How Belarus is going to make money on the olympic sport

How Belarus is going to make money on the olympic sport

TEAM BY is our team
Last year, the International Olympic Committee earned $ 165 million.  As a rule these figures were higher during the years in which the Olympic Games were held.In the current four-year Olympic cycle, the IOC plans to exceed its previous record earnings of $ 5.7 billion. These figures are as impressive as the capacity of the sport market itself which in Belarus today is gradually reaching a whole new level. The­National Olympic Committee also has high hopes for the upcoming Games. The brand of the Belarusian team- Team BY, which was announced exactly a year ago, intends to spread its wings right at the Tokyo Olympics and according to the head of the marketing department- Vitaly Ostrovsky, it also intends to positively influence the development of sport marketing in Belarus. 

- TEAM BY was presented to the public about a year ago. In the future we are planning to sell souvenirs and sportswear with this symbol. We have the advertising banners are all over the city, announcing the upcoming Olympics. The photozones are also planned to be opened in shopping centers, . A number of advertising projects have already started, for example, EXPONENTA, the one with the well-known drinks for those who likes healthy lifestyle. Branded products came out on the shelves, and also promotions, various activities are planned and carried out. Soon enough we'll let you know about our other ideas. The project with EXPONENTA is try-out of a new area of ​​work for us.   In the future we plan to open a TEAM BY brand store on the Internet as well as offline. There will be souvenirs and sportswear ... Before the Olympic Games we plan to launch a large-scale campaign to promote our brand and our team. Television, social networks, and shopping centers are involved in this process. Ideally, we want to raise up the brand of our Olympic team to the popularity level of, for example, the British analogue of TEAM GB or the American TEAM USA. 

- How effective have such brands become in European countries which are comparable to Belarus?

- Comparing us, for example, with Great Britain, of course, would be inappropriate. They have more opportunities and a larger market. But Poland is an interesting example. The Poles have great potential in the field of Olympic marketing, but they are not ahead of us in the developing of the Olympic team brand. The issue and the need to launch and develop brands of the national Olympic­ teams have become one of the main topics at the last IOC seminar held in Budapest. In fact, we launched it in 2018, and a number of countries are just at the beginning of this way.

- Are Belarusians ready to pay extra for the Olympic brand when buying a tracksuit or even a mug?

We are not breaking new ground here. There are actually a couple of branded shops, for example, the shop of Hockey Club Dinamo Minsk or football "Dynamo" (Brest). We studied their experience, we communicate with specialized experts of these clubs, we look at the way they work. We have an advantage - Olympic rings. This association with the Olympic Games allows us to expand the geography of work. It remains to make our brand as recognizable as possible and people would like­ to buy souvenirs, sports uniforms or other products with our logo. We are planning to announce the first promotion projects this spring.

- The TEAM BY brand  has now been in existence for a year, but only now they are starting to seriously promote it. Why is that?

- We needed to reconcile it with the International Olympic Committee. A trademark registration in the Belarusian center of intellectual property also took some time.
In fact, all this time we have been doing preparatory work in order to actively start and present the finished product before the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. We are planning to turn some official events (for example, the presentation of the sportswear of the Belarus national team) into a spectacular event. Evening format, demonstration, sport stars, wide coverage.
Only recently the official TEAM BY stickerpack for the Viber application was launched. The popularity of our public page in this messenger has grown from 300 people to 27 thousand just within a month and a half, and people continue to subscribe to our page every day. 

The TEAM BY team and the beverage maker EXPONENTA have one goal - a healthy lifestyle.
PHOTO BY ALEKSEI MATUSHA.

- How much will the sport results at the Olympics affect the sales and brand recognition?

- There are enough of examples when the results do not always determine marketing effectiveness. Of course, we plan to watch and take into account the results of our Olympians, but our difference from the clubs is that they have one type of sport, and our athletes­compete in several at once. If Belarus, for example, wins a medal in trampolining at the Olympics, it will “lead” the whole brand. It is only necessary to correctly take this into account in your work. And for the same reason, now we are not going to bet on‑ any of the sports. After all, no one can say how the upcoming Olympics will turn out for Belarusians. But we are very picky in choosing people who will become the face of the Belarusian Olympic brand. 

- Who, by the way, has a chance to get this role?

It will not necessarily be an Olympic champion. Let's just assume that­ a sportsman didn't win a medal, but at the same time he fought till the end, did his best and made us proud of him. Of course, we will work with him! We are not talking about‑any personal contracts. Yet we are the­National Olympic Committee. But the NOC intends to provide certain opportunities for such­athletes. The whole world is watching the Olympics and related with it events. Our "faces" will be in advertising, in‑promotional videos, in organized campaigns. Involvement in this movement makes the­athlete interesting for advertisers, increases his value. In other words, Belarusian Olympians will finally have a real‑opportunity to earn not only on awards or scholarships, but also on advertising contracts.

- It is very­­­important to use this opportunity ...

- A very interesting thing. Today, after all, there are also enough of­sportsmen who are trying to promote themselves. For example, Melitina Stanyuta. By looking at her activity in social networks it is clear that she does a great amount of work and it's interesting for advertisers. There's also Anya Guskova. But there are many­athletes- including those who won medals — who do not work this way. They are either don't want to, or they are not successful in self promotion. We want to help them by using the TEAM BY brand. We don't exclude that in future this work will become even more individual. Although it is obvious that the NOC will not work with those athletes who have been involved‑in troublesome stories

At the same time, it becomes economically profitable for the athlete­himself to show off, to give interviews, to participate in some‑activities. These are a mutually beneficial relations.

- How much did the holding of the II European Games in Minsk help promote the Olympic brand?

- II European Games allowed us to assess our prospects and opportunities. Many manufacturers noticed how well their sales grow in view of such events. We also made certain conclusions and took into account all the mistakes. There are companies whose products sold out quickly, there are those whose goods are still on store shelves. But now I think that it will be easier for us and potential sponsors to understand how our work should be aligned. II European Games made a significant contribution to the development of sports marketing in our country.

Source: Publishing House "Belarus Today"