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东京奥运会延期,品牌和运动员为何“颇感欣慰”?

东京奥运会延期,品牌和运动员为何“颇感欣慰”?

MICHAL LEV-RAM 2020-03-30
尽管延期带来了诸多不确定性,以及潜在的经济损失或额外开销,但大多数品牌和运动员似乎对此颇为欣慰。

独自在车库里训练对于国米樱(Sakura Kokumai)而言是家常便饭。

“我训练时只需要垫子和一面镜子,”这名家住洛杉矶的运动员说。她已经获得了今年夏天代表美国空手道国家队参加奥运会的资格。

但由于加州实施了禁令,她无法去圣迭戈接受力量和体能教练的指导。此外,不久前仍笼罩在2020东京夏季奥运会上空的悬而未决的阴云,也让她的情绪产生很大波动。“我们这些运动员都面临同样的处境,只好尽力不去想那些未知的东西。”

正因如此,本周早些时候,当国际奥委会正式宣布奥运会将推迟到“2020年以后,但不晚于2021年夏季”时,国米松了一口气。“这样安排很合理,我很高兴他们做出延期决定。”

更棒的是,尽管赛事延期举办,她的赞助商、日本电器业巨头松下(该公司也是14家顶级“全球奥运合作伙伴”之一)仍将继续支持她。

“现在我的目标就是重新安排计划,保持自己的身心健康,”国米说。

与国米一样,其他很多运动员以及他们的赞助商得知国际奥委会最终决定推迟夏季奥运会时也都松了口气。不过,他们发现自己现在面临着一个从未遇到的麻烦:得弄清楚延期会给他们的商业合约带来怎样的影响。

“我所经手过的协议中从未出现过任何有关‘传染病’的条款,”人才经纪公司CAA的体育部主管洛韦尔·陶布(Lowell Taub)说。

据陶布介绍,大多数奥运新手的合同都是从奥运会前12-18个月起生效,直到比赛结束为止。“每名运动员、每份协议都是独立签署的。”

陶布是名资深经纪人,代理过冲浪、滑板等深受观众喜爱的项目中的顶尖运动员。这些人名气大,获得的赞助协议金额高、时效长。相对不知名的运动员则不太可能得到这样的合同。

“我希望这些品牌不会就这么拂袖而去,”陶布说。

各品牌或许可以中止与个别运动员的代言协议。但那些顶级的全球奥运赞助商与国际奥委会之间签署的是多年协议,且不少赞助商很可能已经为此花费了数亿美元。

咨询公司3 Emerald Marketing的合伙人、Visa全球赞助营销部门的前主管迈克尔·林奇(Michael Lynch)说:“人们往往没有意识到,你赞助奥运会,其实是在购买知识产权,你买的是世界上辨识度最高的一个标志——五环。”

按照林奇的说法,如果某个品牌为实际赞助权支付了1美元,它通常还会另花1-3美元来做营销。

大多数“创意”项目,比如电视广告、零售促销和社交媒体活动,会在夏季奥运会举办前100天启动,这笔钱多半已经花出去了。但现在,这些营销计划(至少其中的一部分)可能需要彻底重新安排。毕竟,原先的方案是在疫情发生前设计的,彼时的全球环境与眼下截然不同。

“你总不能在人们患病、濒临死亡时搞幽默吧,”林奇说。

在可口可乐负责全球体育和娱乐合作事业的副总裁里卡多·福特(Ricardo Fort)表示,无论广告宣传的基调需要做怎样的调整,他的团队完全有能力实现。

“我们一直在追踪消费者行为,而且鉴于眼下的局势,我们打算在这方面做得更细致,以便让我们传递出的信息与消费者的情绪相呼应。得益于数字平台的灵活性,我们可以做出相应的调整。”

福特说,那些已经拍摄好的在线视频或电视广告无法“随情势而变”。不过他说,“目标在不断变化,我们会等到这种情况结束后再进行评估。”

可口可乐赞助了自1928年阿姆斯特丹奥运会以来的每一届奥运会,该公司目前与国际奥委会的协议时效将一直持续到2032年。(一般来说,奥运赞助协议有效期至少为4年,涵盖两届奥运会。)福特表示,对于那些原本协议将于2020年到期的公司,国际奥委会的做法“非常合理”。“这是2020年的奥运会,但是将于2021年举办,因此所有的权利都将顺延。”

上一次未能如期举办奥运会的情况还要追溯到1944年,那一年的奥运会因第二次世界大战而取消,彼时,可口可乐也是赞助商。相比之下,2008年才成立的爱彼迎(Airbnb)在奥运赞助这个(昂贵的)游戏里还是名新手。

这家短期租赁房在线市场去年宣布,与国际奥委会达成了一份为期9年、涵盖5届奥运会的赞助协议,旨在“开创一种新的东道主标准,实现主办城市、观众和体育迷、运动员之间的多赢”。

作为协议的一部分,爱彼迎原计划于今年初推出一个名为“爱彼迎奥运体验”的新项目。体育迷们可以通过爱彼迎预订,得到与奥运选手一起训练或一起游览东京的机会,而奥运选手也可以此获得直接收入。

外界尚不清楚爱彼迎已经在这个项目上投入了多少资金,也不知道他们为取得奥运赞助商资格花了多少钱。该公司拒绝接受采访,但其发言人给出了如下声明:“公共健康是首要问题。我们支持国际奥委会的决定,我们的团队随时准备支持东京2021年奥运会和残奥会。”

事实上,尽管2020年奥运会延期带来了诸多不确定性以及潜在的经济损失或额外开销,但大多数品牌和运动员似乎对此颇为欣慰。说到2021年,他们期待,那时的奥运会将比以往任何一届都更有意义,当然,也更具经济效益。

“如果奥运会在这件事情上处理得当,那将是一个时机完美的、展现团结与竞争的全球庆典,”CAA的陶布说。营销顾问林奇也认为,“病毒让我们意识到世界是多么小。奥运会所要传达的重要信息——让世界和平共处,眼下比以往任何时候都更有价值、更有号召力。”

国米也很乐观。“多等待的这一年将是我作为个人、也作为运动员成长的一年,我相信我明年的空手道表演一定会比今年更出色。”(财富中文网)

译者:胡萌琦

独自在车库里训练对于国米樱(Sakura Kokumai)而言是家常便饭。

“我训练时只需要垫子和一面镜子,”这名家住洛杉矶的运动员说。她已经获得了今年夏天代表美国空手道国家队参加奥运会的资格。

但由于加州实施了禁令,她无法去圣迭戈接受力量和体能教练的指导。此外,不久前仍笼罩在2020东京夏季奥运会上空的悬而未决的阴云,也让她的情绪产生很大波动。“我们这些运动员都面临同样的处境,只好尽力不去想那些未知的东西。”

正因如此,本周早些时候,当国际奥委会正式宣布奥运会将推迟到“2020年以后,但不晚于2021年夏季”时,国米松了一口气。“这样安排很合理,我很高兴他们做出延期决定。”

更棒的是,尽管赛事延期举办,她的赞助商、日本电器业巨头松下(该公司也是14家顶级“全球奥运合作伙伴”之一)仍将继续支持她。

“现在我的目标就是重新安排计划,保持自己的身心健康,”国米说。

与国米一样,其他很多运动员以及他们的赞助商得知国际奥委会最终决定推迟夏季奥运会时也都松了口气。不过,他们发现自己现在面临着一个从未遇到的麻烦:得弄清楚延期会给他们的商业合约带来怎样的影响。

“我所经手过的协议中从未出现过任何有关‘传染病’的条款,”人才经纪公司CAA的体育部主管洛韦尔·陶布(Lowell Taub)说。

据陶布介绍,大多数奥运新手的合同都是从奥运会前12-18个月起生效,直到比赛结束为止。“每名运动员、每份协议都是独立签署的。”

陶布是名资深经纪人,代理过冲浪、滑板等深受观众喜爱的项目中的顶尖运动员。这些人名气大,获得的赞助协议金额高、时效长。相对不知名的运动员则不太可能得到这样的合同。

“我希望这些品牌不会就这么拂袖而去,”陶布说。

各品牌或许可以中止与个别运动员的代言协议。但那些顶级的全球奥运赞助商与国际奥委会之间签署的是多年协议,且不少赞助商很可能已经为此花费了数亿美元。

咨询公司3 Emerald Marketing的合伙人、Visa全球赞助营销部门的前主管迈克尔·林奇(Michael Lynch)说:“人们往往没有意识到,你赞助奥运会,其实是在购买知识产权,你买的是世界上辨识度最高的一个标志——五环。”

按照林奇的说法,如果某个品牌为实际赞助权支付了1美元,它通常还会另花1-3美元来做营销。

大多数“创意”项目,比如电视广告、零售促销和社交媒体活动,会在夏季奥运会举办前100天启动,这笔钱多半已经花出去了。但现在,这些营销计划(至少其中的一部分)可能需要彻底重新安排。毕竟,原先的方案是在疫情发生前设计的,彼时的全球环境与眼下截然不同。

“你总不能在人们患病、濒临死亡时搞幽默吧,”林奇说。

在可口可乐负责全球体育和娱乐合作事业的副总裁里卡多·福特(Ricardo Fort)表示,无论广告宣传的基调需要做怎样的调整,他的团队完全有能力实现。

“我们一直在追踪消费者行为,而且鉴于眼下的局势,我们打算在这方面做得更细致,以便让我们传递出的信息与消费者的情绪相呼应。得益于数字平台的灵活性,我们可以做出相应的调整。”

福特说,那些已经拍摄好的在线视频或电视广告无法“随情势而变”。不过他说,“目标在不断变化,我们会等到这种情况结束后再进行评估。”

可口可乐赞助了自1928年阿姆斯特丹奥运会以来的每一届奥运会,该公司目前与国际奥委会的协议时效将一直持续到2032年。(一般来说,奥运赞助协议有效期至少为4年,涵盖两届奥运会。)福特表示,对于那些原本协议将于2020年到期的公司,国际奥委会的做法“非常合理”。“这是2020年的奥运会,但是将于2021年举办,因此所有的权利都将顺延。”

上一次未能如期举办奥运会的情况还要追溯到1944年,那一年的奥运会因第二次世界大战而取消,彼时,可口可乐也是赞助商。相比之下,2008年才成立的爱彼迎(Airbnb)在奥运赞助这个(昂贵的)游戏里还是名新手。

这家短期租赁房在线市场去年宣布,与国际奥委会达成了一份为期9年、涵盖5届奥运会的赞助协议,旨在“开创一种新的东道主标准,实现主办城市、观众和体育迷、运动员之间的多赢”。

作为协议的一部分,爱彼迎原计划于今年初推出一个名为“爱彼迎奥运体验”的新项目。体育迷们可以通过爱彼迎预订,得到与奥运选手一起训练或一起游览东京的机会,而奥运选手也可以此获得直接收入。

外界尚不清楚爱彼迎已经在这个项目上投入了多少资金,也不知道他们为取得奥运赞助商资格花了多少钱。该公司拒绝接受采访,但其发言人给出了如下声明:“公共健康是首要问题。我们支持国际奥委会的决定,我们的团队随时准备支持东京2021年奥运会和残奥会。”

事实上,尽管2020年奥运会延期带来了诸多不确定性以及潜在的经济损失或额外开销,但大多数品牌和运动员似乎对此颇为欣慰。说到2021年,他们期待,那时的奥运会将比以往任何一届都更有意义,当然,也更具经济效益。

“如果奥运会在这件事情上处理得当,那将是一个时机完美的、展现团结与竞争的全球庆典,”CAA的陶布说。营销顾问林奇也认为,“病毒让我们意识到世界是多么小。奥运会所要传达的重要信息——让世界和平共处,眼下比以往任何时候都更有价值、更有号召力。”

国米也很乐观。“多等待的这一年将是我作为个人、也作为运动员成长的一年,我相信我明年的空手道表演一定会比今年更出色。”(财富中文网)

译者:胡萌琦

Sakura Kokumai is no stranger to training alone in her garage.

“In my discipline, in particular, all I need are mats and a mirror,” says the Los Angeles–based athlete, who had qualified to make her Olympic debut this summer as a member of the USA Karate national team.

For one, she hasn’t been able to travel to San Diego to work with her strength and conditioning coach due to a shelter-in-place order in California. What’s more, the cloud of uncertainty that, up until recently, hung over the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo was causing Kokumai to feel like she was on an emotional roller coaster. “Us athletes have all been on the same boat, trying not to think about the unknown,” she says.

That’s why, earlier this week, when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially announced it would postpone the Games to a date “beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021,” Kokumai was relieved. “It all made sense, and I was glad they postponed it,” she says.

Even better: Her sponsor, Japanese electronics giant Panasonic—one of the 14 top-tier “worldwide Olympic partners”—is sticking with her despite the decision to delay the Games.

“Now my goal is to reset, to take care of my mental and physical health,” says Kokumai.

Like Kokumai, many other competitors—and their sponsors—were relieved to hear that the IOC had finally made the call to postpone the Summer Games. But they now find themselves in unprecedented territory, scrambling to figure out what the postponement means for their contracts.

“I don’t think any deal I’ve ever done has included any language about ‘pandemics,’” says Lowell Taub, head of sports endorsements at talent agency CAA.

According to Taub, most rookie Olympians have contracts that start 12 to 18 months prior to the Olympics and run through the Games. “Every single athlete and every single deal is individual,” says the longtime agent.

Taub has the luxury of representing top athletes in audience-pleasing sports like surfing and skateboarding. These are big names who have the security of large endorsement deals with lengthy timelines. Relative unknowns don’t tend to get those kinds of deals.

“I’m hoping none of these brands walk away,” says Taub.

Brands might be able to wind down endorsement deals with individual athletes. But the top-tier, global Olympics sponsors have multiyear deals with the IOC, and many have most likely already spent hundreds of millions of dollars on their sponsorship.

“What people often don’t understand is that when you buy an Olympic sponsorship you’re mostly buying rights to intellectual property,” says Michael Lynch, a partner at consultancy firm 3 Emerald Marketing and the former head of global sponsorship marketing at Visa. “You’re buying the five rings—one of the most recognizable symbols in the world.”

According to Lynch, for every $1 a brand spends paying for the actual sponsorship rights, it typically spends an additional $1 to $3 on bringing its marketing campaigns to life.

With most of the “creative”—i.e., television commercials, retail promotions and social media campaigns—set to roll out 100 days before the start of the Summer Olympics, much of that money had already been spent. Now those marketing campaigns, or at least some of them, might need to be completely rethought. After all, they were developed pre-pandemic, in a different global environment.

“You can’t use humor when people are sick and dying,” says Lynch.

Ricardo Fort, VP of global sports and entertainment partnerships at Coca-Cola, says that if any adjustments to the tone of campaigns are needed, his team is well positioned to make them.

“We are tracking consumer behavior, and we are going to do it in an even more detailed way as this situation evolves so that we can reflect the mood in our messaging,” says Fort. “Because of the flexibility of digital platforms, we will be able to adjust.”

Fort says that when it comes to anything already shot for online video or television, the messages are “timeless.” Still, he says, “this is a moving target, and we will wait for the end of this situation to reassess.”

Coca-Cola has sponsored every Olympic event since the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, and the company’s current contract with the IOC runs through 2032. (Typical Olympic sponsorship deals run at least four years and cover two Olympic Games.) But Fort says that the IOC has been “very reasonable” in accommodating those companies whose deals were set to expire in 2020. “It’s the 2020 Olympics but happening in 2021,” says Fort. “So all the rights roll over.”

Coca-Cola was a sponsor the last time an Olympic event didn’t take place as planned—in 1944, when the Games were canceled because of World War II. But Airbnb, which didn’t even exist until 2008, is a newcomer to the (pricey) world of Olympic sponsorships.

Last year, the online marketplace for short-term rentals announced a nine-year, five-Games partnership with the IOC, a sponsorship deal that aims to “create a new standard for hosting that will be a win for host cities, a win for spectators and fans, and a win for athletes.”

As part of the deal, Airbnb was slated to launch a new program called Airbnb Olympian Experiences early this year. This would have enabled Olympians to earn direct revenue by offering fans the chance to train with them or to explore the streets of Tokyo, all booked via Airbnb.

It’s not clear how much Airbnb had already spent on crafting this new program—nor exactly how much it is paying to be an Olympic sponsor. The company declined an interview, but a spokesperson sent along this statement: “There’s nothing more important than public health. We support the IOC’s decision and our community stands ready to support the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2021.”

Indeed, despite the complications—and potential financial losses or added expenses—that postponing the Games has created, most brands and athletes seem relieved that the 2020 Olympics will not take place as planned. As for 2021, they have high hopes that the Games will be even more meaningful, not to mention lucrative, than ever.

“If the Olympics get this right, this could be a perfectly timed global celebration of togetherness and competition,” says CAA’s Taub. Lynch, the marketing consultant, agrees: "What the virus has taught us is how small the world really is," he says. "The importance of the Olympic message, bringing the world together in peace, is now more relevant and compelling than ever before."

Kokumai is also optimistic. “This extra year will be that year where I grow as a person and as an athlete,” she says. “I’m sure the kata I perform next year will be better than the kata I would have performed this year.”

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