{"id":21058,"date":"2024-04-11T17:49:58","date_gmt":"2024-04-11T17:49:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=21058"},"modified":"2024-04-11T17:49:59","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T17:49:59","slug":"inside-citis-big-bet-on-paralympic-athletes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=21058","title":{"rendered":"Inside Citi\u2019s big bet on Paralympic athletes"},"content":{"rendered":"

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You probably won\u2019t see a Citi Bike used to win any cycling championships, but Citi\u2019s going to the 2024 Olympics in Paris, anyway.<\/p>\n

More specifically, the Paralympics: Citi sponsored Team USA in the 2012, 2014, and 2016 Olympics and Paralympics, after which the banking company pivoted away from the official sponsorship to focus on individual Paralympic athletes.<\/p>\n

Almost a decade later, the vast majority of Citi\u2019s Olympics marketing hinges on Paralympians, according to Tina Davis, its head of enterprise marketing and brand engagement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we measured the partnership and we looked at what it did for our reputation, what it did for brand preference, goodwill toward communities, all of that, all those numbers went up, up, up,\u201d Davis told Marketing Brew. \u201cThey would go up on Olympics overall, but when you then layered in Paralympics, it was off the charts\u2026Quickly, the Paralympians became our favorites.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA different kind of lift\u201d<\/h2>\n

Citi\u2019s bet on the Paralympics, which Davis said was met with support from the start, was primarily driven by data from its Team USA sponsorship: From 2012 through 2016, the company\u2019s Paralympics spots generally outperformed its Olympics spots, according to Citi. And the investment was also partially mission-driven, Davis added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lift that we got with Olympians was great, but we saw a different kind of lift with Paralympians,\u201d she said. \u201cWe saw an opportunity to be one of the leaders of changing the perceptions of people with disabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2021, the year the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics took place after being postponed due to Covid, Citi debuted its #StareAtGreatness<\/a> campaign focused on Paralympic athletes. It became \u201cone of our best-performing campaigns,\u201d Davis said, with 192,000 engagements, according to company figures.<\/p>\n

Citi currently sponsors 24 athletes, including US sprinter and long jumper Scout Bassett, wheelchair tennis player Diede de Groot of the Netherlands, paratriathlon gold medalist Lauren Steadman of Great Britain, and wheelchair basketball player Trevon Jenifer, a member of the 2024 US Men\u2019s Wheelchair Basketball National Team.<\/p>\n

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The company is also the founding partner of Para Sport\u2014a self-described grassroots organization dedicated increasing awareness and participation for para-sports. It\u2019s also partnered with World Para Swimming and World Para Ice Hockey.<\/p>\n

Reaching further<\/h2>\n

While viewership and broadcast rights revenue has grown, the Paralympics don\u2019t tend to get the same level of attention as the Olympics.<\/p>\n

To account for the less-expansive reach, Citi relies on its own platforms\u2014online and off\u2014to tell the stories of its athlete partners, especially around \u201ctentpole moments,\u201d Davis said. Last year, the company hosted the 2023 Wheelchair Softball Tournament and Clinic at Citi Field, and used the Ryder Cup to spotlight stories of athletes with disabilities.<\/p>\n

Citi\u2019s decision to incorporate a grassroots element to its Paralympics athlete sponsorship strategy came from working directly with para-athletes, Davis said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the IPC came to us with this opportunity to help found Para Sport, we already knew the value that these grassroots organizations had for these athletes, how they help them with their sports, especially Paralympians,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The Paralympics is one of those major moments Citi targets to amplify its sports sponsorships, according to Davis. The brand is working on a \u201cmultimedia campaign highlighting several of our athletes\u201d for Paris 2024, she said, but declined to share more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when everybody\u2019s paying attention,\u201d Davis said. \u201cI\u2019m going to say 95% of our focus is on the Paralympics. That\u2019s where we spend the majority of our time. If we do anything around the Olympics, it\u2019s about supporting the Paralympics coming after the Olympics.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n