Grabbing Olympic Gold How the Olympics help brands

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Intro

The Olympics are well underway in London, and as we watch the competition on screen, we notice a slew of Olympic advertisements, sponsorships, and PR campaigns from companies looking to bolster their brands. Let’s explore what makes the Olympics such a powerful marketing tool and look at a few of the strategies companies use to leverage the Olympics to build equity.

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The Grand-daddy

of Events

It’s no surprise that some of the world's biggest and best brands make the Olympics a major part of their marketing focus every two to four years. It is truly a one-of-a-kind event. What are the 3 attributes that make the Olympics almost a sure-fire win for any marketing department?

Longevity Exclusivity

Invulnerability

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Longevity

The Olympic Games have been around for more than 100 years, reaching people’s hearts since 1896. Since the very first event in Athens, Greece, the Games have taken place 49 times in 24 different countries, including London 2012. And they are still relevant. Rules may change, but the Olympic essence remains consistent.

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Invulnerability

The rise of National Socialism in Germany (1936), Terrorism and bombings in Munich and Atlanta (1972, 1996), the boycotts of the 1980s, increasing commercialism (today) and a number of other mis-steps and accidents have marred individual Olympic events. No matter what kind of drama takes place, the Olympics themselves have always emerged unscathed from any scandal or mishap. The purity of the sport, the opportunity for humanity to come together, and the inspiring stories of the athletes always trump negativity surrounding (or interrupting) the games.

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Exclusivity

The IOC ( I n te rna t iona l O lymp ic Committee) is notoriously protective of both the Olympics brand and the brands of its sponsors. On one hand, this can be seen as a knock against the Olympics — being overly aggressive in prosecuting potential infringers. On the other hand, brands benefit from a partner who will go out of their way to ensure that sponsorship money benefits both parties. Olympic events are still noticeably less commercial than other mega-events such as the NFL Super Bowl or the FIFA World Cup, greatly enhancing the credibility of sponsors who participate.

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Olympian

Values

The fact that the Olympics take place on the world stage makes them a

huge brand enhancer. However, global reach is only one dimension of

Olympic brand-boosting power. The rich tapestry of values which

come pre-packaged in the Olympics narrative are ready-made for brands

with compatible values.

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Olympian

Values Patriotism

Teamwork

Global Village Coming together

Melting pot

Global party We are all human

Dreams Peace Universalism

Care of the planet and environment

Equality

On the world stage

Dynamism Athleticism

Victory Physical fitness

Competition

Power

Perfection Authenticity

True-to-yourself

Personal challenge

Self awareness

Self discipline

Exactitude

Focus

INWARD

TO DOMINATE TO BELONG

OUTWARD

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7 Strategies

for grabbing Olympic Gold

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Go Green

Ethical and social expectations of Olympic sponsor companies is higher than non-sponsors. Sustainability and environmental stewardship also work hand-in-hand with the universalist values and ideals for which the Olympics stand. Going green has been a major theme of many recent Olympic games sponsorship campaigns.

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Go Green

Responding to Coca-Cola’s objective of p ro m o t i n g s u s t a i n a b i l i t y d u r i n g Vancouver Winter Games in 2010, the company sponsored 'green' corporate and public hospitality programs. For instance, use of 100% recyclable packaging, installation of energy efficient coolers and vending machines, use of hybrid vehicles, provision of bicycles for guests to get around, recycled uniform materials, and provision of one thousand four hundred recycling bins.

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Go Green

GE’s 2009 campaign focused on both ecology and the city of Beijing with d ra m a t i c v i s u a l s co nvey i n g t h e company’s push to solve numerous environmental challenges.

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Health

and wellness

With the world fighting an obesity epidemic, the 2012 Olympics have proven a key opportunity for brands to take a stand on the side of exercise, good nutrition, and fitness. It's no wonder that some of the event's sponsors, which normally find themselves on the wrong side of the obesity issue, are using their Olympics campaigns this year as platforms to promote (or create) fitness credentials for their brands.

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Health

and wellness

Coca Cola introduced the Move to the Beat campaign, in which a 5-pack of athletes from multiple discipl ines interacts with consumers, encouraging activity and exercise.

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Health

and wellness

  McDonalds is focusing on fighting childhood obesity with their Champions of Play campaign, which encourages exercise on the global, regional, and local levels and tracks the results online.

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Health

and wellness

GE is also getting in on the health and wellness trend, creating the Healthy Share application in which users can track healthy eating and fitness activities. The TV campaign focuses on products and innovations which keep people healthy, fit, or alive across the globe.

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Localizing

A one-size-fits all solution is not the only approach to branding the Olympics. Brands with a multinational footprint can capitalize on national pride and cultural motivations in individual countries or regions. Brands in a single country can lead the way cheerleading local athletes and teams or use the global stage to call attention to local causes.

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Localizing

As sponsor of the Beijing Olympics, McDonald’s built most of its global marketing campaign around the idea of people from all over the world coming together in a festival of sport. The company’s ads encouraged people to ‘Celebrate the Olympics with McDonald’s’. But within China, where pride in hosting the games ran high and feelings were particularly sensitive due to recent events, a different approach, focusing on Chinese successes, was selected.

Cheer for China, with its adjusted slogan , ‘I’m loving it when China wins’, was a very successful localized campaign.

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Goodwill

The games have always been an incomparable opportunity for brands to engage and associate themselves with c o m m u n i t i e s . C u l t u r a l e v e n t s , infrastructure (also a legacy after the games), education, welfare, and even public health efforts can be truly rewarding ways for a brand to interact with the public during the competition.

GE partnered with local authorities to revitalize the Robson Square ice-rink in Vancouver.

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Goodwill

The fate of venues after the competition is also a concern of host communities. Rotting and abandoned stadiums have become a painful reminder of the burden left after the cheering crowds have moved on. Companies which are able to privatize or at least subsidize these sites can potentially garner a great deal of long-term goodwill without needing to become ‘official’ sponsors of the games. Rather, they become integral parts of the community.

The Helsinki Tennis Palace and the ANZ Stadium are two venues in which private companies have attached themselves to Olympic venues.

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Socialympics

London 2012 is considered the first truly digital Olympics, with many opportunities for brands to connect through social media. Sochi 2014 will probably be even more so with the growth of the social media user-base. (Today, around 2 million people are connected to some kind of social media platform, against 100 thousand in Beijing). This huge and growing audience needs to be taken into account in any future Olympics.

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Socialympics

Already in 2008 in Beijing, Lenovo Pavilion visitors had the chance to see a n d t r y t h e b ra n d ’s i n n ova t i ve technologies. VIP guests were offered a hospitality suite including an Internet lounge, bar/food service, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Olympic Green. The experience led to visitors initiating a viral campaign disseminating the brands’ messages through texting, online sharing and word-of-mouth.

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Socialympics

For this 2012 Olympics, almost every m a j o r c a m p a i g n h a s a n o n l i n e component. Samsung’s campaigns actually center around the social connections between us. The Samsung Genome Project, hosted on Facebook and via a series of mobile apps, allows visitors to discover how ‘Olympic’ they are, by uncovering shared interests, traits, and connections to competing athletes.

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Ambushing

Many brands have decided that a potential scolding is a fair price to pay for the impact that their unsponsored association with the games will provide. In the past and in other events, ambushing tactics have included guerilla actions, use of sponsored athletes, and distribution of materials which are somewhat ambiguous about Olympic involvement.

Given the honor of appearing in the games, it is unlikely we will see individual athletes knowingly ambushing events in the same way that Brent Celek ambushed the NFL Playoffs in 2009 on behalf of Captain Morgan (shown above). However, we're already seeing a number of c o m p a n i e s d eve l o p i n g c re a t i ve workarounds to 'official' sponsorship restrictions.

Of course some witty sponsors will go out of their way to poke fun at the fact they are not sponsors.

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Ambushing

Among the big international brands, Nike has become a notorious Olympic ambusher, and 2012 is no exception. The Find Greatness Campaign focuses on greatness achieved in every city or township named London except the one where the Olympics is being held. Nike has also taken advantage of the fact that athletes are not required to use Adidas (official sponsor) footwear. Every pair of Nike shoes that appear in the games is an eye-catching neon yellow or green with an instantly recognizable non-Adidas logo.

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Ambushing

One word of warning that if your ambushing PR stunt does not fit with the overall vibe of the event itself, you will find yourself the target of huge backlash — as experienced by Krug champagne. In 2011, they ambushed the Burning Man festival for an invitation only champagne dinner, itself a clear violation of festival values against corporatism. This was exacerbated when the PR firm hosting the event didn't bother to clean up afterward.

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Limited Editions

One sure fire, affordable tool almost guaranteed to increase a sponsor’s bottom line is the limited edition pack or product. Limited Editions, depending on the campaign and design, satisfies many important criteria, including novelty, national pride, goodwill, collectability, and (with the socially responsible promotional tie-in) universalism. A great limited edition pack or product brings your full Olympic presence to life on supermarket shelves, allowing shoppers to take a small piece of your campaign home with them.

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Limited Editions

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Not every company has the massive resources required to leverage the Olympics on a global level. However, the biggest sponsors do represent the top trends and best-in-class case studies which any company can emulate. We hope that this quick overview has provided you with inspiration to consider if you do plan to use the Olympics to help build your brand. If you would like more information or ideas of how you can best utilize your own Olympics sponsorship, please don’t hesitate to contact Cocoon Group.

Conclusion

Thank you for your attention!

For more information, please contact: Cocoon Group Douglas Kaufman d.kaufman@cg-eu.com (+420) 222 998 598 www.cg-eu.com

© Cocoon Group 2012 All Rights Reserved

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