No more surprises

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FEATURE | PARALYMPICS

Mateusz Michalski (right) of Poland wins gold in the men’s T12 200 metres at London 2012, where new commercial records of almost every kind were set

No more surprises Its brand may have been given new vigour after its summer in one of the world’s sports marketing hubs, but as Alexis Schäfer, the International Paralympic Committee’s commercial chief, points out London 2012 was by no means the first successful Paralympic Games. It was simply another positive step towards commercial and sporting maturity for the event. By David Cushnan

I

t was the summer when the Paralympic Games came of age. Watched by unprecedented television audiences, not to mention an adoring home crowd desperate to soak up every second of Olympic spirit, Paralympians such as Oscar Pistorius on the track, Esther Vergeer on the tennis court and Natalie du Toit in the pool gave stirring performances and became household names. That, as the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) will tell you, was Beijing 2008.

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Four years on, the IPC is basking in the glory of another, perhaps even more successful Paralympic Games, this time in London. Alexis Schäfer, the IPC’s commercial and marketing director, calls London 2012 “phenomenal” and with good reason: ticket sales of 2.7 million resulted in Locog, London’s local organising committee, exceeding its ticket revenue target by UK£10 million to reach UK£45 million; there were pleasing early television figures, including increases in audiences across the five major European

territories and significant increases in coverage in key future markets such as Russia; and in the host territory domestic broadcaster Channel 4 delivered near-blanket coverage, which was complemented by extensive newspaper coverage – front and back pages – throughout the Games. By almost any measure, London’s Paralympics were a triumph, prompting IPC chairman Sir Philip Craven to proclaim them “the greatest Paralympic Games ever” during a rousing closing ceremony speech. But if the IPC was evidently – and

rightly – delighted by this year’s Paralympics, Schäfer is keen to remind those who have busied themselves since describing the London Games as a huge leap forward for the Paralympic movement, as well as the opening of a new commercial chapter for Paralympic sport, that Beijing wasn’t bad either. “People went away from Beijing saying that they didn’t believe London could do [as well as] that,” he says, “so I think we have to remind ourselves that with Beijing we already had a very successful Games.” Indeed, a quick glance back through the history books shows that the Beijing 2008 Games recorded a worldwide audience of some 3.8 billion people across 38 monitored countries, with some 1,800 hours broadcast by 64 rightsholding broadcasters. Comparative cumulative figures for London are not yet available, with the IPC currently in the process of extrapolating and interpreting the mountain of data recorded over the summer. What is certain, however, is that the IPC, from its headquarters in the German city of Bonn, is now going about its business under a deeper scrutiny than ever before, courtesy of unparalleled interest from the sports industry at large in the commercial development of Paralympic sport. “The difference,” Schäfer points out, “with the sports marketing industry is that a lot of people working for sponsors, working for agencies, working in the sports marketing industry have been a much closer part of London than they were Beijing. “I always say in Beijing, before the Paralympics happened, people left town. This time they stayed in town, saw Channel 4, saw people in the venues. In Beijing CCTV broadcast the Games almost 24 hours [a day], the stadiums were full, we had great performances but the difference is now there are more people that can tell the story about the Paralympics – and I think that is going to make a big difference going forward.” Sitting down with Schäfer, the man responsible for what happens next commercially at the IPC, just six weeks after the Paralympics ended in London with that Coldplay-themed closing ceremony, it is clear his mind is whirring

“Now there are more people that can tell the story about the Paralympics – and I think that is going to make a big difference.” with possibilities. The 50-strong IPC is itself still in debriefing mode, an extensive task after any Games but one that on this occasion could have real significance for the future of the Paralympic movement as the organisation looks to capitalise on the momentum generated by London. Already, though, Schäfer and his small team are laying the groundwork for Rio’s Paralympics in four years time, as well as beginning final preparations for the Sochi winter version in 2014. Just hours after he sits down for this interview at the end of a busy day at the Sportel television rights market in Monaco, the tender process for the UK rights for the next two Games will close with competitive bids submitted by 2012 broadcaster Channel 4 and the previous home of the Games on British television, the BBC. That the tender package allowed bidding for both the Sochi 2014 Paralympics and Rio 2016, however, is a step forward in itself; it is the first time the IPC has bundled the rights to multiple Games. “It’s one of the strategies that we are already looking into to give the broadcasters continuity, so they know they’re going to be the host broadcaster years in advance,” Schäfer says, citing Channel 4’s impressive coverage of Paralympic sport in the years preceding London 2012 as evidence of how a broadcaster can build the narrative, educate an audience and introduce the characters of each discipline in advance. “Where that is leading us now is that we are looking ahead to the next four years to work with the foundation that we have and to work with our partners now to actually maximise the impact going to Sochi and Rio,” Schäfer explains. “And between those Games look at more events – the athletics world championships, swimming world championships, the alpine skiing world championships and test events for Sochi that are coming up in the next year – to

work on the gaps between Paralympic Games and give the athletes a more continuous platform, to give broadcasters a better story to tell and to make it easier to follow the stories of the athletes. That is really what is grabbing the attention and what captured the imagination of a lot of people.” Eloquent stars of Paralympic sport, most notably of course Pistorius, were easy to find in London, many with their own compelling tales. Schäfer admits the IPC “need faces, need ambassadors” and says the organisation itself still has a critical role to play in establishing Paralympic sport. “Our job is to make it easier for people to access information about the Paralympic Games and then once people seek it I think they understand they are stepping into a rich pool of opportunities and content. It’s the same for sponsors once they understand and get their heads around what we can deliver.” The IPC currently has four worldwide partners: Visa, Samsung, Atos and specialist equipment manufacturer Otto Bock. Each began its involvement in Paralympic sport at a national level and was subsequently scaled up by the IPC. There is also one international partner, Allianz. “They are pretty substantial companies,” Schäfer says as he considers where the Paralympics might go next in terms of sponsorship. “Once we have the opportunity to work with a company then we are pretty successful at delivering value for them. In that sense we have proved we can work with fairly sophisticated sponsors and help them achieve their goals.” Schäfer explains that worldwide Olympic partners will always be a focus for the IPC as a result of the arrangement, renewed in May until 2020, that ties the Olympic Games to the Paralympics and, amongst other elements, confirms that both will be staged in the same city. “In our agreement with the IOC

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