Alibaba CMO Chris TungBen Fischer
Most sponsors would sooner run into the ocean than publicly discuss problems in the Olympics, but Alibaba’s first showcase in the Gangneung Olympic Park puts them center stage.
In a massive construction facing the long-track speedskating venue, the new global IOC sponsor is demonstrating technologies it says can fix the most consistently frustrating parts of the Games: traffic congestion, inefficient ticket distribution, pedestrian wayfinding and media production.
Having signed a 12-year deal with the IOC in the cloud services and e-commerce categories in January 2017, Alibaba is at the center of the IOC’s desire to standardize Games operations from year to year and leave less in the hands of the usually inexperienced local organizers.
“There must be a lot in common,” Alibaba CMO Chris Tung said. “The headaches, the pain points that can be fixed from one solution.”
The Alibaba showcase at Gangneung Olympic ParkBen Fischer
As the IOC’s first cloud services category holder, Alibaba says it will unveil a “Smart Pass” app in time for the 2022 Beijing Games that will steer Olympic guests to events with available seating in real time, and also guide them to cultural experiences based on their stated interests.
This could be a game-changer for the Summer Olympics in particular; both the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Games suffered from poorly attended events despite purported fan interest. Most observers blamed complex distribution rules and the reliance on paper tickets. Solving that “can maximize both revenue and the experience of the visitor,” Tung said.
A display of Alibaba’s planned “Smart Pass” app that will help Olympic visitors with tickets and planning.Ben Fischer
Tung also highlighted its “City Brain” cloud platform for cities, which uses advanced data analytics to maximize traffic efficiency and help drivers find the fastest routes. “This could be excellent for the L.A. Games in ’28,” Tung said.
Other products to improve the Olympics on display are a prototype of a media images library that would help Olympic reporters develop video packages more quickly, and a “virtual changing room” for merchandise sales that would enable e-commerce live at the Games — solving another problem of long lines at official Olympic stores.
