How the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris Open up New Opportunities for Fans & Brands

• The Paris 2024 Paralympics are making history
• How to utilize the momentum and prepare the world for this historic event
• Unpacking the individual set of rules of the Paralympic sports
• Creativity at the forefront
• Art meets sport and nostalgia
• The Paralympic Hype is real!
• 3 insights on how companies can benefit from major events

After the exceptional success of this year’s Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games continue that spirit and are owning the stage in the Paris 2024 Games. This year marks the most egalitarian Paralympics to date, and Paralympic broadcasting reached a new milestone with a monumental 1,450 hours of live coverage. Over 4,400 athletes are competing in 549 medal events, including an unheard-of 236 medal events dedicated to women’s competitions alone. Following the record-breaking success of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with over 9.5 million tickets sold, the Paralympics are set to make history with unprecedented participation and global reach. 65,000 spectators watched the spectacular Paralympic Opening Ceremony unfold in the heart of Paris on August 28th. More than 2 million tickets have been sold to date, including 1 million tickets sold during the past month. According to official Paralympics records, most ticket holders will be watching the Paris Games for the first time. 52% of ticket holders are coming to Paris for the first time to attend the Paralympic Games, and many of them will be watching Paralympic Sports for the first time as well.

One key message has emerged in preparing to increase the fanbase and viewership surrounding the Paralympic Games: educate and excite — knowledge is pivotal to increasing viewer engagement. With this in mind, Allianz, the official Worldwide Insurance Partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements, kicked off a collaboration with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and Paris 2024 to make Paralympic sports more accessible to a broader audience and easier to understand. Under the umbrella of the Paris 2024 brand, the partnership was eager to create a series of engaging videos to highlight the 22 Paralympic disciplines and their rules and categories.

Despite being somewhat similar to their Olympic counterparts, para-sports have many unique rules, permissible equipment, and, most importantly, athletic classifications related to individual abilities in sporting performance in order to ensure fair competition. There are even two sports exclusive to the Paralympics: Boccia and Goalball. Research has shown that while many people might be interested in watching the Paralympics, unfamiliarity with the rules or gameplay has created a barrier to viewership. Thus, the main goal was not only to create easy-to-understand, short sports explainers but also to find a visual language that viewers could relate to while upholding the spirit of the Paris 2024 Games.

The Munich-based creative studio Kreatives was asked to bring this vision to life and create accessible, aesthetic, and fun-to-watch video guides explaining different paralympic sports. The multidisciplinary creative team, which had honed their unique blend of skills, knew that the challenge was right up their alley — they could bring a fresh perspective to the table. With a combined passion for telling human-centered stories and using creativity as a force of good, they were able to apply their diverse experience in sports, science, and educational industries throughout the project.

In collaboration with a team of international animators and world-class illustrators, they created a series of illustrations and animated guides that delve into the nuances of each sport in the most creative way possible. Collaborating closely with the International Paralympic Committee, Sports Federations, Partners, and the Paralympic teams, they ensured that the authenticity and accuracy of each video underwent rigorous fact-checking at every stage of the process. Roughly 20 people were part of the core team who worked with more than 50 people spread across the different organizations.

Each sport has its own look and feel, without violating the general guidelines of the Paris 2024 brand. The videos were inspired by the Paris 2024 brand by bringing art and athletics together and showcasing the city's rich cultural heritage. Famous French masterpieces by artists such as Monet, Degas, Delacroix and many others inspired the individual sports thumbnails. Each video has been reinterpreted by a team of world-class illustrators, animators and designers in a new, unique illustration style with a touch of nostalgia, giving each guide the spotlight it deserves.

Watch the IPC x Allianz para sport explainers here.

Since all Paralympic Games are being broadcast worldwide for the first time this year, the Para sports will be a novelty to a whole spectrum of the global audience. Leading up to the opening ceremony on August 28th, the explainers went viral on most social media channels, including YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. With the start of the Games, the videos are also being made available worldwide to broadcasters, as well as the Paris 2024 venues, to help provide an introduction to the upcoming match. The reach has surpassed anything we had imagined, and the resonance has been incredibly positive, resulting in increased engagement throughout all social media channels and being reshared across various platforms.

The views on the official YouTube channel of the Paralympic Sports Explainer Series skyrocketed during the first days of the Games, some jumping from 20k to over 250k views in only one day. Accompanied by the successful TikTok strategy of the Paralympics, the videos have been celebrated for their unique blend of creativity, bold style, and humor while keeping the athlete’s point of view at the forefront of each video. With over 13+ million views on TikTok, 3.5+ million views on Instagram, and 2.5+ million on YouTube, we can confidently say that the animated guides have enormously succeeded in engaging new viewers and giving each sport a custom stage presence.

Inclusion and diversity as a brand boost
The 2024 Paralympics show once again how important it is to incorporate inclusion and diversity into marketing campaigns. Brands that showcase Paralympic athletes and sports not only expand their reach, but also strengthen their values and gain the trust of the community.

Use strategic partnerships
If you want to be successful, you should rely on strategic partnerships. They help companies to expand their reach and position themselves positively in the public eye. This in turn opens up new market opportunities. The cooperation between Allianz and the International Paralympic Committee demonstrates how strategic partnerships can promote the success of major events.

Data-driven storytelling
Standardized marketing is a thing of the past. Companies should develop targeted content strategies on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram in order to address their target groups effectively and achieve maximum reach. The success of the Paralympics on social media should be the wake-up call for your brand to rely on the power of data-based, personalized content.