The 2010 Paralympic Games may be a smaller affair than the Winter Olympics, but it’s growing in size and attracting the same heavyweights that signed on for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
According to Rene Smith-Valade, vice-president, communications at VANOC, it’s the first time that sponsorship deals were presented as a package to include both Games in a deal that brought in more than $760 million. All worldwide Olympic sponsors signed on including Visa, Coke, General Electric, Samsung and McDonald’s.
While the Paralympics has 650 athletes compared to more than 5,000 in the Olympics, five sports compared to 15, and 43 countries compared to more than 80, it is growing nonetheless.
“There are more television hours than Torino had for their winter games, five countries are participating for the first time in the Paralympics, and there are more media covering the Paralympic Games then we’ve seen in the past," said Smith-Valade, adding that advertisers are taking an interesting strategic approach for the Paralympics.
“The television and print has taken the approach of presenting the athletes as incredibly talented and high performance athletes," said Smith-Valade. “It’s not about disability, it’s not about special treatment, but incredible athletic performance. Some sponsors skewed their ad buy and their marketing toward the Paralympics and Air Canada was one of those who deliberately made a decision that they were going to go more towards the Paralympics Games in their ad buys."
General Electric is a relatively new Olympic sponsor, having signed on for the first time in 2006, and Vancouver is the first time they’ve sponsored the Paralympics, says Peter Robertson, vice-president healthcare in Canada.
“The one thing that we’ve done here in a much bigger way is the health care infrastructure for the athletes. This is probably the biggest unique differentiating characteristic of our involvement," says Robertson.
GE put its “Mobile Medical Unit" in the Paralympic Village at Whistler as part of the medical services for athletes and officials.
“When you think that it is the Olympics and it’s all about the human body and health, there’s a great intersection with our health-care business… The Olympics provides us a great venue to message through."
As well as television, print, outdoor and naming rights on venues such as the outdoor skating rink at Robson Square, GE ran a number of events during both Games. The company also launched two new products–a hand-held ultrasound system and a portable electrocardiogram system aimed at primary care physicians and health-care facilities.
“We see the Paralympics brand as one that is growing and evolving in a very positive way," said Robertson.
Robertson declined to disclose the level of investment for the sponsorship, but did say that GE had cut the print advertising to about a third of what they had for the Olympics and was not doing television during the Paralympic Games.
