Medaling in Milan: How Advertisers Can Win Big at the Winter Olympics

Every four years, the Winter Olympics bring together the best athletes on the planet. And, just as importantly, some of the biggest audiences. The upcoming Milan–Cortina 2026 Games are no exception. With fresh events, evolving sponsorship rules, and more people watching across digital platforms than ever before, these Games will be a global stage not just for athletes, but for advertisers.

For brands, the Olympics aren’t about just running ads. They’re about tapping into a rare cultural moment when emotions peak, attention converges, and people lean in across every screen.

What’s New at the 2026 Olympics

This edition of the Winter Games comes with plenty of updates advertisers should have on their radar:

• A record medal haul. Milan–Cortina will feature 116 medal events, the most ever for a Winter Olympics.
• New sports and formats. Dual moguls, women’s large hill ski jumping, a mixed skeleton relay, and ski mountaineering (three medal events) are making their debut.
• Flexibility for brands. The IOC has announced looser commercial restrictions, including more opportunities for product placement and influencer-driven activations — creating new ways for advertisers to integrate.

The headline: more events, more content, more ways to connect with audiences.

Why Advertisers Should Pay Attention

The Olympics have always been about scale, but for advertisers in 2026, the opportunity goes deeper:

• Digital-first consumption. Roughly 27% of fans plan to stream the Games, with many mixing linear, CTV, and mobile. Digital isn’t the side channel anymore — it’s central.
• Affluent, engaged viewers. Olympic audiences have about 20% higher household income than the average consumer, making them ideal targets for premium products, travel, and experiences.
• Proven performance lifts. Ads tied to the Olympics generate up to 21.6x more consumer engagement (searches, site visits, brand lookups) compared to standard primetime.
• Brand impact is measurable. During the Paris Games, Samsung saw a clear lift in brand favorability among Olympic viewers — proof that audiences not only notice Olympic campaigns, but remember them.

In short, this is one of the few times advertisers can invest in a media moment that guarantees both mass reach and measurable brand impact.

The Podium Playbook: 3 Strategies for Advertisers

Not every advertiser needs to chase the same playbook. Just like Olympic athletes, brands can succeed in different ways depending on their objectives, budgets, and appetite for scale. Some will invest heavily to own the moment across every screen, others will take a more targeted approach to connect with specific audiences, and some will lean on agility and creativity to maximize impact with fewer resources. Each of these paths can deliver a podium-worthy performance, which is why we’ve outlined three distinct strategies for Milan–Cortina.

🥇Gold Strategy: The All-In Digital Champion

Gold is about being everywhere your audience is and making sure your brand feels woven into the Games, not just showing up in an ad slot. Think full-screen takeovers, real-time creative that evolves with the medal count, and big partnerships with athletes or broadcasters.

• Cross-platform consistency. Don’t just run CTV spots — extend your message across streaming, programmatic display, paid social, and even audio. The power is in the repetition across touchpoints.
• Live triggers. Set campaigns to activate when certain events happen. For example, your ad launches when your country wins a medal, or when a highlight trends on TikTok. That immediacy makes your brand feel in the moment.
• Interactive experiences. CTV ads with QR codes, shoppable overlays, or gamified elements can turn passive viewers into active participants.

This strategy is most effective for brands with larger budgets and the necessary infrastructure to execute real-time, multi-channel campaigns.

🥈Silver Strategy: The Smart, Specialized Player

Silver isn’t about scale, it’s about relevance. You don’t need to be everywhere; you need to be in the right places that matter most to your audience.

• Event alignment. Choose a sport or storyline that connects to your brand (snowboarding for lifestyle brands, figure skating for luxury, hockey for quick-service restaurants). Advertisers who niche down often see stronger recall.
• Second-screen synchronization. Audiences scroll while they watch — make sure your TikTok, X, and Instagram ads are running in sync with competition schedules so you catch fans in the moment.
• Story-driven creative. Build content around athlete journeys, national rivalries, or underdog narratives. These stories are what audiences care about most — not just the medals.

This strategy is perfect if you want efficiency and impact without trying to outspend the gold players.

🥉 Bronze Strategy: The Bold, Creative Underdog

Bronze proves you don’t need an Olympic-sized budget to make an Olympic-sized splash. It’s about being fast, fun, and fearless.

• Reactive social content. Jump on viral Olympic moments (unexpected wins, funny clips, emotional athlete stories) with brand-aligned creative. If you can move quickly, you’ll ride the same wave as trending hashtags.
• Community activations. Sponsor digital watch parties on Twitch, YouTube, or Discord where fans gather in real time. These smaller, niche communities can drive outsized engagement.
• Post-Games retargeting. Build audiences from Olympic viewers and keep talking to them once the flame goes out. Often, the cheapest and most effective play happens after the Games.

Bronze is for advertisers who want to be remembered for their creativity, not their spend. Done right, it can be just as impactful as gold or silver.

Final Word: Every Medal Wins

The Winter Olympics are one of the last true global media tentpoles. They bring together mass reach, emotional storytelling, and proven performance impact — the exact mix advertisers crave.

• Go Gold if you want to dominate across every platform.
• Go Silver if you want efficiency and precision.
• Go Bronze if you want to get scrappy and punch above your weight.
  

Every medal wins. The only question is: which strategy will put your brand on the podium in 2026?