Japanese sponsors fear damage caused by Tokyo Olympics brand

Corporate sponsors of the Tokyo Olympics have convened marketing consultants to determine whether a direct partnership with the Games would harm their brands.

According to people who work directly with some of the 47 major sponsors of the Games, Japanese companies have asked advisers whether they should adopt the Olympic image. The alternative is to proceed with minimal reference to an event that has generated more than $ 3 billion in sponsorship after polls suggested that more than half of the Japanese public believes the Games should be called off.

The consultants, according to people close to several sponsors, which included Kantar, Macromill and Intage, have been incorporated as companies approach the six-week countdown to the opening ceremony.

This brand, said an advertising executive involved in the preparations for the Games, represented a “point of no return” beyond which companies will incur a cost to cancel advertising campaigns.

A person close to the Japan Advertisers’ Association, which has 272 member companies, acknowledged that Olympic sponsors were struggling to achieve the marketing benefits they had initially anticipated.

“Companies had wanted to increase their brand value by sponsoring a major global sporting event, but it is difficult to actively promote the fact that they are sponsoring the Tokyo Olympics,” the person added.

A person who worked as an advisor to one of the 14 world sponsors said this, because the decision on embrace or not the Olympics it was so finely balanced, that some companies had developed two campaigns and decided which one to use at the last minute.

“They’re waiting to see if opposition to the Games starts to fall, because if they don’t, they’re worried that these Games could hurt their brands,” said an advertising executive who worked with an Olympic sponsor. .

“Meanwhile, most campaigns have ended when they could be expected to increase.”

Among gold partner sponsors, Asics sportswear company and dairy group and soft drinks Meiji Holdings they have recently posted television commercials with athletes expected to compete in the Olympics.

In the case of the Asics ad, the Olympic rings appeared briefly in a corner at the end of the ad.

Meiji said he was investigating the impact of Olympic sponsorship on his brand, but that his existing ads were not based on the results of that research.

Another sponsor, who declined to be named, said he had yet to decide whether to post Olympic-themed ads, but that he was closely following public opinion.

Asics did not respond to any requests for comment.

At least one sponsor producing consumer goods has been informed that there were few benefits from any campaign that tried to play a lot in the Olympic associations.

A veteran advertising industry executive involved with several sponsoring companies said the two main considerations would be the decision if spectators are allowed, which is expected around June 24, and private polls on the level of public opposition to the Games.

As Japan’s vaccination program picks up pace, opinion polls in national media have shown opposition to holding the Games on July 24, which went from 80% a month ago to 62%. in a recent survey.