Alibaba Uses PyeongChang as Learning Experience -- Sponsor Spotlight

(ATR) Alibaba’s chief marketing officer Chris Tung tells Around the Rings the company has learned much from its first Olympics as a TOP sponsor.

The Olympic Showcase in the Gangneung Olympic Park proved to be a popular attraction for fans, drawing more than 100,000 visitors who were introduced to a vision of how Alibaba technology will help transform future Games.

"With the feedback we are collecting here my team and myself are feeling pretty confident that we should able to present ourselves in the exponentially bigger way in Tokyo. It will be very exciting game very innovative games so it has a much bigger appetite for us to showcase more," Tung said to ATR at the Olympic Showcase.

Alibaba came on board in January 2017 in a deal that has them locked into the Olympics through 2028 as the "Cloud Services" and "E-Commerce Platform Services" provider for the IOC.

Tung says that the Alibaba technology won’t be in full effect until Beijing 2022, but there will definitely be changes ready for Tokyo 2020, including bringing millions of Chinese to the Japanese capital for the Games.

"I think through our data technology we’ll be able to find the right tourists with the right recommendation as a tour package and take them to Tokyo for a better experience."

Tung also says that the company’s international e-commerce platform will be used during Tokyo 2020 "to introduce lots of great brands and products from Japan to China and the rest of the world".

He also says that Alibaba’s Cloud technology will be used to increase the efficiency of the Games to help lower the cost for the organizing committees by reapplying what is learned and the technologies used from Games to Games and putting it on the Cloud "so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel" at every Olympics.

The vision, Tung says, is to use technology to replace the current security checks, paper tickets and scans and create a barrier-free experience that makes every person feel like the Olympic Games was designed just for them.

ITU Signs Multiple Year Global Agreement With ASICS

Sporting goods manufacturer ASICS signs a multiyear global agreement to become a Global Development Partner of the International Triathlon Union (ITU).

ITU says the deal is the result of its confidence in ASICS’ strong commitment to promote and develop triathlon globally. ASICS will be providing essential support to the ITU development program both financially and in terms of sporting equipment.

"ITU is delighted to welcome ASICS as the new naming global partner in triathlon development as we continue to grow our sport around the world across the Tokyo 2020 Olympic cycle and beyond," said ITU President and IOC member Marisol Casado in a statement.

"The comprehensive 2018-2021 strategic development plan is designed to maintain the current upward trajectory of the sport of triathlon and this partnership allows us to reach further than ever in that quest."

Among the program’s key areas of focus are greater empowerment of national federations, helping them to achieve their goals with greater self-sufficiency, and assisting new and emerging federations to establish themselves on the world stage.

Written by Gerard Farek

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