Digital outdoor media company QMS will soon go to market for brand partnerships to the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games.
QMS was the official outdoor partner for the Australian Olympic and Paralympic teams during the Paris summer games last year–which it said was broadly successful (see results below)– and will now turn its attention to the winter games.
The Milano Cortina Winter Olympics kicks off on 6 February 2026, and will feature more than 3,500 athletes from 93 countries competing for 195 medals in 16 Olympic disciplines.
The Winter Paralympics begin on 6 March, featuring 600 athletes competing for 79 medals in six Paralympic sports.
Australia will send approximately 50 Olympians in 12 sports and 14 Paralympians in three sports, with the potential to be the strongest Australian Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games teams in history.
QMS said that it wants to build on the success of sales and brand results achieved for partner brands in Paris.
During the Paris games, the outdoor network helped partners including Allianz, Toyota Australia, Woolworths, Stan, Patties Food Group and Bupa reach 11.5 million Australians.
QMS said its Olympics and Paralympics activity reached 11.5 million Australians over a six week period, and more that 80,000 pieces of dynamic content was served, celebrating key Olympic and Paralympic moments.
The six weeks of Paris Olympic and Paralympic activity drove significant brand lifts, including sponsorship awareness (+8.5pts), affinity (+5.9pts), brand difference (+7.6pts), consideration (+7.6pts), and desired brand perceptions (+6.7pts) when compared to those who were not exposed.
Nonetheless, the Winter Olympics and Paralympics could prove more challenging because the Australian contingent competing is much smaller, meaning that narratives will have to shift from supporting an Aussie gold rush – as happened in Paris – to winter sporting excellence.
QMS Chief Executive Officer, John O’Neill, said: “The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games were a defining moment for QMS, proving the changing role of digital out of home [DOOH] in omnichannel brand campaigns. Through digital innovation and creative dynamism, our medium was able to showcase the power of audience and brand connection through real-time, contextually relevant content at scale.
This was a true game-changer for the Australian OOH industry and another demonstration of the immediacy, flexibility and results that DOOH now delivers.
At a media briefing yesterday, QMS chief sales officer Tim Murphy said that the Paris Olympic and Paralympics success provides a blueprint to show brands what is possible from a digital outdoor campaign across its network.
“We want to try and inspire them to think differently around how they use the medium from a creative point of view,” he said.
“From a content alignment perspective, we’re continually looking to work with different events and different publishers, where it might add utility and value to our network for our clients and Australian citizens.”
Australian Olympic Committee CEO, Mark Arbib, said: “The Olympics are the pinnacle of sport – both in Australia and across the globe – and QMS redefined the way we worked with our OOH media partner to engage Australian audiences and share the stories of triumph and unity of our Australian Olympians. We’re looking forward to working with QMS again as we harness the power of the rings to inspire and advance our nation.”
Paralympics Australia CEO Cameron Murray added: “Last year we saw firsthand the QMS network’s power in shining a spotlight on disability, inclusivity and social change while showcasing the best of elite sport and the triumph of the human spirit. We couldn’t be more pleased to extend our partnership with QMS for the Milano Cortina Winter Paralympic Games.”
