Dior Won the ‘Fashion Olympics’ With Lady Gaga, Celine Dion Placements: Launchmetrics Report
Ralph Lauren and Skims also scored with Team USA partnerships, while Oakley leveraged a campaign with soccer player Kylian Mbappé for buzz during the Paris Olympic Games.
PARIS — If the Summer Games in Paris were dubbed “the fashion Olympics,” Dior was the gold medal winner, according to a report from Launchmetrics measuring media impact value (MIV) during the event.
The brand garnered $53 million in MIV throughout the games, with much of it generated by Celine Dion and Lady Gaga wearing the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned brand during the opening ceremony.
Dion’s appearance garnered $20.5 million in MIV alone, while Gaga’s custom gown from the house brought in $13.7 million. French singer Yseult’s closing ceremony Dior suit and hat added another $1.8 million to the brand’s two-week tally.
LVMH’s premium partnership with the Olympics raised the bar for fashion brands, as well as the profile of its own houses. The strategic positioning of its brands in varied settings proved to be a winning play, with six of its labels sticking the landing in the top 20 fashion, lifestyle and beauty brands as measured by MIV during the Paris Olympics.
For example, the conglomerate’s Berluti designed Team France’s opening ceremony uniforms, which garnered acres of traditional TV and newspaper coverage, generating $3.6 million in MIV.
LVMH’s Sephora also made the list, demonstrating the strategic and experiential marketing of its brands by installing pop-up beauty stations around event venues and bringing in $2.9 million in MIV.
MIV is Launchmetrics’ proprietary measurement formula which quantifies audience engagement, industry relevance, source authority and content quality.
The Olympics’ overall media impact totaled nearly $13 billion, with fashion brands taking most of the top spots. Athletes played a key role in driving performance for brands.
Ralph Lauren made a major impact dressing Team USA, outfitting the closing ceremony stunt by Tom Cruise as well as through musical performances.
Lauren’s famous polo on gold medal gymnast Simone Biles was the top placement for the brand with $2.7 million in MIV, while its placement on Cruise as he rappelled from the roof of the Stade de France to capture the Olympic flag garnered $1.7 million in MIV.
H.E.R. singing the American national anthem from Paris earned $1.3 million, and the brand’s slouchy striped polo shirt placement on Billie Eilish performing from Los Angeles boosted its impact by an additional $1 million.
Other brands that performed well were Adidas and Nike, which were neck-and-neck with $41 million and $40.9 million respectively, due to their athlete collaborations; Louis Vuitton, the flagship brand of official sponsor LVMH, which outfitted the medal ceremony presenters, and official timekeeper Omega, with $6 million, much of it through its Omega House pavilion.
Brands that leveraged unique social media strategies like intense influencer outreach and use of brand ambassadors through their owned media made the biggest impact.
Though Oakley was the official sponsor of Team USA eyewear, there was minuscule impact from that association. Instead, its $6 million worth of MIV came from launching its campaign with French soccer superstar and Real Madrid player Kylian Mbappé, whose visible absence from Team France was much buzzed about during the games.
