olympics

Olympics viewership surged past expectations, but fashion brands largely failed to seize the moment beyond sportswear giants like Nike and official partners like Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren.

Despite skateboarding now being part of the Olympics, a number of influential skateboard brands like Supreme and Palace don't bother marketing at the global event.

Beauty brands may not have their logo on an athlete’s uniform, but they’re still finding ways to market around the Olympics through partnerships with top athletes and social-media friendly campaigns.

The Olympics are proving a perfect marriage of the sports and fashion industries. It’s the culmination of several factors that have turned sport into fashion’s most exciting new arena over the past two years.

As fashion’s interest in sports grows, brands are getting a crash course in the complicated world of sports sponsorships.

In under a decade, the Boston-based company transformed itself from a brand for dads and runners into one of the hottest players in the sneaker world. Now, it’s using the Olympics and an expanding roster of collaborators, athlete partners and sports categories as catalysts to achieve its lofty ambitions.

The American retailer was able to tap into the cachet of the world’s largest sporting event without being an official sponsor or licensee. The result was one of its most successful collaborations in recent memory.

The Summer Olympics in Paris are already proving a potent marketing opportunity. In the US, back-to-school shopping is falling short of expectations.