Olympic Marketing For Retailers

Olympic fever is in the air with Rio 16 well underway. Even for those who are not normally sport followers, it is easy to involve yourself in the team spirit and get behind our country in our pursuit of medals. Whether you like to watch track, swimming, diving, equestrian or gymnastics, there is something for everyone, and we all quickly become judges, rating the performances we are watching from our armchairs! With so much enthusiasm surrounding the Olympics, it is an ideal marketing opportunity for retailers, “gold medal offers”, “Winning Promotions” – but do you know the rules on ensuring you do not breach the code of conduct for using references to the Olympics in your marketing?

Retail Marketing During The Olympics

Did you know that prior to the London 2012 games, only McDonalds chips were allowed to be eaten on site due to the sponsorship agreement? The Olympic committee have trademarked a number of terms including Olympic, Olympian, Going For Gold , the image of the Olympic Rings and the hashtag Rio16 and should they be found to be used by anyone who is not an official partner of the Olympics, there can be trouble. Historically, this was to prevent companies who do not have Olympic rights from jumping on the back of those who did, but with the increase in social media, this has had to extend to incorporate hashtags due to their use in curated content. If you are thinking of incorporating an Olympic promotion in store, it is very important to bear this in mind.

Retail window graphics are ideal for short running promotions, for boldly printed gold graphics with “Offers that beat the competition” or “Gold Medal Offers”, or if you have a retail barricade for a short time, these ideas could be extended to eye catching graphics.

If you are looking for seasonal promotions, retail marketing or branding and want to attract a new audience to your store, talk to AGRetail today.

Photo credit: Maxisport / Shutterstock.com