On Friday, 6 February, the XXV Winter Olympic Games will commence in the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. In addition to sporting achievements, the Olympics are also an opportunity for its official partners to raise their profile. They have been communicating their connection with the Czech Olympic Team and the International Olympic Committee in the media for several weeks and are also preparing to participate in the Olympic Festival, which this time will take place at the České Budějovice Exhibition Centre.
Domestic partners emphasise fair play and cheering
Among the domestic general partners, the Billa chain, for example, is presenting itself with an Olympic campaign. "As a long-term partner of the Czech Olympic Team, we jointly support balanced nutrition and the values that are inextricably linked to sport – fair play, team spirit and the joy of cheering. These principles are also reflected in this year's Olympic communication campaign, including new advertising spots," says Ivana Stará, head of strategic marketing at Billa ČR. Athletes Jan Zabystřan and Kristiina Sasínek Mäki appear in the company's advertising spots.
Billa has also prepared scratch cards, an interactive game in the Billa Club app and discounted products for its customers. The main prizes include a Toyota Corolla Cross car, a trip to the Italian Dolomites and gift cards worth up to CZK 100,000. For users of the Billa Club app, there is also a promotion where, for every medal won, Billa will offer selected products at discounted prices with a coupon the following day. The activation also includes a special Olympic edition of Nice Bites nuts in several varieties.
Allwyn has had a special ring created for the Olympians, which is intended to be a personal symbol of their participation in the Games and a small source of support in key moments before the start of the competition. During the Olympics, it will focus primarily on content and digital communication. "In cooperation with the Czech Olympic team and selected influencers, we will be bringing an authentic view of the events at the Olympics directly from the venue and transmitting key moments, emotions and the behind-the-scenes atmosphere to fans at home via social networks. We want to place special emphasis on the hockey tournament, when public interest and emotions traditionally peak," says Dominika Němcová, CSR and Sponsorship Manager at Allwyn Czechia.
The ČEZ Group is once again linking its campaign to the EPP Pomáhej pohybem(Help by Moving) app, in which users collect points for their sporting achievements, which they then donate to one of the selected charity projects. "In this Olympic campaign, we are aiming to strengthen the Olympic idea of fair play, where the greatest Olympic successes can be achieved through diligence, tenacity and honest training. The main message of the campaign is that exercise makes sense in all circumstances, whether it is amateur or professional sport," explains Martin Schreier on behalf of ČEZ.
Toyota, one of the official partners, is a partner of the Czech Olympic Team App, which provides comprehensive coverage, results and other information from the Olympics. Users can play a game with a toy car and win an Aygo X for the weekend. "We will also have sponsorship messages before hockey broadcasts at the Olympics and before the broadcast of the programme Minutky ze ZOH (Minutes from the Winter Olympics). We will be promoting the Aygo X and Yaris models manufactured in Czechia," says Michal Velička, marketing director of Toyota ČR. The car manufacturer is also establishing a partnership with a new member of Team Toyota, Metoděj Jílek, who is a hot candidate for a great result in speed skating in Milan.
Innogy also uses sponsorship messages and spots in its communication, in which the long-term faces of the brand, Pavel Šimčík and Jana Bernášková, will focus on Olympic disciplines such as curling, speed skating and ice hockey. A competition with valuable prizes is prepared for customers. In addition, for every medal won by the Czech team, the company will donate 100,000 CZK to the Czech Sports Representation Foundation. "We also supported the creation of the Olympic single Poď si 2.0, which accompanies Czech athletes on their way to the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina. The motivational song was presented by the group Ťupíci, consisting of Bára Poláková, Jan Cina and Marek Adamczyk, together with Olympic champion Eva Adamczyková," adds Zuzana Tylčerová, Innogy's communications director, noting that energy takes many forms and Poď si 2.0 is an energetic challenge designed to inspire people to get moving, cheer on their favourites and pursue their goals.
Budějovický Budvar's Olympic campaign focuses on fans. It builds on the idea that Czech fans are among the best in the world, symbolically toasting them and thanking them for "making the Olympics a real experience." The main spot shows the preparations and excitement of these "invisible heroes" just before the start of the Games. It culminates with a countdown in a pub and a toast together. "The Olympics without fans are like theatre without an audience. Fans are what give sport its energy and meaning. And beer is simply part of how we Czechs cheer. When we combine these two things, we have a clear and powerful insight – as a brewery, we are not only a partner to athletes, but also a partner to all their fans," says Gabriela Kudrnáčová, marketing manager at Budějovický Budvar, which has also prepared a limited edition of cans with the Fandi Pojď design.
International partners are betting on competitions and influencers
International partners such as P&G, Coca-Cola, Samsung and Visa have also launched Olympic campaigns on the Czech market.
Until the end of February,P&G is donating part of its sales to the Czech Olympic Foundation. The foundation will then pass the money on to children from financially disadvantaged backgrounds. Young athletes will thus be able to purchase sports equipment or pay membership fees. The face of the campaign is Czech ice hockey goalkeeper Lukáš Dostál. Until 1 February 2026, the campaign was also supported by a pop-up with an artificial ice rink and a robotic goalkeeper at the Westfield Chodov shopping centre in Prague.
During the Olympic period,Coca-Cola is primarily promoting its Powerade brand, which is not only a global partner of the Olympics, but also a local partner of the Czech Olympic Committee and Czech Ice Hockey. "Throughout January and February, we are running a nationwide consumer competition featuring our ice hockey players and Martina Sáblíková. We are also collaborating with the ice hockey podcast Puk Pak Pivo with Jakub Voráček," comments Stanislav Vyšín, marketing manager at Coca-Cola.
Samsung wants to use key moments of the Olympics on social media and other digital channels in its campaign. For this occasion, it is collaborating with snowboarder Jakub Hroneš and influencers Samuel Procházka and Maxim Habanc, who will share posts directly from the event. In addition, the Olympians will be photographed with a special edition of Galaxy Z Flip7 Olympic Edition phones.
Visa is teaming up with David Pastrňák for its campaign. While image spots promoting the emotional connection and long-term partnership with the Olympics are running on television, the online content is related to this year's games. All communication emphasises Visa's role as a long-term partner of sport, innovation and secure payment technologies with the aim of connecting fans with the world of the Olympics and strengthening the brand's position as a leader in digital payments. In addition, the brand is also collaborating with singer Ben Cristovao on the song and music video Vlajka (Flag).
The Olympic Festival as a space for activation
In addition to their own communication activities, limited editions and consumer activities, Olympic partners will also participate in the Olympic Festival, for which they are preparing a whole range of activations. For example, Toyota will have a pump track and an area where children can draw their dream car, try out balance boards and slacklines, or win a board from Max Habanc.
Allwyn is a skating partner and will offer visitors an ice rink including two ice rinks with an area of approximately 3,000 m². The ice infrastructure will include skating routes with music on demand, evening discos and an open-air ice hockey rink. The programme on and around the ice will be complemented by a large number of competitions for visitors, themed music evenings and special challenges, such as song battles and song requests. A special Valentine's Day skating edition with a romantic atmosphere, themed decorations and a music programme is also planned.
ČEZ will support a snow-covered circuit where people will be able to try their hand at cross-country skiing. There will also be a ČEZ Energy zone with Olympic-themed competitions, quizzes, an AI photo corner, mobile phone charging facilities and a chill-out zone. A new feature will be a remote-controlled snow groomer model, where everyone will be able to try their hand at grooming a cross-country ski trail. There will also be a workshop with former national team member Kateřina Razýmová, where visitors can improve their classic or skate skiing style, as well as concerts by Chinaski, David Koller, Pokáč and Michal Hrůza.
Innogy will have its own Innogy point at the festival, where small competitions will be held, for example for ski passes to the nearby ski resort in Lipno or to one of 13 other ski resorts. In addition to quizzes and a downhill skiing game console, visitors will be able to try out a training simulator used by professional downhill skiers to perfect their carving technique.
Coca-Cola will operate a Powerade stand at the festival, where everyone can try an isotonic drink. As a snowboarding partner, Samsung will donate prizes for snowboarding competitions on site. As part of the activation, it will also offer competitions for electronics and photo props related to the Open Always Wins theme.
Source: mediaguru.cz