The Tokyo Olympic Games began on July 23 under a set of unusually challenging circumstances. Despite the pandemic-related restrictions on the event, sponsors of the Games gained traction in Japan even before the event began and continue to reap dividends, our data shows.
A look at YouGov BrandIndex, which tracks consumer attitudes towards brands in a specific market, indicates that prominent sponsors of the event — such as Toyota, Nissay, Asics, Coca-Cola, and Panasonic – have made an impact on the Olympic faithful in Japan.
From the June 30 – July 27, each of those brands registered a higher Buzz score among Olympics fans, compared to the general population, meaning that their campaigns have successfully created noise among this audience. (In this article, Olympics fans are defined as those who are somewhat interested in the event or regard the event as one of their top interests.)
The sports apparel manufacturer Asics witnessed the most marked difference in its Buzz scores between the two groups, scoring almost twice as much among those interested in the Olympics (11 vs 6).
While the Buzz metric is a great gauge of how much noise a brand is making, another key metric to measure the efficacy of a sponsorship deal is Ad Awareness. And in this regard, too, sponsor brands appear to have got through to their target audience more efficiently.
The Japan-based automotive giant Toyota posted a 13-point uplift in its Ad Awareness scores among Olympics fans as compared to the overall population, while electronics manufacturer Panasonic registered an 12-point positive difference. Life Insurance company Nissay sees a five-point margin, while Coca-Cola (4 points) and Asics (2) also claim improvements among the Olympics fan subset.
This positive bent in scores among fans of the Olympics isn’t limited to media-focussed metrics such as Buzz and Ad Awareness. Even in Impression scores, which is a measure of whether fans have a positive or negative impression of a brand, the sponsors have performed more favourably among those who are interested in the Games.
Despite the absence of crowds in the stands, Japan might cherish this Olympics edition, thanks to the glowing performance of the home team’s athletes (Japan sits second on the gold medals tally at the time of writing). The brands associated with the event have performed well with the home fans too.
Buzz Score
YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. Buzz score is based on the questions: “Over the past two weeks, which of the following brands have you heard something positive about?” And “Which of the following have you heard something negative about over the past two weeks?” and delivered as a net score between –100 and + 100. Scores are based on an average sample size of 392 adults between June 30 and July 27, 2021. Figures are based on a 30-day average.