Blog
Brands Are Using Social Media to Win Gold During the London Olympics
Posted on August 9th, 2012 by The PointBurst Team
We are about halfway through the London 2012 Olympics and the Games have indeed lived up to their billing as the first Social Olympics. Fans, Olympians, and brands have been taking to social media networks in droves to share thoughts, offer support and congratulations to athletes, comment on the latest happenings, and yes, enjoy some pretty cool advertising campaigns.
Brands (both official sponsors and not) have been capitalizing on the opportunity to reach the large Olympic viewing audience by coming up with creative campaigns and incorporating social media elements whenever possible. The best marketing strategy is a fully integrated one that carries your message across both traditional channels (print, TV, outdoor, email…) and social media channels (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter…). Social media marketing has been a win –win for both brands and customers. Social media has forced brands to up the creative factor of their campaigns and has allowed a more personalized approach as customers are now able to actually engage with brands, sponsored athletes, etc. and actually feel like they are part of something. This engagement fosters a sense of affinity and leads customers closer to a sale.
There has been no shortage of cool integrated marketing campaigns during this Olympics, and here are a few that have caught our attention and are moving their brands closer to the medal stand.
P&G
- As stated in an earlier post, P&G launched their largest ever multi-brand campaign to coincide with their official sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympics. They recently vowed to cut costs by focusing more on digital marketing and less on broadcast, and social media marketing has been a big part of their strategy. Their “Thanks Mom” campaign has been all over TV, Facebook, and YouTube. The Facebook pages for Cover Girl, Pantene, Olay, Crest and the other CPG firm’s brands have been changed to show Olympic-themed images. P&G is taking it global as well, and has likewise changed their international pages (page for Latinos, etc.) to reflect the Olympic spirit. Their Olympic campaign push on Twitter has included Twitter’s new promoted tweets highlighting their sponsorship of U.S. swimmer Natalie Coughlin and their Pantene brand. The promoted tweet leads you to a YouTube video for Pantene featuring the athlete. But not to stop there, P&G sponsored the E! channel’s dedicated online and iPad video coverage of the London Olympics, and has featured promotions there that take you again to their Facebook pages. A truly integrated marketing campaign!
Visa
- In the largest push in their 25-year history as an official Olympic sponsor, Visa launched a “Go World” campaign strategy that incorporates social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube along with digital advertising and TV. Their “The Difference” ads urge people to submit a supportive cheer for Olympic and Paralympic athletes in the form of a click, post, photo or video and get into the Olympic spirit. The Visa campaign was named one the 12 best Olympic campaigns by Fastcocreate.com (view their full list here).
Coca – Cola
- With their “Move to the Beat” campaign, Coca-Cola is targeting teens and trying to tap into their love of music and tie it into a love of sport, and their brand. They hired musicians to create songs for five different Olympic sports. Created a documentary following popular musician Mark Ronson across 5 continents as he met with and interviewed 5 different Olympic athletes. And topped it all off by creating a Facebook app, Track the Beat, that let them connect with the campaign (and brand), listen to the music and share it with their friends. The video is racking up a huge number of views on YouTube (989,898 and counting)!
British Airways_this one deserves mention for originality alone!
- In one of the most unique social media campaigns that we have seen for this Olympics, British Airways is turning Olympic tweets into digital music. The “Hear the sound of the #HomeAdvantage” campaign brings to life the mood of the nation by measuring how British supporters are responding to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on Twitter. They created a barometer that turns tweets into a sound wave that changes based on the number of people commenting on specific athletes, events, and venues. As social media buzz around British Olympic athletes heightens, the digital symphony rises to a crescendo, while less buzz creates calmer sounds. Pretty darn cool!
And the list goes on….
These are just a few of the wonderful campaigns that have been integrating social media into their Olympic strategies. London 2012 really has been the Social Olympics!
Do you have a favorite campaign so far? Let us know!
@thepointburst #SocialOlympics
