By Arushi Jacob
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With the LA28 Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games two years away, technology is shaping the way LA28 will be delivered to fans across the globe. Alex Merchan, Chief Marketing Officer at LA28, spoke to Deloitte’s Chief Data & AI Officer Michelle McGuire, at Variety’s Entertainment Marketing Summit presented by Deloitte about the Olympics’ marketing, use of L.A. and what the games mean to the American public. Merchan revealed he was initially unaware that his position at LA28 existed, but feels that his career experience of “curating customer journeys, understanding fan engagement when it was analog and then digital, and creating real-life experiences and activations for brands” helped prepare him for his role. When it comes to the 2028 Olympics, Merchan said: “We’re fortunate enough to have some lead time here and really look at those opportunities and see how we can build upon them…This city is built on innovation in so many ways, and such a rich city, people forget [in] the pecking order of things that L.A. has to offer, that’s one of them.” Merchan also said that the planning committee would use L.A.’s extensive billboards around the city, along with activation elements at local professional sporting events, referring to the rollout as “L.A. in full bloom.” “We have set the very ambitious goal of being the most technology-advanced games ever delivered,” said Merchan, who cited Deloitte, Omega and Google as key partners helping with the technological side of operations. He added, “Partners like NBC Universal are critical in terms of curating and developing a very unique and immersive way of taking in the games, whether you want to do so from your couch, your device, or streaming broadcast.” Wrapping up the conversation, Merchan said, “The idea that after three decades, it comes back to American soil, I think, will be an exciting thing. There’s a whole generation out there, for different reasons, that have not experienced the games.” “The idea that it’s in our time zone, in our backyard, in the U.S., at least if you’re living on the East Coast; the excitement that it’s real will only elevate the importance of this being not just the world’s biggest sporting event, but the idea that being in Los Angeles, we’ve got so much richness to share.”
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