Tokyo 2020 organisers have confirmed Asahi Breweries as its second gold partner, just a day after telecoms firm NTT became the first.
Gold partner is the highest level of domestic sponsorship being sold by the Tokyo 2020 organising committee, with reports last week suggesting a minimum fee of US$128 million. Asahi Breweries fills the beer and wine category.
Announcing the Asahi deal on Tuesday, Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori said: “Asahi Breweries has an excellent slogan, which translates roughly as 'Let’s share the emotion', and this slogan very much echoes the efforts of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee to support athletes in their endeavours and to provide a stage where that emotion can be shared.”
Mori added: “During the Games, the whole of Japan will be raising their glasses and cheering on the athletes, and we are looking forward to working closely with Asahi Breweries to share the emotion of the Tokyo 2020 Games.”
Asahi Breweries president Akiyoshi Koji said: “Asahi Breweries has been supporting Japan with courage and energy as a JOC [Japan Olympic Committee] gold partner.
“We are greatly looking forward to support not just the Japanese national team, but also every single athlete competing in the Games, allowing them to perform beyond their limits, and convey the message of the magnificence of having hopes and dreams to the children who bear the future.”
Tokyo 2020's marketing plan has been put together and will be executed by advertising giant Dentsu, which has guaranteed the local organising committee a sum of just under US$1.5 billion. It envisages ten gold partners, each paying around US$130 million each. Below that will be a group of sponsors designated as official partners, each likely to be paying around US$50 million. The third domestic sponsorship tier will be official supporters, with companies paying between US$8 million and US$25 million.
A January report in the Japan Times newspaper also suggested last week that seven domestic partners, including NTT, Asahi and Toyota Motor Corporation, agreed deals before Christmas with the Japanese Olympic Committee. Those deals are scheduled to last for four years and are worth around US$5 million each.
Photo: Victor R. Caivano/AP/Press Association Images
