Historically, it’s been a minefield for non-sponsors like Puma to activate around the Games. Adidas has been given plenty of freedom by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as its official sportswear partner for over 40 years, while Nike has gone for gold with its own unique brand of ambush marketing.
In 2024, though, organizers plan to relax rules and allow brands to celebrate their Olympic athletes’ medal wins on social media, and Teyssier said Puma has a reactive social team ready to take advantage of this. Their job will be to create content and “enhance” it using AI, though the marketer could not yet elaborate on the specifics of that.
During the event, Puma House in Paris’ city center will host brand activations and events. It will also create a “Little Jamaica” at its Puma Yard space in London, where up to 500 fans can attend free screening parties for the entirety of the Games.
With 15.3 million spectators on the ground in Paris, and 4 billion viewers expected to tune into broadcasts globally, Puma has a huge opportunity to drive both awareness and sales.
“Forever Faster” has some heavy lifting to do at Paris 2024 and beyond, because along with Adidas and Nike, Puma has seen demand weaken as customers battle inflation and cut spending on non-essential goods. The business expects a weak first half of the year, forecasting mid-single-digit percentage sales growth.
Teyssier hopes the Olympics activations in particular will have a “halo effect” on the Puma brand, helping it shift shoes, jackets and everything in between.
“The KPIs we are looking at globally range from brand awareness to purchase intent,” he said. “The key two are driving top of mind [awareness] and brand consideration, because when you create value in the mind of the consumer, that drives sales.”
