Global Major Event Research: Tokyo 2020

How to organise an Olympic & Paralympic Games

Our clients required global major event market research as they were organising the Tokyo 2020 Olympics & Paralympics. We provided:

  • Expert interviews with organisers across four Olympic games.
  • On-site research in South Korea, the UK, Brazil and Canada, investigating Out-of-Home Media and other major event organisation efforts.
  • In-depth reporting: all research delivered in Japanese, making the insights were immediately accessible for collaborators.
  • Culminated in a 450+ page report for the Japanese government.
  • Budget sheets and imagery: we obtained data formatted according to specifications set out by Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
Major Event Research London 2012

Investigating the Olympic Games

To inform their strategy for Tokyo 2020, major advertising agency Dentsu, tasked with oragnising the Games, wanted to know how the London 2012 Games were put together. With a lack of information available in Japanese, and inability to access the UK organisers, we took over the project.

Our global major event research solution

First, we conducted interviews and gathered information from former members of the London Organising Committee, Greater London Authority and other vendors associated with the Games.

We also presented a careful understanding, from a cultural perspective, of how Tokyo was likely to operate in contrast to London 2012. For example, Japanese organisations require significant planning and attention to deal. We were able to provide this in the research we gave which might not have matched with data obtained from other Games.

We highlighted the expertise the London 2012 organisers had to offer what is a characteristically Japanese planning committee.

Eventually, we delivered multiple Olympics-related projects taking us from Vancouver 2010, London 2012, Rio 2016 and Pyeongchang 2018.

We became our client’s on-call experts in global major events market research. We also executed event reports on major events such as Edinburgh Fringe, as well as other high-profile events. Today, we still prepare localisation and translation for our clients on sponsorship activation strategy.

In addition, we analysed tourist behaviour in Japan during World Rugby 2019.

Methodology

Desk research, face-to-face interviews, on-site research, Skype interviews