I love the Olympics. I will watch the different events like I actually understand the strategy and brilliance the athletes are displaying, keeping a running commentary that rivals the experts on TV much to the annoyance of anyone in the room with me. While the sports are the majority of this love affair, I always look forward to the marketing efforts taking place around the games. As the games recently ended I thought about what you could learn from the marketing efforts only seen during this international spectacle.
Each event requires a carefully tailored strategy that works with the nature of the event. The tone of the messaging should be on par with the sport: Will it be about speed and strength seen during bobsled (a BMW sponsored event), or a more emotional tale of a partnership displayed with ice dancing (my personal favorite)? You always expect to see the familiar spots that are inspirational and heartfelt as well as those spots that are unabashedly patriotic and make you feel the need to chant "USA" out loud. The audience is engaged in the sports, most brands tried to carry that engagement over to their commercials.
While the commercials are highly visible, it’s not always about what you see on TV. Many brands will sport the rings on their packaging hoping to inspire spontaneous purchases based on how consumers are feeling.
Don’t forget the many opportunities that take place on social media around the Olympics. The U.S. Skier Gus Kenworthy tweeted pictures of the #SochiStrays he planned to save and had multiple animal adoption agencies retweeting how you could save an animal too.
The main thing I noticed is that you should take advantage of every opportunity to engage your audience. There are multiple channels to use and how you do it is up to you.
