The Tokyo Organizing Committee for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games has tapped Japanese ad/PR conglomerate Dentsu as its marketing agency of record.
Tokyo hosted the Games in 1964 and won the global competition for the 2020 event in September, edging Istanbul and Madrid. Weber Shandwick worked the Japanese bid.
Dentsu, which made a splash last year with the $4.9B acquisition of London's Aegis Group and is rumored to be eying an acquisition of Interpublic, worked the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Denstu will assist with developing marketing plans, sponsorship efforts and other services for the Games. "Leveraging the sports business knowledge and know-how that it has cultivated over many years, Dentsu will channel all the Group's resources toward the success of the 32nd Olympic Games and the 16th Paralympic Games that will be held in 2020," said a statement from senior manager of corporate communications, Shusaku Kannan.
Dentsu, the No. 5 marketing conglom with revenues of $4.2B last year, said today that April 2014 revenues dipped 2.1% after increases in March (+6.7%) and February (+11.8%). It acquired Arkansas-based PR firm Mitchell Communications last year.
The 2016 Games are slated for Rio de Janeiro.
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