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≡ THE OLYMPIC PROGRAM ≡
Created in the aftermath of the sponsorship revolution brought on by the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad in 1984, “The Olympic Program” was the International Olympic Committee’s improvement, offering a small number of companies world-wide use of Olympic rights.
In the first quadrennial of 1985-88, two Japanese firms joined TOP I: office machines maker Brother Industries and electronics giant Panasonic. And through the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, there had always been at least one Japan-based sponsor.
Panasonic continued through TOP X – 2021-24 – and is not renewing. Toyota Motor Corporation joined for TOP IX and TOP X, through Paris, but is not renewing.
After joining TOP VIII for the 2013-16 quad in 2014 and continuing for TOP IX and TOP X through Paris, the last Japan-based IOC sponsor, tire maker Bridgestone, is also not renewing. It announced Tuesday:
● “Bridgestone has decided and agreed with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) not to renew its current Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partnership agreement after its expiration at the end of 2024. The decision comes after an evaluation of the company’s evolving corporate brand strategy and its recommitment to more endemic global motorsports platforms.”
● “Still believing in the power of sports, the company will carry that momentum forward through a greater focus on more endemic platforms where tire products can directly challenge performance, drive innovation, and create widespread value. Through reinforcement of motorsport, Bridgestone will commit to empowering each and all to achieve their best and being essential to the future of mobility by enhancing its position as a sustainable premium brand.”
In other words, the company is going back to programs where it can better showcase its products, explaining, “The company’s strategic shift to more endemic global motorsports initiatives is designed to help … advance developments towards sustainable mobility innovation.”
So, while the three remaining Japanese sponsors hung on for one more quad past the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Games, they are all out now.
While there will be those who will now predict the doom or irrelevance (or both) of the Olympics as a marketing program, the history of TOP is quite different:
● TOP had nine to 11 participants in its first eight quadrennials, from 1985 to 2016.
● The program swelled to 14 ahead of Tokyo 2020 and 15 for TOP X for Paris, with the additions of Aribnb, Alibaba and Intel for 2016-20 and then AB Inbev, Allianz and Deloitte for 2021-24 (Dow Chemical and General Electric did not renew).
● For 2025-28, the TOP roster presently includes 10 partnerships with companies from seven countries: AB Inbev (BEL), Alibaba and Mengniu Dairy (CHN), Allianz (GER), Deloitte (GBR), Samsung (KOR), Omega (SUI) and four from the U.S.: Airbnb, Coca-Cola, Proctor & Gamble, and Visa. (Coca-Cola and Mengniu share the beverages category.)
So, the IOC’s situation is hardly dire, and there is plenty of chatter about more signees from China or India coming soon.
But Bridgestone’s exit is the end of an era in which Japan was always involved in the IOC’s TOP package, and the announcements from Bridgestone today and Panasonic on 10 September, raise questions about what companies want from a high-profile, all-world partnership with the Olympic Movement.
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