Airbnb has also partnered with Para athletes Sofyane Mehiaoui and Axel Alletru to help them host their homes with accessibility features during the Games. This initiative will also promote the company’s commitment to inclusive travel, with the athletes’ homes featured in its Adapted Category, which includes more than 1,100 listings worldwide.
Spence explains that brands now see their support for the Paralympics as an opportunity to bolster their CSR strategies, while underlining their sustainability credentials in the process.
Toyota, through its eight years of supporting the Paralympics, has refocused to become a “mobility company” and will supply a passenger fleet of more than 2,650 electrified vehicles and 700 “last-mile solutions” during both Games.
“The Paralympic Games offers brands a huge opportunity to feature this group in ads and activations which are inspiring, empowering and tell great stories which appeal to every audience,” explained Louise Johnson, CEO of sport and entertainment marketing agency Fuse.
“Taking that opportunity should be a no-brainer. Brands that fail to use their Paralympic sponsorship rights to the full are missing a massive trick,” she continued.
Building an American audience
One major element of the forthcoming Paralympics will be looking ahead to the California Games in 2028, where the organization hopes to grow awareness of the event among Americans while changing perceptions and fostering a greater understanding that this is not the Special Olympics.
“There’s some brand confusion there,” Spence admitted. “It sometimes takes the Games to happen to change a country. It throws open the challenge of how we ensure amplification in every single market around the world, not just those countries that are Paralympic-friendly.”
To do this, the Games are also in the process of developing their first Paralympic Games advertising campaign, having commissioned Adam&EveDDB. This will be given to rights holders to help them promote their coverage and is expected to be released around the 50 days to go mark. It will also feature a world-famous music artist, but Spence would not reveal any further details.
