The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games took the world by storm this summer. After the last Games in Tokyo had to go without spectators and were locked down due to pandemic restrictions, fans and brands returned with a renewed spirit of celebration and unity. Hundreds of event and experiential professionals were on the ground taking in the sights and sounds of the French capital, while making brand activations happen.
We tapped four pros to offer some insight on Paris during this exciting time, share what it was like to see the athletes in action, and offer their predictions for the 2026 Winter Olympics and 2028 Summer Olympics. For the first of two episodes, we spoke with Jeff Handler, vp-Olympic and Paralympic clients, and Dennis Jenders, executive strategy director, from GMR, an experience agency headquartered in Wisconsin. Paris 2024 marked GMR’s 19th Olympic Games, where the agency represented 11 clients with 250 global and local staff on the ground.
Handler and Jenders discuss how brands tied their activations’ storytelling to the Games, how they enhanced the experience of athletes in the Olympic Village and how they stepped up their game since the Rio and Tokyo Summer Olympics.
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“What is your content play here to maximize your investment, and when you’re on the ground, what are you doing to level up the storytelling to make sure that it is equal and equitable?” Jenders says. “I was surprised to see in practically every brand activation, Paralympics on an equal footing with the Olympics. It was great; it was special. It’s important for us to still, as marketers, push that narrative and ensure equity and equality all across the board.”
The conversation also delves into the importance of accessibility considerations, innovations in tech and social connectivity, takeovers of historic venues around Paris, and the momentum that is already moving forward to Milano-Cortina and L.A., plus the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
