Tokyo 2020 Sponsorship Haul: "Unheard Of"

(ATR) The former IOC director of marketing tells Around the Rings that the sponsorship drive for Tokyo 2020 is "unheard of."

"I think, comparing it to any previous Games Olympic marketing programs, this is a very impressive result," Michael Payne said to ATR in an interview.

"To be announcing a sponsor a week over the course of 12 weeks at the gold level is unheard of. Clearly, the Tokyo organizing committee and their marketing agency Dentsu have created real momentum in terms of business support for the Games."

Tokyo has added 12 tier one sponsors, so far, with a report in the Wall Street Journal saying they have exceeded their sponsorship goal of $1.3 billion.

According to sources in the report, each gold partnership is worth around $126 million, making the total value of the 12 partnerships around $1.51 billion.

"I think that the Japanese and Dentsu have gone for quickly building a strong club, instead of going out for a bidding process per category," Payne said.

"[A bidding process] may have achieved higher revenue in one or another category, but overall you can't criticize the result."

Payne said that he doesn’t believe the risk of market clutter exists with the Tokyo 2020 sponsorship program, and that the organizing committee should have no problem finding lower tier sponsors.

The effect of the strong sponsorship drive for Tokyo can also be felt in the forms of recent IOC TOP sponsorship deals. The IOC now has three Japanese TOP sponsors: Bridgestone, Panasonic and Toyota.

"You look at the results ... They've all set new records," Payne said.

"The Toyota deal was reportedly $1.6 billion for 8 years. It is supposedly the largest sports sponsorship ever."

Tokyo 2020’s success should have a positive impact for the organizing committees of the to-be-decided 2022 and 2024 Games, Payne believes.

"I think it sends a very strong signal, as the companies that make these investments are not doing it from a charity standpoint, they are doing it as a hard marketing investment," Payne added.

"I think there will be some excellent case studies for the future."

Written by Aaron Bauer

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