The modern Olympic Games have evolved to become the largest multisport brand in the world, with unique viewership of the most recent games eclipsing three billion viewers. As the 10,500 best-in-the-world athletes fine-tune their performance regimes to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics, a group of 19 University of Miami students will soon pack their bags to travel to the “City of Light” as well for a unique study abroad experience.
“It’s a fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Paris is renowned for hosting these type of world exhibitions—and it’s not just the sports, but also how everything looks aesthetically around the city that creates such an amazing environment,” said Trinidad Callava, a lecturer in the Patti and Allan Herbert Business School Department of Marketing.
Paris is hosting the summer games for the third time in modern history and joins London and, in 2028, Los Angeles as a three-time host. The French capital has likewise hosted seven world fairs from 1855 to 1937.
Olympic Marketing in Paris, an immersive 3-credit international marketing course, runs July 8 to Aug. 2. Students will examine first-hand and in-situ the marketing strategies used by the Olympics and other leading brands associated with sports, explained Callava, who has led a number of study abroad programs, most recently in Florence, Italy, and who worked previously in Paris in an international marketing capacity.
The games of the XXXIII Olympiad in Paris take place July 26 to Aug. 11.
Spoiler alert: The program is closed to additional students. Because of the demand for such a high-profile event, Callava needed to secure accommodations for housing, tickets, and venues over a year ago.
Among the activities planned for the students, a mix of marketing majors and minors, include visits to museums such as the Louvre, hosting a special Olympiad exhibit; Station F, Paris’ renowned business incubator campus for startups; and with a range of sports teams and events such as Paris Saint-Germain F. C. soccer club and the 2024 Roland-Garros French Open.
Their meetings with Olympic sponsors will focus on understanding the different ways in which the games are funded and the brands that occupy that space.
Callava, a faculty advisor for LUX, a student organization aimed at educating and connecting students interested in the luxury and fashion industries, noted that firms targeting high-end sports clientele and audiences—Lacoste, Le Coq Sportif, and Babolat in France; Adidas and Puma in Germany; Omega from Switzerland, the official timekeeper; and U.S. brands Nike and Ralph Lauren—pursue distinctive marketing strategies.
While in Paris and meeting with representatives of some of these firms, students will be able to appreciate these marketing nuances.
“I want students to feel that they are one with the locals, so that they can see how a French person creates and builds something, and how they approach business and branding,” said Callava.
“The main point is that this program is a fabulous way for students to learn and create memories for life that later will guide their way,” Callava added.
