With the Olympics and other big sports events abuzz every season, it’s important for travel marketers to hop on these trends while they’re hot – and not get into legal trouble! 😅
But first, why should you hop on the sports content train? 👀
Let’s look at some key numbers from TikTok’s Summer of Sports Playbook:
- 85% of users say they’re going to watch at least some of the Paris Summer Olympics
- 62% of users watch a sporting event at least once per week
- 48% of users watch content about sports on a social/video platform at least once per week
All this to say, don’t sleep on creating content that responds to this huge audience!
But beware – when it comes to content around the Olympics, you have to be careful with their advertising regulations listed under Rule 40.
What is The Olympics’ Rule 40?
Rule 40 is a by-law of the Olympic charter that states only approved sponsors can reference “Olympic-related terms” and properties during the games period.
This includes everything from words like “Summer Games,” the name of the host city and year, and Olympic imagery like torches, medals, or podiums – even emojis! 🥇
Even outside of the Games Period, Non-Olympic Partners aren’t allowed to advertise using logos, the word “Olympics,” or trademarked phrases like “go for the gold” or “let the games begin.”
Here’s The Rule 40 Games Period for the Summer 2024 Olympics:
- Olympic Games: July 18 – August 13, 2024
- Paralympic Games: August 21 – September 10, 2024
This means Non-Olympic partners can still run ad campaigns and show ad materials during this games period if they adhere to the following:
- They have permission from the athlete
- No Olympic Properties are used in advertising
- It respects the policies of the International Olympic Committee relating to activities incompatible with the values of the Olympic Movement
- The advertising is considered “Generic Advertising”
These rules beg the question…
What is “Generic Advertising” according to The Olympics?
The Olympics define “generic advertising” as meeting these three criteria:
- There is no connection with The Olympic Games other than the use of an image of an Olympian
- The ad must have been in the market for at least 90 days prior to the Games Period (so before April 18, 2024)
- And the ad must be planned to run consistently and not materially escalated during the Games Period
An example of this in action is congratulatory advertising by Non-Olympic Partners. If there’s a local hero in your area who’s headed to the Olympics or wins, non-Olympic partners can share a congratulatory/support ad featuring them – just make sure the post is made outside of the Games Period, and that there are no Olympic properties in the post!
Another example is that you can’t share or repost any Olympics content, including athletes’ celebratory or thank-you messages. This is because these contain Olympic imagery or properties.
If you’d like to read the fine print even more closely and see more examples (which we highly recommend!) you can check out the full guide on The Olympics’ Rule 40 website page!
Now, we know that these rules can feel overwhelming… but this does NOT mean that you shouldn’t post anything at all!
It’s absolutely still possible to make timely, trendy content to engage your audience – and if anything, it’s pretty fun getting creative with it! 💅 Which brings us to…
The Olympics/Sports Travel Marketing Content Ideas
All of these content ideas can be repurposed beyond specific games periods and applied to any sport – talk about #goals! ⚽
Watch Parties
Create a listicle or a POV walk-through of venues and sports bars that screen live games in your area. The example above is from Visit Grand Prairie, and showcases free watch parties for the Cricket World Cup, along with more info in the caption like free parking, food and drinks, and a free water show.
Local Sports Heroes
Spotlight local athletes and sports lovers in your area! We love this example from Explore Edmonton that takes us behind the scenes of the City League Basketball organization. You can also do a profile about what their hometown means to them, have them share their favorite local spots, or ask them fun rapidfire interview questions like Visit Milwaukee does with the Milwaukee Admirals hockey team. Don’t forget – make sure to follow Rule 40 carefully if your local sports hero is an Olympian! 😉
Accessible Sports Experiences
Share adventure spots and sports experiences that are accessible for people with disabilities, like Travel Alberta does in this video series with Ryan Straschnitzki, where he tries different adaptive sports.
Sports & Recreation Facilities
Share a round-up of sports venues and games schedules, or do a deep dive into fitness centers and spaces like basketball courts, swimming pools, golf courses, or tennis courts. This supercut from Visit Dallas is an easy way to combine UGC clips with info about the game schedules in the caption.
Sports Lovers’ Itinerary
You can include more sports & recreation facilities, along with halls of fame, merch stores, cycling or jogging paths, and more! You can also go more general and make a bucket list with words like “goal” to still get into the sporty spirit, like Visit The USA does here. Or you can get super specific and hone in on a particular sport, like Destination Toronto does here with baseball.
Engage Your Locals & Followers!
Hit the streets and engage with your visitors directly, like Destination Cleveland does here! To add a sporty twist to it, you can ask folks what niche or novelty activity your destination would be a champion at. Just make sure not to use any Olympic terms or properties!
Host a Giveaway
Gift a pair of tickets to some of your lucky followers to a local sports game, like Visit Lubbock did for one of their big college basketball games! This is also a great way to grow your engagement and follower count, fast 👀
Above all, make sure to have fun with your sports content – they’re for games lovers, after all! 😉
Hoping your videos will go viral? 👀
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