For brands, planning for the 2028 Olympic Games is off and running | Analysis | Campaign Asia

Olympic records were shattered in Paris — and not just on the track, in the pool and other sporting venues — and agencies say clients are already clamoring to engage them and strategize for the 2028 Olympic Summer Games in Los Angeles. 

On all fronts, Olympic love is back. And with the closing ceremony’s action-packed handoff from Paris to Los Angeles, PR pros are excited about the momentum behind the Summer Games’ return to U.S. soil in 2028. 

Michael Brown, EVP of sports at United Entertainment Group, a part of DJE Holdings alongside Edelman and Zeno Group, says clients waited to see how Paris would perform, and “it delivered.”

“The next Summer Games is four years away, but already multiple clients have engaged us on L.A. 2028,” he says. “They are looking to figure out a three-and-half-year plan.” 

“The visuals from Paris, like beach volleyball under the Eiffel Tower, proved really engaging for audiences, and we already saw Los Angeles harness real life in the closing ceremonies of Paris, with the Red Hot Chili Peppers performing on Venice Beach and Tom Cruise at the iconic Hollywood sign,” says Bret Werner, president of MikeWorldWide. “L.A. has the visuals and venues to amplify what Paris did, but as the hub of entertainment.” 

NBC’s viewership across its platforms skyrocketed by a spectacular 82% versus the 2021 Summer Games in Tokyo. X reported record-high engagement, while TikTok, which partnered with Team Great Britain during the Games, reported that 233,440 creators made content under the hashtag #Olympics, an 822% increase versus Tokyo. 

UEG works with two International Olympic Committee partners and a U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee organization, but the interest extends to brands who did little, if anything, for Paris or only athlete or influencer activation. 

“Those brands are asking, ‘How can we get involved in a bigger way?’ ‘What would it mean for us financially?’ ‘And what would the investment potentially do for our brand?’” says Brown. “Given the momentum and the euphoria from Paris, now is the time to strike — tackle those questions and hopefully figure out how to make something work.”

Brands have reason to feel giddy about the opportunities. 

Paris is being celebrated as a turning point for the Games, with the likes of The New York Times dubbing it “The Social Media Olympics.” Once incredibly protective about the use of its intellectual property, the IOC relaxed rules before Paris, in particular with athletes and their social media posts, enabling Olympians to better build their personas online and connect with followers.

NBC’s streaming platform, Peacock, boosted, rather than cannibalized, conventional TV coverage, creating another cause for celebration. 

“There has been a realization that leaning into social media doesn’t detract from the live broadcast,” says Shane Winn, MD of sports marketing at Stagwell-owned Allison. “I think we’ll see a spillover effect for the next Olympics, with brands having a little more freedom in what they can do, too. That could make things very interesting.” 

Chris Console, EVP and North America sports lead at Burson, agrees. 

“There has been nothing like what the world witnessed in Paris in terms of online posts, conversations and chatter, and I can only imagine where it might go in L.A., given the city is one of the world’s epicenters of sports and entertainment,” he says. “People are going to be like, ‘If I’m not viewing and consuming the Games, I’ll be missing out on pop culture conversation and what everyone is talking about.’” 

“It’s going to feel like a super-sized Super Bowl,” says Console. 

That’s a relevant analogy for another reason: flag football will make its Olympic debut in L.A. Expect it to attract a lot of advertiser attention.  

According to Allison and the Harris Poll’s inaugural Sport Momentum Index, flag football is in the top three sports leagues in the U.S. based on cultural currency, engagement and personal relevance among fans. The American Flag Football League ranked behind only Professional Pickleball and Professional Women’s Hockey League in the index, which polled fans in February.

The IOC is already promoting flag football, including with a profile of American flag footballer Ashlea Klam. 

“Flag football is one of the fastest-growing sports globally, in part because it’s so inclusive,” says Julie Andreeff Jensen, founder and co-CEO of Jasper Advisors, an advisory firm that Stagwell-owned SKDK acquired last year. “Flag football opens up access to a new fan base, and that’s what makes it such an interesting opportunity for brands and sponsors.” 

A former comms executive for the NFL’s Washington Football Team, now the Commanders, Jensen predicts that the league will fully get behind it. 

“Flag football is also an amazing opportunity for NFL players to come together as one to compete on the biggest global stage in sports and represent the U.S. in front of a home crowd,” she says. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the players and could lead to unique collaborations across the NFL and the Games.”  

Baseball and softball, lacrosse, squash and cricket are also returning to the Summer Olympics after hiatuses. 

Another storyline to follow will be Team USA’s showing. The U.S. won more medals in Paris than any other country (126), but Werner says the bigger story is the fact that women brought home more than 67% of medals. 

“Women athletes really emerged in Paris and also won more gold medals for the U.S. than the men (26 to 14),” he says. “The growth of women’s sports and enrollment of women in sports across the country will be a major theme going into L.A. and another reason brands will be really motivated to be involved in the next Summer Games.”

Where L.A. will also pick up from Paris is by embracing Hollywood celebrities in an organic way. Everyone from Ryan Gosling to Serena Williams to John Legend and Chrissy Teigen were seen in Paris, while Snoop Dogg gave star power to NBC as a special correspondent.

“The celebrity integration was well-done,” says Console. “I don’t know if Snoop will actually be able to top Paris, but his California roots certainly run deep, and NBC will be excited to have him back. Brands will need to keep top-of-mind how to blend sports and entertainment in their communication strategies.”

“Why it worked so well was that the celebrities were there watching these athletes, who were the true celebrities, whether it was Simone Biles in gymnastics or Katie Ledecky in swimming,” adds Jensen. “L.A. has a similar opportunity, because it understands the intersection between sports, culture and entertainment.” 

In looking ahead to L.A., Olympic partners should consider how they activate their sponsorships in the run-up to the Games.

Alison put 21 sponsors through its AI-powered Brandgeist IQ cultural relevance tool and performed a comparative analysis between two date ranges: April 17-June 1 and June 2-July 13. Only eight sponsors (38%) of them saw their score increase. 

“As we got closer to the Olympics, we didn’t see much from some sponsors and they didn’t stand out before the start of the Games,” says Monica Finch, SVP, consumer brands at Allison. 

Ralph Lauren, which saw a 3.5 percentage point increase in its Brandgeist score, was the only sponsor to see lifts in all four key pillars: pop culture, purpose, disrupting and inclusivity. It benefited from coverage and social media conversation for its unveiling of the 2024 Team USA outfits in June.  

But the biggest lifts were seen by Omega (6.9), the official timekeeper of the Games, and Nike (5.25), which was said to be spending more on Paris than any other Olympic Games and launched a number of products leading up to the Games, including its first breakdancing shoe in May. Both brands enjoyed greater lifts than Ralph Lauren because pillars like pop culture and disrupting are given more weight in the scoring.