The mastermind behind Tokyo's 2020 bid "winning strategy" reveals the presentation that conquered the world.

Nick Barley, CEO of UK-based international sports consultancy Seven 46 and a key figure behind the scenes of the successful final presentation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games bid, visited Dentsu Inc. in November 2013. Invited by Dentsu Inc. Media Network, which operates media and digital businesses across 13 Asian countries and regions, he delivered a lecture titled "Game Changing Strategy" at the "DREAM Meeting" hosted by the network to share the latest information. What was the secret strategy Mr. Barrie revealed for "turning crisis into opportunity"?

Nick Vare

Co-founder and CEO, Seven46
After a career as a journalist, including as a sports reporter for The Guardian, he founded the international sports consultancy Seven46 in 2006. He successfully led the bid campaigns for the 2012 London, 2016 Rio de Janeiro, and 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, achieving three consecutive victories. He served as the top strategic communications advisor for Tokyo's bid campaign.

Seven46, where Mr. Barley serves as CEO, is an international sports consulting firm based in London. The company name originates from the moment on July 5, 2005, at 7:46 PM, when "London" was announced as the host city for the 2012 Olympics. The firm specializes in bidding campaigns for major international sporting events, achieving success in 9 out of 12 campaigns it has handled, including the Olympic "hat trick" of London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016, and Tokyo 2020.
Founded by journalist-turned-consultant Mr. Jarvis, the company's mission is "to tell people stories." It extracts the core message clients wish to convey and empowers its expression. Emphasizing the power of the "three-point rule" in presentations, he identifies three essential elements for storytelling on the international stage: "impact," "simplicity," and "deep understanding."
The final Olympic bid presentation is a 45-minute "world's biggest pitch" attended by leaders of candidate nations. The audience consists of about 100 International Olympic Committee (IOC) members from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The final presentation is a team effort uniting the candidate city and its supporters, with Seven46 serving as the "executive producer" responsible for writing the script and determining the "casting" and flow. In this lecture, Mr. Vallee shared seven tips for winning presentations. He emphasized that implementing all seven isn't essential; rather, the key is understanding how to use the necessary ones when needed, much like a set of golf clubs.

1. Do the Math
Aim for scientific effectiveness

Bring structure and coherence to your presentation using scientific methods. The "Rule of Three," used by great orators since ancient times, is based on research showing humans remember points better in odd numbers. "Sabermetrics" – statistical analysis for player evaluation and strategy in baseball – can also be applied to presentations. Repeating key points and speaking speed can also be scientifically analyzed for effectiveness.

2. Know Your Audience
Know Your Audience

Even if the audience's age, gender composition, and occupations vary, grasp the common concerns and collective mindset shared by the entire group. What challenges do they face as a group? What are they talking about? What will be the "selling point"? The presenter should state their opinion on the problem and propose a solution. During the London Olympic bid, the IOC was concerned about young people losing interest in sports. Viewership for NBC's Olympic programming, crucial for funding, was declining, and the audience was aging. Therefore, the final presentation focused on encouraging sports among the younger generation, looking ahead to the future of the "Olympic brand."

3. Make an Impact
Make an Impact

In presentations, impact can be created through various elements: the words spoken, the attributes and personality of the speakers, and the order of speakers. Fewer words often create stronger impact. It's wiser to use fewer words effectively than to string together many. For Tokyo's final bid presentation, they chose Paralympic women's track and field athlete Mana Sato as the opening speaker. This defied the audience's expectation that a "senior male" would lead the Japanese presentation, instantly captivating them with its unexpectedness and freshness.

4. Keep Making an Impact
Keep Making an Impact

Following Sato, the presentation introduced another element of surprise by screening a short video. Images evoking the disaster-stricken areas of the Great East Japan Earthquake appeared, showing a Japanese boy practicing basketball shots by the water's edge interacting with foreign athletes passing by on a bus. This video itself was not self-contained; it served as foreshadowing leading to another video shown at the presentation's conclusion.
A good presentation is likened to a "sine wave" where highlights arrive smoothly at regular intervals. Impact is delivered at set points—the beginning, middle, and end—with gentle cool-downs connecting them. Maintaining a consistent pace to deliver impact throughout the entire presentation is crucial.

5 Be Visual
Appeal to the Visual Sense

Images stick in human memory. "A picture is worth a thousand words" is true. Steve Jobs' presentations, which showed "one idea per slide," are a prime example. During Rio de Janeiro's Olympic bid campaign, he used a single map to instantly show that while the Olympics had been held 30 times in Europe, they had never been held on the South American continent.

6 Be Visionary
Show Your Vision

Clearly present your vision, selling points, and arguments for why you offer the best solution, and stick to them. Tokyo's bid campaign used the slogan "Discover Tomorrow – Grasp the Future" to present its vision: "Spreading dreams, hope, and the power of sports from Tokyo to the world." The video shown before the final speech served as the conclusion to the opening video. It conveyed the beauty of sports transcending generations and borders, featuring a Japanese boy who grew up to be a basketball player meeting a young African-American boy practicing shots, just as he once did.

7 Be an Actor
Become an Actor

Presenters must act. At the final Tokyo presentation, Olympic silver medalist fencer Yuki Ota delivered a brilliant performance. He naturally incorporated the chest-touching pose featured in the bid video into his speech, making it his own. Athletes excel as presenters because they understand that good performances require practice. As legendary American football coach Vince Lombardi said, "The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary." Improvement through repeated practice is essential for delivering a good presentation.

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In a post-speech interview, he addressed "the challenges Asian countries face in bidding for international events," citing the need to overcome "language barriers" and "preconceived notions." He explained that in presentations, the element of "surprise" that subverts preconceptions about Asian countries can be a powerful weapon to transform audience perceptions and atmosphere. Regarding the strengths of Japanese companies in the global market, he cited "innovation," "relentless improvement efforts," and "remarkable diligence." He added, "It is necessary to align thinking and behavior with international standards. Finding the right balance between what is Japanese and what is not is crucial."
Finally, addressing Japan after winning the Olympic bid, he urged, "The next seven years will be a tremendous opportunity. Hosting the Olympics in your own country is a once-in-a-lifetime event. I hope you will make the most of this golden opportunity."