Due to the contingency caused by the Covid-19 virus, the world has taken a 180° turn, where each of these human activities had to migrate to a digital format, not only speaking of the medical industry, commerce, telecommunications, but even sports.
It has been 4 years since the last lighting of the torch at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, a long wait for great athletes, coaches, commentators, and audiences who were waiting with great expectations for the upcoming Olympic Games. As we know, Japan showed at the Rio closing ceremony that it would be the next Olympic host, proving to be one of the countries with the most technological advances, sparking the audience’s curiosity.
With the great increase in coronavirus infections and the rapid spread of the virus around the world, the games had to be postponed, and for the first time in history, they were held in an odd-numbered year. These Olympics will go down in history not only because of the pandemic but also because of major changes such as the incorporation of five new disciplines, gender parity, ecological measures, and new marketing strategies.
One of the major problems Tokyo faced was the lack of national and foreign spectators, since they are the main source of income, and thus marketing played a major role. As is customary, major brands sought to be part of the list of sponsors, which is why Tokyo 2020, on its official website, classified its sponsors into 4 categories, presenting brands that are present at each of the games. This helped the project’s income, as they represented 55% of the budget.
lso, due to the lack of attendees, broadcasting licenses were implemented with sponsor programs, becoming the strongest source of revenue. The marketing program created, as we can see, appeared even in video games; since Japan is a powerhouse in this field, brands such as Nintendo, Sega, and Konami created their own special editions (licenses) of the Tokyo 2020 games.
On the other hand, Tokyo decided not to just deliver another Olympics but to send a message of hope, as in each of its announcements, planning, and new strategies, it conveyed the struggle the world is going through, since everyone is in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
