes and had an impact on their brand’s consideration.
The average Olympics (IOC or USOC) sponsorship also delivers above industry impact on brand consideration and favorability. There’s a reason this is a sought-after asset for brands.
Access more Property highlights with a free SponsorPulse account ⬇️
Which brands’ IOC/USOC partnerships delivered?
Nike’s connection to the Games cannot be understated, and with a $1B infusion in fiscal 2025 directed at consumers, more Americans connected the brand to Paris 2024 than did Tokyo 2020
Sponsor recognition vs. our benchmark of the sponsorship industry revealed that Coca-Cola, VISA, Toyota, Samsung, and notably, Delta Airlines, all achieved above-average recognition as a sponsor. This is especially notable for Delta, who took over from United with the USOC ahead of Paris 2024.
Virtually all IOC/USOC sponsors we measured achieved above-target impact on their brand consideration, except for Michelob Ultra and long-standing partner P&G.
Olympians as Celebrities
Paris 2024 was rightly touted as the first truly gender-parity Olympic Games, with 50-50 splits between participants and significant advances in coverage parity. We closely monitored U.S. female Olympians to quantify their star power compared to other athletes who command multi-million-dollar endorsement deals. Individual U.S. female Olympians emerged as standout figures, with Simone Biles, Sha’Carri Richardson, Suni Lee, and Katie Ledecky gaining significant recognition throughout the Games. By the end of Paris 2024, their visibility was comparable to that of many major U.S. male star athletes, presenting an exceptional opportunity for brand marketers.
Watch On-Demand Webinar: The Power of the Rings: 2024 U.S. Olympic Sponsorship Outcomes for even more insights.
