{"id":113750,"date":"2016-08-09T15:09:00","date_gmt":"2016-08-09T20:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/rio-what-promotional-opportunities-exist-for-smaller-brands-and-businesses\/"},"modified":"2024-12-21T05:55:23","modified_gmt":"2024-12-21T10:55:23","slug":"rio-what-promotional-opportunities-exist-for-smaller-brands-and-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/en-gb\/insights\/blog\/strategy\/rio-what-promotional-opportunities-exist-for-smaller-brands-and-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"Rio: what promotional opportunities exist for smaller brands and businesses?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unless you\u2019re Coca-Cola, McDonald\u2019s, Panasonic, Samsung or a few others, who have paid crazy amounts of money for the privilege of using the Olympics logo; your options for creating content around the Games are pretty limited, to say the least. Saying that, however, plenty of opportunities exist for smaller brands and businesses that are well prepared, organised enough to be creative and willing to do it right. Of course it\u2019s likely that every Tom, Dick and Harry will be hoping for a slither of the Olympics advertising pie over the next few weeks, so thinking about ways to stand out from the crowd by creating content that is timely and really cuts through the noise, will be critical. \"sportV2\" via<\/a> Here are a few helpful tips for businesses wishing to maximise the opportunities available…<\/p>\n

First off, what are the restrictions?<\/h2>\n

Full details are available in the Rio 2016 Brand Protection Guidelines for Advertising and Marketing<\/a>,\u00a0which lays out the 54 pages of guidelines brands must adhere to when building content around the event. In a nutshell: Logos and images:<\/strong> if your brand is not a sponsor, you\u2019re prohibited from using the intellectual property of Games such as the official Olympic rings logo and the Paralympic Games agitos, the symbol of the Olympic Flame, and the Olympic motto of \u2018Altius, Citius, Fortius\u2019 which is Latin for \u2018higher, faster, stronger\u2019. Films, publications, presentations, images, music, artwork and visual elements created by Rio 2016 or other official Olympic and Paralympic authorities that relate to the Games will also be protected by copyright. These restrictions also apply to the visual assets of previous Games. Expressions:<\/strong> additionally, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has registered some expressions \u00a0which it retains the rights to, such as \u2018Olympic Games\u2019, \u2018Paralympic Games\u2019, \u2018Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games\u2019, \u2018Rio 2016 Games\u2019, \u2018Rio 2016\u2019, \u2018Rio Olympiad\u2019, \u2018Rio 2016 Olympiad\u2019, \u2018XXXI Olympic Games’, among others, as well as their variations and translations. Only official brand sponsors are able to use these in their promotional content, along with associated hashtags such as #Rio2016 and #TeamUSA.. So referring to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as the \u201cbiggest sporting event\u201d of the year might be the only option for smaller brands and businesses. \"rule40_good_luck-1024x1024\" via<\/a><\/p>\n

Rule 40<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The 40th rule historically dictated a blackout period in the run-up to and throughout the Games, during which non-sponsors were forbidden from featuring or mentioning athletes in any form of advertising. In February 2015, the IOC decided to relax these rules a little. The changes meant athletes could appear in generic advertising which did not explicitly mention the games or use any Olympic intellectual property (as described above). Athletes also are now allowed to tweet about non-official sponsors providing they refrain from using Olympic IP or corresponding hashtags. To take advantage of these changes, however, non-sponsor brands had to pitch in their plans for advertising and social media campaigns to the IOC by January 27, 2016, and ads must have been in-market by March 27. This was always going to be a bit of a gamble for smaller brands and businesses, committing to advertising investment so far ahead of the games; but for larger brands, it was an opportunity too good to miss. US sports clothing brand Under Armour has been one of the biggest brands to benefit from the relaxed Rule 40. Its \u2018Rule Yourself\u2019 ad starring Michael Phelps tells the story of the most decorated athlete in Olympic history as he\u00a0trains for his last games.<\/p>\n

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