PARIS — The 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games will provide an opportunity for beautiful athletes to show off their skills like never before.
There are a number of overlapping reasons for this.
The Olympics, which run from Friday through Aug. 11 and Aug. 28 through Sept. 8, respectively, will see gender parity — an equal number of female and male athletes taking part in the competition — for the first time, marking a step forward for women in sports at a time when female athletes are becoming beauty superstars.
Their influence is enormous: Deloitte predicts that revenue from elite women’s sports will surpass $1 billion for the first time in 2024.
The Paris Games are also expected to be the biggest in-person sporting event since the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics and will provide a major marketing opportunity.
“The brands that can make the most of these opportunities are the ones that can connect with people in truly meaningful ways and stand out from the crowd,” said Ellie Thorpe, global director of Kantar BrandZ, explaining that such strategies build long-term consumer relationships.
This has resulted in more official brand and team sponsorships: Earlier this month, for example, Glossier revealed it was the first beauty partner of the U.S. women’s basketball team.
Additionally, Olay’s new Cleansing Melt has become the official face wash for the U.S. team, with five athletes promoting the product: track and field stars Shakyari Richardson and A-Sing Mu, soccer player Rose Lavelle, sport climber Natalia Grossman, and gymnastics gold medalist and commentator Laurie Hernandez.
At the same time, the International Olympic Committee relaxed rules banning athletes from personally promoting brands during the Olympics, significantly increasing the opportunities for tie-ups. This rule change is likely to lead to more direct social media interaction between athletes, brands and fans on social platforms during the Olympics, Thorpe highlighted in a recent report.
Olympian Suni Lee has teamed up with Kiss to promote the nail brand’s new at-home curing system, the Salon Extend Starter Kit.
Simone Biles, the all-time winningest gymnast, has begun a two-year ambassadorship for Unilever haircare brand K18, with her first campaign highlighting the importance of inner strength.
As with the general public, health and fitness is becoming increasingly important in the sports world.
“The opportunities within women’s sport go beyond sportswear, and range from beauty to food and nutrition, health and wellness, technology and consumer electronics, as evidenced by the increasing number of female athletes endorsing beauty brands, such as England rugby player Holly Acheson endorsing Clinique cosmetics brand,” said Marguerite Le Rolland, head of apparel and footwear at Euromonitor International.
“Women are taking a pragmatic approach to their physical and mental health and are looking at smarter ways to optimise their health and look better without multi-stage care and invasive procedures,” she continued.
But the connection between an athlete and a brand needs to be truly meaningful.
“Brand fit is really important and you have to balance consistency in your brand positioning with messaging that’s really authentic and relevant,” Thorpe says. “That’s the challenge. But when it comes to personal care specifically, these brands actually fit the space really well.”
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is a premium partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and several of its beauty brands are also on board: Fenty Beauty by Rihanna announced last week that it would be a premium partner of the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The brand posted a photo on Instagram of the superstars wearing Fenty lip gloss and walking hand in hand in front of the Eiffel Tower, which is adorned with the Olympic rings.
Fenty Beauty by Rihanna announced on Instagram that it is a premium partner of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. WWD Screenshot
As part of its focus on inclusivity and diversity, Fenty will distribute makeup kits to 600 volunteers between the ages of 18 and 21 who will be presenting medals to athletes. The kits will include Ease Droplett and foundation, Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer and Invisimatte Setting Powder, according to the brand.
Volunteers will also be provided with instruction on how to apply makeup for the event and access to the brand’s makeup artists via a QR code.
According to Thorpe, Fenty is “highly differentiated. In the minds of consumers, Fenty is perceived as extremely unique. If Fenty can spread its message on a global scale, that’s a real sign that Fenty is starting to build its presence in people’s minds. It’s starting to spread its message and build long-term brand equity.”
Sephora, the LVMH-owned luxury cosmetics retailer, was a partner of the Olympic Torch Relay, which debuted in the southern French city of Marseille on May 8, and provided public activations along the relay route as well as at meeting and stopping points along the itinerary. For example, in four cities, Sephora operated pop-up stores where people could get free makeup products and learn about beauty from the Sephora team.
Sephora President and CEO Guillaume Motte is scheduled to take part in the torch relay in Versailles, France, on Tuesday.
“One of the biggest proud points from a team perspective was that 50 team members from all over France were selected to carry the torch,” Mott said. “This was very exciting for us. [them] He also expressed his gratitude to the stores near where the torch was actually carried.”
The partnership resonates with Sephora for a variety of reasons.
“We wanted to shine a light on our athletes and their talent,” he said, calling them true ambassadors of beauty and diversity. “They’re also very inspiring in terms of their performance.”
Sephora also wanted to showcase its in-house talent and know-how, particularly when it came to makeup artists.
“Our team will be doing the makeup on the podium that will be set up at the Trocadero and we will be honoring all of the medal winners,” Mott said.
Additionally, Sephora is a French company and the torch relay is an event celebrating France.
“Being a partner in the torch relay is also a tribute to our roots,” Mott said, adding: “It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to reinforce the purpose and values that are so close to what sport stands for.”
Sephora’s mission is to champion an inspiring and inclusive world where everyone can celebrate their beauty, which aligns with the Olympic and Paralympic spirit.
