There have been many examples of ambush marketing at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
One which nearly got through the Olympic Police's radar was from British mint brand "Polo" who light-heartedly offered Tube commuters a Fresh Air Snorkel so they could circumvent the unpleasantries associated with foul air.
Arguably the best is however comes from a brand of headphones licensed to rapper and produce Dr Dre.
Dre, not an official sponsor of the International Olympic Committee or London 2012, sampled members of Team Great Britain with his cooler than cool headphones, knowing that many athletes like to listen to music during their warm up and mental preparation phase.
Beats headphones have been almost ubiquitous in the Aquatics Centre with swimmers including Michael Phelps using them to block background noise before races. More in the Guardian here
According to research company Brand Finance, the Olympics brand is valued at $47.6B with an 87% increase since the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games when it was valued at $25.4B. It is the second most-valuable brand in the world, beaten only by Apple at $70.6B. Furthermore, the Olympics brand is worth more than all of its sponsors including Samsung, GE and Coca-Cola. The Olympics is the most valuable brand of Greek origin and worth 134 times more than the National Bank of Greece, which is worth just $354M. The IOC has running costs of less than 10% of revenue leaving $4.6B for distribution and investment in sport worldwide. To calculate the brand value, Brand Finance valued everything operating under the Olympics brand using the IOC's financial statements (Brand Finance). - Cited in Sports Business Global.
Nike, not an official sponsor of London 2012, launched this ambush piece a few days before the launch of the games last Friday. The theme is "Find your Greatness" and the ad spotlights athletes that, completely coincidentally, happen to be finding their greatness in towns and cities called London (London Ontario, London, Ohio, etc). It's trademark Nike stuff and I love it.
Here's a particularly cool idea from Olympic Games sponsor EDF energy - the U.K. power company who will illuminate the London Eye during the Olympic Games and Paralympics with a light show made from Games-related tweets. The "Energy of the Nation" initiative will measure the nation’s mood using data from 10 million U.K. Twitter users. The results will be used to put on a "low carbon" light show each night at 9pm. In short, the London Eye will be the ultimate barometer as to how much people in the Twittersphere are enjoying the games.
Is being an Olympic Sponsor worth it? Ace Metrix, the only company scoring every nationally airing US Olympic ad leading up to and during the games, would say it is.
Says Peter Daboll, CEO of Ace Metrix - (quote in Brand Channel)
“The Olympics are a significant investment for any sponsor, and understanding the effectiveness of that sponsorship is critical in the era of marketing accountability," he added. "We are particularly interested in the data regarding the vital emotional elements associated with the Olympics. Understanding how the emotion of such a global event relates to the rational consumer processing that accompanies the vast majority of advertising will be fascinating."
Here is the Ace Metrix "Top 10" Ranked by score:
1. Proctor and Gamble - Best Job in the World
2. Sega - Mario and Sonic
3. Coca-Cola - "Rebuild"
4. TD Ameritrade - Jonathan Horton
5. Coke - Olympic Games Memories - Shawn Johnson
6. P&G Best Job - 30' cut-down
7. Visa - The difference
10. P&G Bounty - Spills
Here's a synopsis of Ace Metrix headline findings:
Being an official sponsor matters. Olympic Sponsor ads are more effective than those advertisers who have Olympic athletes but are not actually sponsors (sometimes called “borrowed equity”).
While many ads were produced months ago, weaving in ‘as it happens’ performances by the athletes amplifies a lasting impression.
Olympic sponsor P&G has the highest scoring ads to date mainly generated from the "Best Job" film at the center of its London 2012 “Thank You Mom” campaign, landing in the top 3% of all ads Ace Metrix surveyed for its ability to emotionally move its audience.
Sega is leading the non-sponsor list with two high-scoring ads promoting their London 2012 video games.
TD Ameritrade is a surprise contender with a sponsorship ad featuring Olympian Jonathan Horton that scored 27% above the Financial category norm.
Visa’s 100% emotional appeal is powerful, delivering scores that are 50 to 70% higher than the average ad and among the top of the Olympics ads measured to date.
How do you go about advertising your status as "official laboratory partner" of the London Olympic Games? That's the unusual status of Glaxo Smithkline, the guys who do urine sampling and check for doping. It's a vital and much publicized side to the games. Check out this ad from GSK. I think they've done a great job:
Proctor and Gamble has unveiled it's sequel to the brilliant "Best Job" TV ad. The ad is entitled “Kids” and was launched simultaneously around the world this morning. As with most sequels, it falls well shy of the mark set by its predecessor.
According to Marc Pritchard of P&G, the insight behind the ad is that in the eyes of their mothers, olympians will always be kids.
"This insight serves as the inspiration behind our “Kids” spot, which we’re proud to unveil today, as the world is turning its attention to the athletes of London 2012"
The ad's release, according to Marc Pritchard of P&G was timed to coincide with the opening of the Olympic Village - and the two week countdown mark to the games themselves.
"The teams have all been chosen and, with just two weeks to go until the London 2012 Games, ten thousand athletes around the world are gearing up for the biggest competitions of their lives. The years of training and dedication will end in triumph for the best of the best."
The “Best Job” film and the “Raising an Olympian” series have already collected 19.5 million views since P&G launched the Thank you, Mum campaign globally in April.
In addition to the Ad, P&G also launched the “‘Thank you, Mum’ app” that allows people to thank their own mums by uploading personalized content in the form of a video, still image with caption or text-based message. Users will then be able to encourage friends and family to do the same, spreading the word to thank and celebrate mums.
Here's a video entitled "Raising an Olympian" - one in a series of documentary style clips showcasing Olympians from the point of view of their mothers
As part of its support of the British Olympic Team, BA has painted a huge image of British Olympic heptathlete Jessica Ennis under the Heathrow flight path to remind overseas athletes of Team GB's home advantage.
The giant image of Ennis, the size of 15 tennis courts, includes the words "welcome to our turf" and aims to spark a Twitter buzz via a #homeadvantage hashtag.
According to Luisa Fernandez, British Airways sponsorship manager: "Whether you're a Brit coming home, or an athlete arriving in for the London 2012 Games, this celebratory message reminds us all of the power of the home crowd and how important it is to get behind Team GB and ParalympicsGB."
British Airways claims to have supported over 1,500 UK Sport athletes and their families from 28 Olympic and 20 Paralympic sports with flights to train and compete abroad.
BA will also be hosting a major Olympic Venue in Wimbledon called "Park Live", designed to accommodate up to 10 000 visitors. It will feature giant screens showing the live action, as well as a British Airways stage for interviews with athletes.
In a bid to create a one stop shop for Olympics fans, facebook has created its Olympic hub - the definitive landing page for links to athletes, teams and sports. According to MashableFacebook’s embrace of the Olympics comes as the social network increasingly tries to position itself as a forum for news and access to celebs a la Twitter. Facebook, which had been known mostly for peer-to-peer networking, began the new focus with the launch of the Subscribe button last September.
This is definitely a new opportunity which should be looked at seriously. Access the hub here
Heineken is adding the finishing touches to an ultimate attraction of London 2012. Officially, it will be the home of the Netherlands National Olympic Committee (NOC) during the Games. It will be double the size of any of its previous Olympic locations and is anticipated to attract 108,000 visitors between the 26 July and 12 August.
Steve Richards of Econsultancy has compiled an excellent analysis on the Olympic social strategies surrounding the London 2012 Olympics.
Needless to say, Nike has stolen a march on Adidas even though it is not an official sponsor - though it does have a roster of athletes and still sponsors certain national teams. Also undeniable is the inevitability of the collision course - Paul Kelso of the London Telegraph describes relations between the two brands as "more frosty than usual".
"At the heart of the dispute is Adidas’s position as an official London 2012 sponsor, and the issue of athletes who are sponsored year-round by one brand appearing at the Games in kit sponsored by its rival" says Kelso.
So, for example, in the US Nike is official kit supplier to the US Olympic team even though it features many Adidas, Reebok and Puma athletes. While this might be a cause of conflict between brands, one can only imagine the confusion it creates with the fans! It may get particularly messy when an athlete (sponsored by a particular brand) - has to wear a competing brand on the rostrum should s/he win a medal.
But back to the social standings of each brand. According to Richards, Nike is outgunning Adidas on daily mentions by about 3 to 1. Further, there is generally a more positive sentiment attached to Nike discussions than to Adidas ones. What is most eyeopening however is that Nike conversation is crystallising around fewer more compelling themes while conversation on Adidas is fragmenting somewhat. It seems the old maxim holds as much for Social Media as it does for anything else - less is more
Conversations compared: Nike
Conversations compared: Adidas
Here's an example of Nike's #makeitcount guerrilla campaign: it plays beautifully into Twitter's hashtag culture which probably accounts for much of its success.
Visa - a 25 year veteran of Olympic sponsorship believes its new campaign for the London Olympics is "social by design"
"We threw down the gauntlet at an all-hands marketing meeting early on, that we will make this the most social games for us and for any other sponsor so far," said Kevin Burke, global CMO for core products.
The central idea for the 2012 campaign is "Cheer" because naturally, a lot of cheering goes on at a sporting spectacle like the Olympics. But apart from the cheering in the real world, Visa wants tow own the cheering of fans in social-media channels. According to the 60 Olympic athletes who make up Team Visa, encouragement from fans on Twitter and Facebook makes a big difference. Kerri Walsh, a 2004 and 2008 gold medalist in beach volleyball, said that when she's having a particularly tough training day, she turns to her social network for "inspiration and energy."
And so to the ad featuring actor Morgan Freeman and the iconic gold tinge which sets the ad apart from the herd. "When we come together to cheer, as one, we know what happens. ... Join our global cheer."
As part of the online cheer effort, fans have been asked to upload a text, photo or video cheer they've created for the athletes. Visa's Facebook page will serve as the global hub of the collection of consumer-submitted cheers and athletes' responses, as well as behind-the-scenes videos of the athletes' stories and training. Fans can also submit "one-click cheers" online or via mobile on social media including YouTube or through partner sites such as Yahoo and Sports Illustrated. Over the next several months, Team Visa athletes will also reach out to their social networks as de facto Visa cheer ambassadors with stories of how encouragement from fans helps them.
Visa will measure the success of the campaign using several traditional gauges like business metrics such as transactions, card activations and usage; brand-equity measures such as awareness and perception; as well as the satisfaction of clients such as its merchants and banks. Social engagement is the fourth measure, and particularly important in this campaign. Visa will measure likes, video views, uploads of cheers and shares to gauge success.
It will be interesting to see how this "audience-first approach' will work. For more information, click here
Did you know that you can only buy Olympic tickets with a Visa credit card? This amazing coup for the brand is a little known fact simply because the brand doesn't shout about it. You'd think more would be made of it!
According to iSportConnect, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that it will provide live coverage of the London Olympics to 64 countries in Asia and Africa, on YouTube.
The coverage is aimed at countries where digital broadcast rights have not been sold by the IOC.
The free coverage - said to be more than 2000 hours of airtime - will include live sports events and highlights and can be accessed online or on smartphones and devices.
The countries include Afghanistan, Pakistan, Thailand and Singapore in Asia, and Angola, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia and Zambia in Africa.
As Olympic traditions go, you'd be hard pressed to find a more revered one than the Torch Relay from Olympia in Greece to the host country itself. The flame arrived in the UK on May 18 after a journey through more than 130 countries and for the next 3 months will be making an 8000 mile through the British Isles before settling at the opening ceremony on 27 July 2012. Samsung as one of the three official partners of the Olympic Flame has developed the "Go Flame" app to extend the experience of the Olympic relay to a broader audience.
Another of the three relay sponsors is Lloyds TSB. Check out what they're up to in the film below:
Much is being said and written about how London 2012 is set to become the world's first Social Olympics. Indeed, there are some fascinating developments taking place which I am hoping to track as we move into the last 100 days before the commencent of the summer Olympics.
Mashable reports that when the last Summer Olympics began in 2008, Facebook had just 100 million users. When the 2012 Games kick off in London this summer, it will have 845 million members. Twitter had 6 million users in 2008; today the network is more than 20 times larger, at 140 million users.
Forbes reports on an intriguing Facebook initiative from Samsung ominously named "The Genome Project". It's not as bad as it sounds though! In an attempt to help rally American's behind Team USA, Samsung is asking fans "How Olympic are you?"
Very simply (and providing you authorise it to) - Samsung will be accessing your personal details and, by means of a new app, demonstrating the 6 degrees of separation (and hopefully less) between you and a member of Team USA.
Said Samsung's Global CMO:
“We call it the genome project because it looks at your social graph and pulls in and makes connections for you that you may not have otherwise known. For example, you may not know that there’s a skier from your home town that is an Olympic athlete or somebody who competed in a different sport that went to the same college as you. We’re making these kind of connections through the genome project. We believe everyone has a connection to Team USA. The U.S. Olympic Genome Project will help consumers discover how they’re connected to these athletes. As we approach London 2012, we hope to fuel a sense of connection and passion for the Olympic Games among consumers, especially as they get to know the Olympians and Paralympians through this innovative social media platform?
It's all a great idea - until it goes wrong. Marketing Magazine reports that some 13 Olympians - including legends such as diver Greg Louganis, track star Jackie Joyner Kersee and swimmer Mark Spitz are suing Samsung for alleged misuse of their names and images.
Meanwhile, Mashable reports that the IOC has launched an online athletes’ headquarters designed to serve as a social media platform enhancing the digital connection between fans and competitors.
The Olympic Athletes’ Hub aggregates the verified social media feeds of more than 1,000 current and former Olympians. Besides communication with athletes, users will be able to access exclusive training-tips videos and gain virtual and real-world prizes according to how many athletes they like and follow online. According to IOC Social Media Director Alex Huot:
“The Olympic Games have at its heart the athletes,” he says. “The hub also has the athletes at its heart. We want the hub to be a platform which can inspire athletes and fans to share the Olympic values of friendship, respect and excellence through their everyday stories.”
Each Olympian receives a dashboard which aggregates all of his/her social profiles as well as a review of past achievements.
There's a highly informative infographic here on Mashable here which maps out the impact which Social Media is set to have on the 2012 Olympic Games
HOLY COW! When it comes to tugging at the heartstrings, it doesn't get much better than P&G's anthemic ad for London 2012. "The Hardest Job in the World" - is not being an Olympian but being the mother behind the athlete.
This two minute short film will run virally on P&G's Facebook page with shorter versions to air in May. As AdAge pointed out, "The marketer calls itself 'Proud Sponsor of Moms,' but it could also be very easily dubbed 'Proud Sponsor of Tears,' given its continuing, highly emotional maneuvers for the 'Thank You, Mom' campaign"
The message and insight are crystal clear: “Moms carry us for nine months and then keep on carrying us. Through countless sacrifices they are loving nurturers and selfless providers and motivators as well as chauffeurs and doers of laundry and dishes. Our campaign celebrates the role of moms all over the world.” - Brandchannel
The campaign has been developed in the UK to celebrate the 100 Days To Go milestone. P&G has created a series of eight documentary-style short films (narrated by comedian Dawn French) titled "Raising an Olympian," which tells the stories of Team Great Britain athletes — including Sir Chris Hoy, Jessica Ennis, Victoria Pendleton and Paula Radcliffe — through the eyes of their mothers. Check out their stories below.
The age of the Citizen Journalist has not gone un-noticed by big marketers. Recently, we saw how Bud Light was using selected fans to blog live from Indianapolis for the Super Bowl. A few months ago, we saw how Puma had done something similar to activate its part in the Volvo Ocean Race (in-port racing in Dubai). Well, Samsung is looking to bring alive it's "Everyone's Olympic Games" idea by joining the bandwagon!
Matthew Sampson from Marketing Magazine reports that the electronics giant has initiated a search for 100 bloggers from over 60 countries around the world to cover the Olympics using Samsung products. The goal is to make the brand more aspirational.
The selection process is pretty rigorous with at least two qualifying rounds and a much publicized judging process involving celebrity judges in each participating country.
Winners will not only blog in real time but produce a daily show across the entire Olympic Games period using Samsung products.
Ambassadors for the program include celeb chef and British national treasure Jamie Oliver, as well as David Beckham and royal Zara Phillips.
Samsung executives believe the Olympic activity will give Samsung the edge in its increasingly intense battle against Apple. Sunny Hwang, vice-president and head of global sports marketing at Samsung said: "We have better technology, better design and better products [than Apple] and we are the Olympic partner, not Apple - that’s a big difference." - (not sure what he was smoking!!)
The flagship device it seeks to promote, apart from its mobile phones, is the Samsung Galaxy note, a device specifically designed with bloggers in mind
I'm keeping a close eye on the Olympics as a few nice ideas on enhancing the fan experience are emerging. One I have particularly liked was the opening of the Olympic Stadium on March 14.
Throughout the course of the evening, the 40,000 strong-audience was narrowed down to one lucky winner who was brought into the middle of the Stadium to officially open the venue.
A few weeks later, athletics enthusiasts got the opportunity to experience the sharp end of the stadium when the National Lottery Olympic Run concluded in the stadium itself. More than 40 000 runners applied to run in the race though only 5000 lucky runners were lucky enough to participate.
The field had its quota of sporting figures and celebrities, including Alec Stewart the cricketer, champion javelin throwers Fatima Whitbread and Steve Backley, athlete Roger Black, Paralympian Danny Crates, model Katie Price and her son Harvey.
What "official" responsibilities can we hand over to fans?
It’s time to get a little closer to the Coke brand. Over the next few months, I plan to dig a
little deeper into this most formidable of marketing machines and assess some
of its leading edge approaches to marketing and partnerships in particular.
iSportConnect
reports that marketers at the cola giant are increasingly attributing revenue
increases to successes with sponsorship. Events, sources say, help the brand stay
relevant to consumers.In addition,
reports Media
Daily News, events are “DVR (PVR) proof” and can be easily buttressed with
360 degree campaigns.
There
are notable exceptions to this of course.
Some shows like the Super Bowl and American Idol are invariably watched
live and here the 30 second spot is still a viable communication tool. On the whole however, “30-second spots on
television (are) no longer the way to do it” said Coke’s CFO Gary Fayard at a
results presentation.
Two
of Coke’s main event motherlodes in 2012 are, naturally, the Olympic Games in
London and European Championship soccer.
According to Fayard, links to integrated campaigns using social and
digital media will be critical (as Coke did with Super Bowl ads this year) and
marketers will focus on providing compelling content to drive frictionless
sharing.
“Exhibit
A” in this ambition is a series of (quite literally) anthemic ads for Coke’s
Olympic campaign, unveiled at the Brit Awards in February as part of its “Move
to the Beat” campaign.
But these were no ordinary ads. They were born, first and foremost, out of a
highly aspirational event for teens featuring the musical genius of English DJ
phenom Mark Ronson and singer Katy B.
The event, which also featured a host of renowned Olympians from around
the world, was a fusion of great music, movement and technology which
participants were encouraged to share in as many ways they could using their
mobile devices. Footage was then used to
make the ads themselves.
Sanjay
Guha, marketing and Olympics director for Coca-Cola Northwest Europe and
Nordics, said: “We approached our London 2012 campaign in a bold new way in
order to create stories that teens would love and that they would want to
share.
This
is not the first time Coke has employed “sonic watermarking” to capture the
imagination of fans. In 2010, the
company took the musical high ground at the FIFA World Cup with K’Naan’s “Wave
your flag” – a track that will hereafter be associated with the event.
"The
number one passion point for teens is music," said Shay Drohan, Senior
Vice President of Sparkling Beverages at The Coca-Cola Company. "Through ‘Move
to the Beat’, Coca-Cola is inspiring teens around the world to move to the beat
of London and come together in the biggest Olympic Games activation in our
84-year partnership."
“This
wasn’t about shooting a television commercial. It was about inspiring teens to
move and capturing the story from multiple angles and viewpoints in order to
create pieces of film that could be spread across multiple media platforms.”
The ads are one part of an integrated marketing program
which also includes in-store displays, out of home advertising, experiential
programs, mobile and digital initiatives and builds on the brand’s “Open
Happiness” platform.
