{"id":32481,"date":"2018-01-31T13:29:39","date_gmt":"2018-01-31T12:29:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sotrender.com\/blog\/?p=32481\/"},"modified":"2024-04-16T14:39:45","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T12:39:45","slug":"pyeongchang-2018-rule-40","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sotrender.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/pyeongchang-2018-rule-40\/","title":{"rendered":"PyeongChang 2018 – How not to anger the Olympic overlords with your social media posts (The Return of Rule 40)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games are right around the corner, so get ready for a ton of social media posts about it. Everyone loves watching the games, talking about it, and supporting their favourites athletes. Marketers are especially interested; there\u2019s no better time to display your product than when everybody is watching! <\/span><\/p>\n

But being an official sponsor of the Olympic games isn\u2019t so simple. There are guidelines and rules you need to follow or you\u2019ll get into trouble with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Especially when it comes to the infamous Rule 40. <\/span><\/p>\n

How Olympic Marketing Works<\/h2>\n

The IOC selects brands which they allow to advertise for and during the Olympic games. These brands are known as official sponsors. These sponsors are given a set of rules and guidelines that they must follow if they want to keep their official sponsor status. This is to <\/span>ensure the Olympic brand maintains its image and integrity<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anybody unofficially marketing using the Olympics games? Don\u2019t worry, the IOC has <\/span>several programmes<\/span><\/a> in place and intense monitoring to stop that from happening. <\/span><\/p>\n

Rule 40 and unofficial sponsors<\/h2>\n

Rule 40 is a less-than-beloved rule from the IOC which prevents athletes and their sponsors (deemed \u201cunofficial sponsors\u201d) from promoting themselves or their brand alongside the Olympic games. <\/span><\/p>\n

According to the Olympic Charter, Rule 40 states: \u201cExcept as permitted by the IOC Executive Board, no competitor, team official or other team personnel who participates in the Olympic Games may allow his person, name, picture or sports performances to be used for advertising purposes during the Olympic Games.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This means that if you are an athlete or you sponsor an athlete and are not an official Olympic sponsor, you cannot advertise yourself in relation to the PyeongChang 2018 winter games. It\u2019s a big problem for sponsors. Just check out our analysis of the <\/span>Rio 2016 games<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

What can and can\u2019t athletes\/unofficial sponsors do?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Not much. For one, all Olympic and Olympic-related terms are banned on social media (and any other type of media):<\/span><\/p>\n