Sponsorship of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 on X and Instagram: A comparative analysis of digital activation and content type

Guillermo Sanahuja Peris; Emilio Fernández Peña; Magdalena Mut Camacho

doi:10.4185/rlcs-2025-2355

Autores/as

Guillermo Sanahuja Peris Universitat Jaume I de Castellón https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5582-3395
Emilio Fernández Peña Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0534-6663
Magdalena Mut Camacho Universitat Jaume I de Castellón https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1456-8567

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4185/rlcs-2025-2355

Palabras clave:

social media, sponsorship, activation, Twitter, Instagram, Olympic Games

Resumen

Introduction: The aim of this study was to perform a comparative analysis of the activation of sponsorship of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 on social media. Methodology: A mixed-method study design was conceived, combining an analysis of the quantitative and qualitative content of posts on the global and Spanish X and Instagram accounts of 16 sponsors. These were International Olympic Committee and Spanish Olympic Committee sponsors, as well as official FIFA World Cup 2022 sponsors. Results: After analysing a sample of 4,791 posts, the results revealed interesting findings regarding the volume of posts about these two mega-events on the one hand, and the thematic types of post on the other. In general terms, it was concluded that the Olympic sponsors had devoted efforts to promoting their links with the Olympic Games, while the FIFA World Cup sponsors had generated a higher number of posts. At the same time, it was found that cross-pollination had only been partially used in the brands’ stories: some did not interconnect their global and national communication strategies, and the brands’ stories on X and Instagram did not match. Conclusions: The most common themes of the activation of both sponsorships were informing and interacting, which stood out much more than other types such as entertaining or rewarding.

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Biografía del autor/a

Guillermo Sanahuja Peris, Universitat Jaume I de Castellón

Guillermo Sanahuja Peris es Doctor en Ciencias de la Comunicación, Licenciado en Publicidad y RRPP por la Universidad de Alicante, Máster en Dirección de Marketing y Comunicación por la escuela de negocios Ide-Cesem y Máster en nuevos procesos e innovación en comunicación por la Universitat Jaume I. Actualmente trabaja como profesor del Departamento de Ciencias de la Comunicación y Director de la Escola de Formació Esportiva (ESFE) de la Universitat Jaume I (España).
Anteriormente trabajó como consultor de comunicación estratégica (2012-2018) y como director de marketing y comunicación en el CD Castellón S.A.D. (2003-2010), colaborando con marcas locales, regionales y nacionales. En 2012 defendió su tesis doctoral estudiando comunicación y marketing corporativo en clubes deportivos profesionales de España. Ha impartido docencia en másteres relacionados con la comunicación corporativa, el marketing deportivo y la gestión deportiva en la Universitat Politécnica de València, la Universidad Europea y ESIC. Sus líneas de investigación se centran en la comunicación estratégica y el marketing deportivo. Ha publicado varios artículos, capítulos de libros, monografías y ponencias en congresos. Es miembro del grupo de investigación “Engagement and Communication” (ENCOM) y es miembro de asociaciones profesionales como Ad Comunica, Colegio de Publicitarios de la Comunidad Valenciana y Dircom y Asociación Internacional para la Comunicación y el Deporte.

Emilio Fernández Peña, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Emilio Fernández Peña es profesor de Comunicación de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) y director de su Centro de Estudios Olímpicos desde diciembre de 2009. Es director fundador del Instituto de Investigación del Deporte de la UAB, que reúne a 40 investigadores senior de 12 departamentos diferentes. Este Instituto analiza el deporte con un fuerte enfoque multidisciplinar e interdisciplinar. Emilio es doctor en Comunicación por la Universidad del País Vasco con Premio Sobresaliente (2001). Es el creador y docente del curso masivo en línea (MOOC) Los Juegos Olímpicos y los Medios que se lanzó en 2014 en Coursera y ha tenido más de 8.000 estudiantes matriculados desde su creación. El Dr. Fernández Peña ha sido el impulsor y diseñador principal del nuevo grado en Comunicación Interactiva de la UAB.

Magdalena Mut Camacho, Universitat Jaume I de Castellón

Es profesora del Departamento de Ciencias de la Comunicación. Actualmente es vicedecana del grado en Publicidad y Relaciones Públicas de la Universidad Jaume I (España)
Es doctora en Comunicación Empresarial. Sus aportaciones científicas más destacadas en los últimos años han sido los resultados obtenidos en la investigación sobre los profesionales responsables de la comunicación en corporaciones e instituciones, en mayores conocimientos en la gestión de valores intangibles y también en la comunicación corporativa. Además de abordar la línea de investigación sobre profesionales de la comunicación (DirCom) a través de artículos en revistas científicas, también trabajó como IP en un proyecto de investigación con la Asociación Dircom que dio lugar a la publicación de una Guía de Comunicación. Esta fue la primera publicación que definió el perfil del profesional de la comunicación.

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