The Editors’ Perspectives column offers insights and opinions from the Retail TouchPoints editorial team as they dig into the latest trends in retail, marketing and tech.
However you characterize success, the Paris Olympics were undeniably a coup — for television networks, fans, athletes and brands, not to mention France itself (which, thanks in part to the halo effect of all those good vibes and some assistance from Leon Marchand, won more medals than it ever has before).
In the UK, BBC Sport’s coverage of the Paris Olympics was streamed more than twice as much as the previous Tokyo Games, per The Independent. And in the U.S., viewers streamed a whopping 7 billion minutes of Olympics content on Max, while NBCUniversal posted a 16-day total audience delivery average of 31.3 million viewers.
And then there were the glowing headlines, which began from the moment that gorgeous silver horse streamed across the Seine. Did the Olympics Save the Summer? I Think it Probably Did. hailed the Wall Street Journal, while the Washington Post gushed: The Olympics Needed a Reset. Merci to Paris for Providing it. But perhaps the most telling sign of France’s Olympics triumph was the uncharacteristic positivity of its own citizens, who moaned and groaned in the lead up and then enthusiastically participated and sang the praises of the event at every possible moment throughout.
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The Monocultural Moment the World Needed…But Now What?
Overall, Paris 2024 seems destined to go down in history not just as a resounding success, but as a total reset for the Olympics establishment and the role it can play in our modern world. I for one, for the first time in my life, watched the entire opening ceremony from open to close — it was a stark and immediate departure from the monotonous stadium parade we’ve come to expect and set the tone for the entire event, which aimed (and succeeded IMHO) to bring this long-held sporting tradition into the modern age while still respecting its storied history.
“These Games arrived amid a turbulent summer, counterprogramming to another acrid season of politics and cynicism,” said Jason Gay in his WSJ column. “An exhausted country quickly fell in love — with American winning, of course, but also with the global stories of athlete unknowns and their perseverance. …It was a flashback to the old monoculture, when we would watch and rally around one thing.”
Perhaps that is not only because these Olympics were so well done, but also because this is something we were all secretly longing for — a rallying point of unity and inspiration after years of dissolution and stridence brought about in large part by our own creations (social media, online algorithms and, lately, AI). These Olympics were purely human, and we all shared in them together without the distorting influence of digitally enabled agendas.
More than half of the world’s population tuned in for the 2024 Games, according to Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). “You showed us what greatness we humans are capable of,” he said to the athletes at the closing ceremony. “You respected each other, even if your countries are divided by war and conflict. Thank you for making us believe in a better world for everyone. We know that the Olympic Games cannot create peace, but the Olympic Games can create a culture of peace that inspires the world.”
Yes, world peace is likely too much to hope for, but even still, a few important truths emerged from the Olympics that brands would do well to pay attention to. I had the great fortune to be on site for this spectacular international gathering, and I can tell you firsthand that the glowing commentary is well-founded — the energy and positivity in the stadiums, and across all of Paris, was palpable. So as the world comes back down to earth, here are my three big takeaways for life after the Olympics:
1. Humans Inspire in a Way that Machines Never Will
Beyond the sheer beauty of the perseverance and athleticism that always pervades the Olympics, the fact that this was the first Olympics with spectators since COVID proved something we all know, but likely still need to be reminded of — there is magic that happens when humans gather with other humans that absolutely cannot be replicated in digital environments. The same holds true for retail.
Humans always will be driven by the biological desire for physical community and an existential need for connection through authentic art, craft and emotion. The Paris Opening Ceremony was a beautiful representation of this. Not to mention that forgetting this fundamental truth already has proven costly for some of the world’s most influential companies (Google and Apple, we’re looking at you).
2. Consumers are More Willing to be Sustainable Than We Give Them Credit for
I’ve always been struck by the willing acceptance of European consumers to partake in sustainable practices that Americans would balk at. Case in point, the Starbucks at the Paris airport (the ultimate in quick-service venues) serves all drinks consumed on-site in ceramic mugs and even cold drinks ordered to-go are delivered in compostable paper cups, not plastic. And that has been the case for years.
But the Olympics proved this point on a new level. Every drink at every Olympic stadium was served in durable plastic glasses that cost an additional €2. There was no choice — if you wanted a drink, even water, you paid €2 for the cup. You could keep the glass as a souvenir or turn it in at the end of the event and get your €2 back. No official numbers are out yet, but with 9.5 million tickets sold for the various Olympics events, and many spectators likely partaking in more than one beverage, imagine how many single-use plastic cups were saved through this single action. Most impressive of all, no one made a peep about it (at least at the events I attended) — not a peep.
3. Big or Small, a Thoughtful Brand Presence Will Always Win Gold
Paris has never had trouble drawing fashion brands, but athleisure has been a tougher sell in the city of Chanel and Louis Vuitton. Still, a number of brands took a gamble that this was the moment that Europeans, and Parisians in particular, would agree with much of the rest of the world that the right kind of sweatpants can in fact be worn outside of the gym. It appears they were right.
Nike, On, Hoka and Free People’s athleisure brand FP Movement, all made their presence known at the event, albeit in different ways. Some looked to make a splash — Nike produced an expansive Art of Victory exhibition at the Centre Pompidou and On Running opened a flagship on the Champs-Elysees (the Parisian 5th Avenue, located at the center of the Olympics activity).
But others took a more subdued, personal approach that may have worked just as well. Without spending big bucks on an expensive flagship or art museum takeover, brands like FP Movement and the Jordan Brand invited athletes and fans to enter their world and get to know them through more targeted activations.
FP Movement hosted a residency at Spa Alaena in the artsy Marais district, introducing their athleisure brand to athletes and fans via daily yoga sessions and free spa treatments. (During my visit, I had the great pleasure of a chance encounter with Team USA diver Kassidy Cook who mentioned with great humility, and only when asked, that she had won a silver medal the previous day. Said medal was at that moment carefully ensconced in a sock in her traveling backpack, which she graciously let all of us see and hold. It was incredibly beautiful, and also incredibly heavy.) “Rencontres” — as the French say, or “chance encounters” to us English speakers — like this were at the heart of how FP Movement approached the Olympics. While it was less splashy than other brands’ activations, it was perhaps more effective in developing the kind of tight-knit community that many brands today seek.
Beyond being an essential travel tool during the event, Uber also introduced a number of interesting activations, as did Alibaba. The latter did have some more splashy placements as the official ecommerce partner of the IOC, but beyond that, its involvement in the Committee’s business accelerator program for athletes is, at least to my mind, more interesting and likely more impactful.
The Jordan Brand’s District 23 installation also was of note, but this combination of community-driven café, art exhibition and youth workshop series at the former Tati Barbès department store was such a unique and meaningful activation that it warrants its own story, so stay tuned for that next week.
En fin, while the magic that was the Paris Olympics has already begun to fade, those who were there and even those who watched from afar can certainly take away valuable lessons that will be relevant to community- and brand-building long after the iconic Olympic rings are removed from the Eiffel Tower.
