With the Tokyo Olympics getting underway later this week, thousands of Australian fans who would have otherwise been descending upon the Japanese city will instead be stuck at home in lockdown.

The ongoing threat of Covid-19 has meant the Games will go ahead with no crowds at all, meaning the athletes will be toiling away without the in-person support of national fans.

To help bridge the gap between athletes and fans, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has appointed MarTech scale-up Komo Digital Engagement as its official fan engagement platform supplier for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.

The partnership will see Komo deliver a state-of-the-art fan hub to support the Australian Olympic Committee’s first-ever digital fan engagement strategy for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

The custom digital hub created by Komo will leverage gamification tactics such as polls, quizzes, live trivia, predictive games, and more to deliver a one-of-a-kind COVID-proof digital experience for fans who won’t be able to attend the Games in Tokyo.

This fan-first experience provides the next best thing to being on the ground at the Games and will be activated from 13 July 2021.

Komo Digital CEO, Joel Steel welcomed the partnership with the Australian Olympic Committee with the deal placing the tech scale-up on the global stage to deliver a unique world-first experience for the Games.

“This partnership marks a first for the Australian Olympic Committee and highlights the dynamic and changing environment of the sporting industry. More and more we’re seeing fans crave in-depth experiences with teams, athletes, and the brands that support them. With the Engagement Hub Komo has developed for the Australian Olympic Committee, the Tokyo Olympic Games will become a firstof-its-kind experience for fans and deliver on these expectations,” said Steel.

Australian Olympic Committee Digital & Marketing Manager, Will Jago said the AOC is looking forward to bringing everyday Aussies on the Olympic journey and truly keeping the spirit alive throughout Tokyo 2020 and beyond.

“The nature of current travel restrictions evidently impacts the way in which Australians will experience the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. To combat this, we’ve teamed up with Komo Digital Engagement to deliver a fan-first experience for everyone tuning into the Games to get involved and be a part of the action. It’s a virtual Olympic experience, which will bring fans back to the hub each day, in a fun, engaging, and non-intrusive way.

“The digital strategy is a natural continuation of our journey as a brand, which has been expedited due to the current circumstances. Working with Komo, we’ve been able to quickly enlist the skills required to use the platform’s easy drag-and-drop features, creating new and exciting engagement opportunities, competitions, and opportunities for two-way conversations for fans and our sponsors alike. All the while we’re learning more about our Olympic fans to personalise their experience for the years ahead.

“At the Australian Olympic Committee, we’re always looking at what we can do now to provide the best possible experience, while creating future opportunities as we build towards the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Komo’s platform fits perfectly with both strategies. It’s very quick to get started and user friendly to support an agile approach today, while capturing incredibly valuable data in a fun and non-intrusive way to support the long-term, fan engagement strategy with Partner opportunities. Most importantly, it puts the fans first, so enables us to provide a brilliant users experience for our growing fanbase.”

“Komo’s custom-built fan hub will support updates in real-time, providing us with the flexibility to engage fans based on what’s actually taking place on the field. This makes the platform a perfect choice to support the dynamic nature of the sporting industry,” said Jago.

In addition to delivering a fan-first experience, the platform also supports the delivery of value for the Australian Olympic Committee’s brand sponsors, allowing them to share unique offers, prizes, digital coupons, and more with fans through an organic, noise-free channel.

For the Australian Olympic Committee, the engagement of Komo opens up a new world of digital engagement for future activities, with the platform allowing the organisation to easily create userfriendly brand engagement journeys through its direct integration with its CRM. This will allow the AOC to continue to engage audiences between Games.

Komo’s appointment as the Australian Olympic Committee’s official digital engagement platform supplier adds to the MarTech scale-ups growing list of iconic Australian and global brands spanning across eleven industries including Marvel Stadium, Foxtel Media, Warner Music Group, Coca-Cola European Partners, AIA, QBE, Hogs Breath Cafe and more.