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Brand Impact at the Paris Games: Leveraging the New Olympic Sports

Written by Jeff | Feb 21, 2024 7:29:14 PM

The 2024 Paris Olympics are introducing four exciting sports that reflect the latest trends in global sports and youth culture. Breaking, a dynamic dance rooted in hip-hop, is set to deliver high-energy shows that urban art fans will love. Sport climbing will challenge athletes to conquer heights with speed and smarts, offering a great display of strength. Skateboarding brings cool tricks and skills to the Olympics, with events that highlight athletes' creativity on wheels. Surfing will take athletes to Tahiti's waves, showcasing their skill in the ocean. These additions to the Olympics are drawing in fans looking for new and varied action. For brands wanting to connect with the energy of these new sports, OpenSponsorship is a handy way to find athletes for sponsorships and partnerships, making it easier to tap into their growing popularity.

The Four New Sports

The four new Olympic sports are creating exciting opportunities for brands to shine in the global arena. These fresh additions are reshaping the landscape of Olympic sponsorships, introducing innovative avenues for brand engagement. Let's explore the influence and allure of these new Olympic disciplines in more detail, and how they're transforming the world of sports sponsorship.

  • Breaking:
    Breaking, a vibrant fusion of dance and athleticism, propels underground hip-hop culture onto the Olympic stage, showcasing the intense energy of battles among b-boys and b-girls, notably B-Girl Ami. Her performances, rich in cultural diversity, open a unique avenue for brands to resonate with a youthful demographic. Sponsorship opportunities with breakers like Ami, active participation in breaking events, and the creation of engaging content that highlights the sport's artistry allow brands to deeply connect with this dynamic scene. By forming partnerships with athletes, organizing branded competitions, and producing digital content that captures the essence of breaking, brands can engage with its lively community, thereby amplifying their presence and appeal among a young, energetic audience. This engagement not only enhances brand visibility but also aligns brands with the creativity, diversity, and youthful energy that breaking represents, making it an ideal platform for companies looking to tap into new markets and demographics.

  • Sport Climbing:
    Sport climbing, with its rigorous disciplines of speed, bouldering, and lead climbing, puts the spotlight on athletes' extraordinary strength and agility, exemplified by climbers like Adam Ondra. Ondra's transition from a prodigious talent to a global sport climbing figure presents a unique opportunity for brands to engage with the climbing community. Sponsoring climbers or climbing events allows brands to affirm their commitment to the sport's core values of endurance, precision, and adventure. Collaborations with renowned climbers offer brands avenues for product testing in challenging environments, content creation that showcases the climbers' lifestyle, and support for environmental sustainability initiatives. This involvement not only positions brands at the heart of the climbing community but also aligns them with the sport's emphasis on performance, innovation, and respect for nature, making sport climbing an attractive platform for brands aiming to showcase their commitment to quality, resilience, and environmental stewardship.

  • Skateboarding:
    The inclusion of skateboarding in the Olympics celebrates its rich street culture and the prowess of athletes like Nyjah Huston, marking the sport's transition into mainstream recognition. Brands can immerse themselves in this culture by supporting skaters, sponsoring skate parks, and crafting campaigns that reflect skateboarding's core values of creativity and freedom. This engagement allows brands to connect with skateboarding's passionate community through various channels, including event sponsorships, collaborations on limited-edition product lines with athletes, and initiatives aimed at enhancing the accessibility and growth of skateboarding globally. By aligning with skateboarding, brands not only tap into a market characterized by its enthusiasm and loyalty but also associate themselves with the sport's creative spirit, innovation, and sense of community, making skateboarding an ideal platform for brands seeking to engage with a vibrant and rapidly growing audience.

  • Surfing:
    Surfing, a sport that blends athletic prowess with a deep connection to nature, offers a unique spectacle as athletes like John John Florence master the waves with remarkable skill and grace. Florence's commitment to surfing and environmental advocacy embodies the sport's ethos, presenting an opportunity for brands to align with surfing's adventurous spirit and eco-conscious values. By sponsoring surfers, supporting conservation efforts, and developing campaigns that celebrate the essence of surfing, brands can forge meaningful connections with the global surfing community. Partnering with surfers such as Florence allows brands to engage with consumers passionate about the sport and the environment, through initiatives that emphasize ocean conservation, sustainable lifestyle choices, and narratives that capture surfing's profound relationship with the natural world, thereby positioning brands as supporters of adventure, sustainability, and the authentic experiences that surfing offers.


Getting involved with new Olympic sports like breaking, sport climbing, skateboarding, and surfing is a smart move for brands aiming to connect with youthful, energetic audiences. These sports not only embody innovation and excitement but also offer brands a platform to weave their narratives into the fabric of diverse and rich cultures. Through sponsorships, exclusive events, and athlete partnerships, brands can immerse themselves in these communities, showcasing their products and aligning with the dynamic spirit of these emerging Olympic disciplines, effectively broadening their appeal and market presence.

Conclusion

The inclusion of breaking, sport climbing, skateboarding, and surfing in the Olympics is revolutionizing the landscape of brand sponsorships, offering new, vibrant platforms for engagement and storytelling. These sports, with their youthful appeal and dynamic communities, are not just expanding the Olympic repertoire but are also redefining what it means to be an Olympic sponsor in the modern era. They provide a canvas for brands to showcase their adaptability, innovation, and commitment to supporting emerging sports and athletes. As these disciplines grow in popularity and influence, the opportunity for brands to connect with a broader, more diverse audience becomes increasingly significant. OpenSponsorship stands at the forefront of this evolution, offering brands a streamlined gateway to enter the Olympic sphere. By facilitating partnerships with athletes and events in these new sports, OpenSponsorship enables brands to navigate the complexities of Olympic sponsorships, ensuring they can effectively leverage the unique appeal and global stage these sports offer.