GeoPoll 2021 Tokyo Olympics Survey: Athletes, Advertising and Brand Associations

The Olympics are actually in full swing! Previous to the beginning of the video games, GeoPoll performed a survey to assemble data on deliberate viewing habits, favourite athletes, betting actions, and model/advert consciousness surrounding the occasion. The examine was performed utilizing GeoPoll’s cell internet platform, surveying greater than 3,600 respondents in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Tanzania, Egypt, Brazil, Columbia, and China.

GeoPoll produced an preliminary abstract of the analysis findings together with an interactive dashboard of the analysis information in mid-July. On this supplemental abstract, we element shoppers’ responses to the three open-ended survey questions listed beneath:

1. Which particular person athletes are you most considering watching or following in the course of the Olympics?
2. Are there any manufacturers or corporations that you just affiliate with the Olympics?
3. Title any manufacturers or corporations whose ads for the 2021 Olympics you’ve seen not too long ago.

Favourite Olympic Athletes

Few Olympic athletes in historical past have achieved the success and worldwide fame of Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt. Broadly thought-about the best sprinter of all time, his dominance previously three Olympics continues to make him some of the standard athletes on this planet, regardless of retiring from competitors in 2017. In our examine, he was chosen because the athlete respondents had been most considering watching in the course of the 2021 Olympics, way over any athletes really competing. Michael Phelps, probably the most adorned Olympian of all time, additionally obtained a major variety of mentions regardless of retiring after the Rio video games in 2016.

One other all-time nice, Eliud Kipchoge, obtained by far probably the most mentions of any athlete competing within the 2021 video games. The Kenyan long-distance runner is the world report holder within the marathon and odds-on favourite to win the race in Tokyo. Different Kenyan runners who obtained a major variety of mentions embody Hellen Obiri, David Rudisha, Religion Kipyegon, Timothy Cheruiyot, Brigid Kosgei, and Beatrice ChepKoech. In our survey, Kenya’s dominant runners helped make “athletics/observe and area” probably the most anticipated Olympic occasion in that nation at 38%.

Soccer/soccer stood out because the occasion respondents are most considering watching in Brazil, Columbia, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tanzania. Greater than half the respondents in Egypt (54%) picked soccer as their favourite occasion. That recognition is mirrored within the variety of soccer gamers included within the checklist of most anticipated athletes. Worldwide superstars Lionel Messi (#3), Cristiano Ronaldo (#4), and Neymar (#9) all completed within the high 10. Marta (#14) and Dani Alves (#16) from Brazil and Mohamed Salah (#21) from Egypt ranked extremely as properly.

In Tokyo, the slogan for variety and inclusion is “Know Variations, Present Variations,” and the Worldwide Olympic Committee has branded the 2021 video games as “the first-ever gender-balanced Olympic Video games in historical past.” In our examine, the checklist of the highest 10 most anticipated athletes is equally divided with 5 males and 5 girls.

Three of these girls won’t be collaborating within the video games. Tennis legend Serena Williams (#6) had already determined to not compete earlier than sustaining an damage at Wimbledon this yr. Simone Biles (#7), the winner of 4 gold medals on the 2016 Video games in Rio, has withdrawn from the competitors to concentrate on her psychological well being. South African runner and two-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya (#10) is amongst a number of girls who are usually not allowed to compete due to elevated testosterone ranges.

The opposite two girls within the high 10 embody Olympic champions Caterine Ibargüen (#5) and Mariana Pajon (#8), each of Columbia.

Olympics Model Associations

Assist from the enterprise neighborhood is essential to the staging of the Olympic video games. The problem for manufacturers and sponsorship has at all times been about leveraging sufficient constructive affiliation to justify their funding.

In our examine, the manufacturers shoppers most affiliate with the Olympics embody a mixture of official sponsors and non-affiliated entrepreneurs and suppliers.

On the high, no model is extra extremely related to the Olympics world wide than Coca-Cola. The corporate sponsored the 1928 Olympic Video games in Amsterdam and has supported each Olympic Video games since. Solely Nike, the worldwide sportswear model, was talked about even half as many instances as Coca-Cola. Nike obtained the second-highest variety of mentions, regardless of being solely an “official provider” slightly than a “sponsor” of the Olympics. Adidas, one other iconic sportswear model and official uniform supplier (not a sponsor) ranked third in mentions.

Nevertheless, the following three manufacturers within the checklist, Toyota, Samsung, and Visa, are all members of the Olympic Companions program – the very best stage of Olympic sponsorship, which grants category-exclusive advertising rights for the video games.

Toyota turned the primary automotive firm to enroll as a worldwide Olympic sponsor in 2015. In 2021, with rising COVID-19 case numbers, a state of emergency in Tokyo, and divided public opinion about whether or not the video games ought to even be occurring, the Japanese firm determined its executives wouldn’t attend the opening ceremonies, and it might not present Olympic-related TV advertisements – regardless of being one of many sport’s high company sponsors.

Promoting for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics

The Tokyo Olympics are being held with out followers because of an increase in Covid-19 infections within the metropolis, and that has many TV networks and advertisers involved. TV rankings for just about all main sports activities leagues had been down in the course of the pandemic, whilst different at-home leisure choices like streaming and gaming skyrocketed with shoppers caught inside. In keeping with a examine by Kantar, two-thirds of US sports activities followers mentioned watching sports activities in the course of the pandemic was “much less satisfying” than earlier than. Consultants attributed these declines, a minimum of partly to the shortage of followers within the stands.

Regardless of these glum statistics, manufacturers are spending billions of {dollars} in promoting for the 2021 Olympics. No different occasion compares to the branding alternatives and sheer attain of the Olympic video games. And shoppers are taking discover. In our examine, shoppers listed a whole bunch of various manufacturers whose ads they’ve seen main as much as the Tokyo video games.

As may be anticipated, the manufacturers shoppers most affiliate with the Olympics mirror the manufacturers they’ve seen promoting for the video games. By far the very best variety of respondents report seeing advertisements from Coca-Cola. Regardless of pulling again its on-site activations and showcases because of the pandemic, the corporate continues to closely promote the Tokyo Olympics via its international advertising campaigns.

Olympics promoting usually focuses on uniting the individuals of the world to suppose positively concerning the future. Nike’s “Greatest Day Ever” advertisements for the 2021 video games comply with that blueprint, analyzing how sports activities can create a robust tomorrow for champions and on a regular basis athletes. Many respondents in our examine (second solely to Coca-Cola) declare to have seen Nike’s 2021 Olympics advertisements. Nike scored a giant hit early within the video games when the first-ever Olympic gold medal in skateboarding was awarded to Nike athlete Yuto Horigome from Japan. Nike additionally created the Olympic kits for the nationwide skateboarding groups of Japan, France, Brazil, and the US.

Whereas a lot of the advertisements shoppers report seeing come from main worldwide manufacturers, a number of extra regional media corporations additionally made the highest 20 checklist, together with DSTV from Sub-Saharan Africa, Safaricom from Kenya, Azam TV from Tanzania, Caracol TV from Columbia, StarTimes from China, and SuperSport from South Africa.

Airbnb, a brand new worldwide associate for the Tokyo Olympics that can reportedly give the Worldwide Olympic Committee $500 million via 2028 for the best to be the video games’ official housing associate, rounds out the highest 20 checklist of manufacturers producing notable Olympic promoting.

GeoPoll 2021 Tokyo Olympics Survey: An Interactive Knowledge Dashboard

To dive deeper into GeoPoll’s information on the pursuits, deliberate viewing habits, and betting behaviors surrounding the 2021 Olympics, click on to entry the preliminary report abstract and interactive dashboard. The dashboard permits you to view all the information from this examine, filterable by nation, age group, gender, and query.

Conduct Additional Analysis with GeoPoll

GeoPoll is the pioneer in conducting distant analysis via mobile-based methodologies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Our customized analysis capabilities enable companies, manufacturers, and worldwide growth organizations to conduct one-off or ongoing surveys on any subject, with outcomes delivered in close to real-time.

This GeoPoll survey was performed utilizing GeoPoll’s cell internet platform within the week previous to the beginning of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Tanzania, Egypt, Brazil, Columbia, and China, surveying roughly 400 respondents from every nation. It’s not purely a scientific examine as there have been no strict measures to restrict demographic quotas similar to location, gender, and age teams. Nevertheless, an excellent mixture of younger and previous, city and rural, and women and men with a pure distribution was achieved.

To request extra details about this examine, Olympics viewers measurement information, or to get a quote for an upcoming undertaking of your individual, please contact us.