Social media is dynamic, direct and cheap. That means it has “opened up new, cost-effective ways for brands to benefit from sport,” says Hannah Elderfield, consumer behavioural analyst at Canvas8.

“Athletes and teams are able to share moments well beyond the capabilities of traditional media. For food and drink brands, this provides exciting opportunities to connect with consumers in ways that feel real and organic. It’s no longer just about what happens on the field of play, but also the training, the diet, the mental preparation, the downtime and everything else that goes along with elite athleticism. Brands have an important role to play here: the coverage of a sport is not just the domain of traditional broadcasters. Brands can take fans behind the scenes to great effect.”

By doing so they can also address one of the biggest challenges in advertising today - winning over cynical and sceptical youngsters. Some “52% of Generation Y are suspicious of influence marketing strategies, yet self-managed social accounts that directly connect stars to fans help overcome these concerns and are becoming extremely powerful channels,” she says. And “when it comes to spontaneity, the ‘Stories’ featuring on social media have had a huge impact. Instagram, which now has 800 million monthly active users (250 million of which are Stories users), is the clear front-runner. The fleeting nature of Stories enables sports stars to be even more spontaneous and there’s an immediacy to the channel that aligns with consumers’ deep demand for authenticity.”

She also says a startling three in every five consumers regularly takes a social media post into account when choosing a product or service. And that means the “impermanence and behind-the-scenes nature of new digital channels not just presents many more opportunities, and more cost-effective opportunities, they also offer deeper connections than traditional media will ever have.”

One of the biggest deals struck between sport and food & drink retail in recent years has been Aldi’s sponsorship of the British Olympic Association, aka Team GB, which began in 2015 at a reported cost of £10m. Aldi extended the deal for another four years just before the Rio Olympics in 2016. And in 2017 it struck a four-year deal with Olympic triathlon medallists Alistair and Jonny Brownlee too.

Aldi has used the association to hang Union Jack branding all over stores and on its delivery trucks - reinforcing its use of British fresh produce suppliers. “The perception of Aldi providing fresh, affordable food increased from 54% pre-sponsorship, to 72% during the games, and currently stands at 67%,” says Adam Zavalis, Aldi UK marketing director.

Indeed the partnership continues to benefit Aldi and health campaigners. As well as using athletes to promote its food, Aldi also “leverages our partnership with Team GB medallists to open new stores all over the country, which creates incredible buzz and excitement for both new customers and colleagues alike,” says Zavalis. “We’re proud of our relationship with Team GB and the positive impact it has had on our business. The partnership is an integral part of our brand and everyone at Aldi looks forward to celebrating more British success at Tokyo 2020.”

Quite apart from the value of the sponsorship to the performance of the Aldi business, “one of the most important aspects of the partnership” has been the success of the Get Set to Eat Fresh programme.

This joint venture between Aldi and the British Olympic Association “educates children on the importance of a balanced diet and teaches them how to cook healthy food for themselves via an engaging and inspiring programme. Get Set is brought to life by Team GB athletes [and especially the Brownlees], who inspire youngsters to eat healthily. So far we’ve reached over 500,000 young people and we have an ambitious target to reach more than 1.2 million children by 2020 and positively influence the eating habits of three out of four of those who become involved.”