Social media analysis of sponsorship activation during the 2024 Paralympic games: a mixed methods approach

Purpose/Rationale This study analyzed sponsorship activation strategies for the 2024 Paralympic Games by examining overarching social media strategies and content.Design/Methodology/Approach A mixed method approach was used for this study and Instagram was the social media platform of interest to analyze global sponsors. The quantitative analysis focused on essential data including account followers and post frequency. The qualitative approach utilized thematic coding, resulting in five overarching themes.Findings The analysis showed that sponsors have very different objectives for social media analysis. For some sponsors, the Paralympics are a major focus, while for others, it is clearly not a priority. This finding is based on different social media key performance indicators including Paralympic-specific posts. For the posts’ content, the following themes were outlined: (1) athlete spotlight, (2) product highlight, and (3) education.Practical Implications : These findings have value for Paralympic sponsors and the International Paralympic Committee to maximize sponsorship activation through Instagram by using this social media platform in a strategic manner and combing commerical and social objectives.Research Contribution These findings add to the literature by following a mixed-method approach to examine sponsorship activation strategies and Paralympic sponsorships.