Deloitte and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have launched ‘The First Effect’ – a co-branded campaign created by the local Deloitte Digital team in Australia and New Zealand – to mark the 100-day countdown to Paris 2024 Games.
The campaign is a celebration of Olympic moments and athletes who have achieved unprecedented feats, and the lasting impact of their accomplishments.
It features the stories of five trailblazing athletes: Great Britain’s Nicola Adams, who made history as the first female boxer to secure an Olympic gold medal at the 2012 London Games; Sarah Attar, the first female to represent Saudi Arabia in athletics at the Olympics; South African swimmer Natalie Du Toit, the first amputee swimmer to qualify for the Games; Algerian 1,500-metre runner Abdellatif Baka; and Rose Lokonyen, who competed as part of the first-ever Refugee Olympic Team in Rio 2016.
The campaign further brings to life other momentous “firsts” including the Tokyo Olympic Games in 1964 being the first to be broadcast live globally, and the Paris Olympics in 1900 being the first to feature female athletes.
“Beautiful work team. So nice to see this idea progress from strategy, into idea and manifest into a wonderful execution. You held it tight and never let go,” Nick Garrett, Deloitte Digital’s global leader – marketing and commerce, wrote on LinkedIn about the campaign.
“Working into two clients isn’t easy, but i am proud of our business for pushing for work like this and in partnership with the IOC, it magnifies the meaning and scale of the very poignant message you are saying.”
Deloitte joined The Olympic Partner (TOP) programme in 2022. Deloitte Global’s global partnerships managing director, Pia Devitre, said the campaign anticipates the many Olympic “firsts” to come, “the human ambition and what the athletes themselves might deliver for the first time.”
“The Olympic and Paralympic Games always provide an opportunity for a set of ‘firsts’,” she said. “Paris 2024 will be no exception, with the first time that the Opening Ceremony will happen outside a stadium, and the first time that we will see equal numbers of male and female athletes participating.”
Anne Aikman, IOC television and marketing services’ vice president of delivery and activation, added: “Worldwide Olympic Partner Deloitte’s ‘The First Effect’ campaign epitomises the spirit of pioneering excellence that defines the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
“As we look forward to the start of Paris 2024, this campaign highlights the IOC and Deloitte’s belief in the transformative power of sport,” she said.
The campaign is currently live and will be rolled out across platforms including Olympics social media channels, Meta, TikTok, and X throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
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Top Image (L-R): Sarah Attar, Nicola Adams, and Rose Lokonyen