The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) today welcomed the addition of The Coca-Cola Company to its roster of Worldwide Paralympic Partners.
Coca-Cola Japan was an existing Gold Partner of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, the highest tier of the domestic sponsorship programme.
The agreement encompasses worldwide marketing rights to the IPC and Paralympic Games until 2032. This new partnership is a direct consequence of the IOC-IPC long-term collaboration agreement signed in 2018 and will help communicate the transformational impact of the Paralympic Movement to a whole new audience. As part of the agreement, the two organisations will look to explore purpose-driven marketing campaigns.
Andrew Parsons, IPC President, said: “We are very excited to welcome The Coca-Cola Company as a Worldwide Paralympic Partner. At the IPC, we believe that change starts with sport and that Para sport can foster a more inclusive world. We know The Coca-Cola Company shares our belief – they have been a supporter of the Paralympic Movement and our Games for decades, and their recent commitment to support the Japanese National Paralympic Committee during the COVID-19 pandemic shows how much they value Para sport. We look forward to working with Coca-Cola over the coming years on initiatives that can benefit our athletes around the world.”
The IPC recently launched their One Year To Go campaign for Tokyo 2020 called #WaitForTheGreats, which included a powerful TV ad, an Instagram athlete virtual relay that stretched across the world from New Zealand to the west coast of the United States, as well as athlete TikTok challenges and Instagram stories from all 22 Paralympic sports that will feature in the Games next year. Additionally, the Paralympic Games are the subject of a new Netflix movie feature called Rising Phoenix, which tells the story of nine athletes across two Paralympic Games.
Ricardo Fort, vice president of global sports and entertainment partnerships for The Coca-Cola Company, applauded the announcement, stating, “The Paralympic Games are the third largest sporting event in the world and have set the standard for inclusivity in sport. Through our expanded relationship with the IPC, The Coca-Cola Company will continue supporting elite Para athletes who will make history at the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 and beyond.”
For Tokyo 2020, The Coca-Cola Company will execute its most significant portfolio play to-date, leveraging a team of elite Olympic, Special Olympic and Paralympic athletes from 25 countries around the world. The new platform will be the first global Olympic marketing campaign by the company to showcase a portfolio of beverages to consumers. In Japan, Georgia coffee, Ayataka green tea, Ilohas water and Aquarius sports drink will join Coca-Cola Original Taste. Each market will have its own team representing five local brands across multiple categories.
Additionally, as part of the company’s Olympic and Paralympic partnership, Coca-Cola Japan also launched its athlete donation program in June to support the Japan National Team due to impacts caused by COVID-19.
Last year, The Coca-Cola Company extended its Olympic sponsorship to 2032 in partnership with Chinese dairy producer China Mengniu Dairy Company. The new agreement extended marketing rights for the IPC and the Paralympic Games, as well as the Youth Olympic Games.
