Being better and doing better with Team GB and ParalympicsGB
How we unlocked a better connection between fans and their teams ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024
Sporting dreams start with watching those at the top
We see the highs – and the lows. And this is even more true at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
If you’re a fan, the connection to your team and the athletes matters. Their stories are universally loved and the closer you can get to them, the louder you’ll cheer.
If you’re a sports team, a partner or sponsoring organisation, you're constantly on the lookout for new ways to connect to your fans. The stronger the fan engagement, the better support for the team and the more chances there are to maximise the commercial opportunities that come with it.
Smart technology used in innovative ways can be a powerful tool to unlock a better connection between fans and their teams. And that's exactly what we've been helping the IOC (International Olympic Committee), Team GB and ParalympicsGB do in the UK.
Winning is for one. Firsts are for everyone.
In partnership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Deloitte tracked the impact of firsts at the Olympic and Paralympic Games to show how they can shape the world. Discover #TheFirstEffect below.
Working together to transform sport
Deloitte is the Worldwide Management Consulting Partner for the IOC. In 2022, we committed to a decade-long “partnership with purpose” to help the IOC transform the Olympic and Paralympic Movement by providing consulting services in the areas of management, business, digital strategy and
transformation.
This has included creating new possibilities for existing fan engagement through a personalised fan data platform to deliver curated activations, to creating a maturity assessment tool. This provides a set of guidelines, with supporting best practice examples, to foster gender equality, diversity, and inclusion at upcoming events.
While helping to advance the Movement lies at the forefront of the work that we do, we also used the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 as the backdrop to show how sport can transform the world with #TheFirstEffect. Working together with the IOC, we co-created a global campaign which tracks the impact of firsts at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. And most importantly, how they can shape the world.
Nicola Adams, one of the trailblazing athletes we featured in our campaign, has helped drive a 50% growth in female boxing after she became the first female boxer to win Olympic gold at the Olympic Games London 2012. While Sarah Attar, the first female athlete to run for Saudi Arabia, helped inspire a 149% increase in female participation in sport in Saudi Arabia between 2015 and 2020.
We used our award-winning podcast and digital storytelling across a number of social and online platforms to tell the stories behind four Olympic and Paralympic firsts, with our in-depth five-part podcast documentary series, The Green Room: Bigger Questions.
“An expected audience of over 3 billion people will watch the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 – and the work that we’ve delivered will help the IOC stay relevant with their customers and stakeholders.
We’re incredibly proud to have brought Team GB and ParalympicsGB closer to their fans through digital transformation during such a pivotal moment in sporting history and drive social impact."
Mark Lillie, Partner and UK Sports Industry Lead
Bringing it closer to home
As the Digital Transformation Partner for both Team GB and ParalympicsGB, we’ve helped them get to know, grow, and retain their audience, and turn this knowledge into commercial and, more importantly, social impact.
Together, we’ve delivered digital projects to help them stay relevant with their fans and stakeholders, and to help use their platform for good. Alongside Deloitte alliance partner, Salesforce, we’ve implemented new technology and systems, upskilled staff, and helped implement new ways to capture, connect, and retain fans.
We’ve already helped Team GB to rebuild their ability to connect with their fans, growing the database by 190% in under six months. And ParalympicsGB is now better able to grow and activate their community (60K fans and over 800 athletes and counting).
It’s all in the mind
To help both organisations engage their fans and continue to grow their social impact, we partnered with Team GB and ParalympicsGB to create a digital experience called Mindscape.
The interactive experience takes people inside the mind of an athlete to discover what it really takes to be a champion.
But this isn’t about being a champion in terms of medals, podiums or winning, but a champion for mental health, resilience, disability and inclusion – areas of shared impact for athletes, Team GB, ParalympicsGB and Deloitte.
The platform allows users to complete tasks and collect rewards as they learn more about resilience, inclusion and allyship. Well-known athletes such as Hannah Cockroft OBE, British wheelchair racer, 7 times Paralympic champion and 14 times World Champion, and Nile Wilson, former British gymnast, have recorded video messages and podcast episodes to share their personal stories and help users to explore what it really means to be a champion.
And for the first time ever, the experience features a disabled avatar, allowing people to learn more about the challenges and lived experiences through the lens of a ParalympicsGB athlete.
The platform has generated real interest, with over 10.4m impressions and over 100k visits to the experience itself. And through Get Set to be a Digital Champion, it has been shared in schools across the country with children aged 13-16 demonstrating the power of immersive technology to connect with fans and make a meaningful impact.
