Sponsorship experts said that Team GB Paralympians Jonnie Peacock, David Weir and others now "have mainstream appeal and will attract similar size sponsorship deals to Olympians, but the stars will need to cash in now," according to John Reynolds of MARKETING MAGAZINE. The exploits from the likes of Peacock, Weir, Hannah Cockroft and Ellie Simmons "have made the star Paralympians household names in the past few days." Paralympic sponsor BT is also a sponsor of some of the individual athletes such as Peacock and Cockcroft, while GlaxoSmithKline-owned Lucozade sponsors Weir, who also works with BMW, which is "currently running a TV ad with the star." Fastrack Head of PR Steve Chisholm, who works with BT as a client "believes the athletes now have mainstream appeal, boasting the same level of appeal as Olympians." Chisholm said, "Mainstream consumer brands will now be targeting these athletes. The level of interest in the Paralympics means that this is a huge cross over moment for the athletes." However, one concern, highlighted by Chisholm and other experts, is that, unlike Olympics, "there are very few events following on" fromm the London Paralympics. Chisholm said, "The main challenge is to continue the profile in four year cycles" (MARKETINGMAGAZINE.co.uk, 9/7).
