As a PR practitioner who has worked on Olympic programs for brands, the United States Olympic Committee, and foreign governments, I’ve often been called upon to suggest two things: How brands can achieve positive earned media and how they can prepare for protests.
The 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, like all other Olympics, have received their share of protests long before the Games commence. There’s no doubt that protests will intensify as the Opening Ceremony approaches on Friday, February 6, and that controversies will occur during the Italian games. They always do.
By now, brands that sponsor the Olympics should have finalized their 2026 plans. Those plans should include strategies for preparing a client for a potential protest. But based on my experience, anti-protest planning is not a priority. And if protests occur, brand spokespersons will rely on the usual, trite “We just follow the athletes” line when questioned by reporters.
But without rewriting Olympic plans, there is still time to prepare brands against protests. That happened in 2014, when promotions in Sochi had to be revised or canceled because of actions against them by human rights groups protesting Russia’s anti-gay laws, and again before the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, when members of Congress accused sponsors Procter & Gamble, Visa, Intel, Coca-Cola, and Airbnb of putting profits ahead of the genocidal practices of the Chinese government.
Here are some easy anti-protest suggestions that don’t require starting from scratch or changing client-approved promotional marketing plans.
–It’s essential that Olympic account groups are staffed by a person who has crisis communications experience. It is important to remember that every negative article need not be answered. Sometimes the best response to a negative article is to do nothing and see if the attacks continue.
–If the attacks on a brand’s participation continue, the brand should respond with statements acknowledging that they understand the reason for the protests but explain why they believe that the Olympic Games are a force for good and should be supported. That outcome can be accomplished via press releases and social media posts, but it should also include face-to-face meetings between a brand representative and protest leaders.
–Sponsors should publicly demonstrate that sponsoring the Olympics does not mean they are automatically dismissing activist groups’ concerns. That can be done by allocating a portion of the sponsor’s website to essays from activist groups presenting their cases.
–Sponsors should publicly insist that governments do not stifle activist groups’ peaceful protests in host countries.
In addition to the last bullet above, there is something else to consider.
Also, publicly asking the IOC not to award its propaganda–rich games to totalitarian countries would also generate positive coverage and help the brand break through the clutter of other sponsors. Doing so would elevate a brand to a leadership position, generating positive publicity for as long as the brand wants, and most likely receiving positive references in sports and political columns.
A brand that calls on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to cease allowing athletes from countries that initiate war or refuse to compete against other countries due to political situations to participate will generate positive earned media.
Experience shows that most Olympic promotions receive short shrift from consumer news outlets. But there is a way for brands to achieve positive earned media (outside trade pubs): they must take a stand.
