From the birth of the modern Olympics, the “Olympic Brand” is associated with three supreme values: excellence, respect and friendship. It is on these three pillars of the IOC, which has set a goal to improve the state of the world through sport and build the game for over a century.

Every four years, brands seize upon the Olympic Games to communicate the exclusive values of game through commercials and campaigns. The 2012 London Olympics were no exception. The world’s top brands launched their marketing campaigns across social media outlets to cheer on teams and celebrate the games.

It’s an opportunity you don’t want to miss as a brand.  Live (or semi-live, in this year’s case) sporting events are the biggest audience draws, concentrating millions of eyeballs and interactions over an extended period of time.  This is a global trend, and the Olympics provides a unique chance for brands to tap into a certain ethos associated with the Games.

“The Olympics brings in the largest, most diverse and captive audiences in all of sports,” says a Thismoment spokesperson.  “When else would you have access to Basketball, Swimming, Gymnastics, Soccer, and Volleyball enthusiasts from around the globe all in one place?  The ability to reach all of those individuals simultaneously is akin to stadium advertising vs going door to door.  You’re saving time, human and financial resources, and have better insight into the overall performance of those campaigns from a 30k ft view.”

Thismoment, the enterprise provider of social brand marketing, through the Distributed Engagement Channel (DEC) was one of the powerhouses working behind the scenes,  enabling these brands across various mobile and social media portals including Facebook, YouTube, brand sites, etc.

Coca-Cola Olympics

Coca-Cola has long been a partner of the Olympic Games and in 2012, the most famous brand in the world offered in partnership with Mark Ronson, a new anthem and an international “Feel the Movement” advertising campaign.

Thismoment’s Coca-Cola Olympics DEC provided on YouTube, Facebook, brand site and mobile, the live streaming experience of the opening ceremony, closing ceremony and various competitions for Mexican consumers. Besides the live streaming, DEC was involved in the “Feel the Movement” campaign.

AT&T: My Journey Olympics

The DEC campaign on YouTube, Facebook, brand sites and mobile for AT&T’s My Journey Olympics delivered up-to-date info on Team USA’s activities, including the latest Team USA commercials and apps, while showcasing  the individual journeys of Ryan Lochte, David Oliver and Alex Morgan.

In fact, social media proved to be a game-changer in the 2012 Olympics, seeing how prolific social media has become since the last Games.  Social media, for better or worse, provided an always-on platform for communicating around the Olympic Games, and in many cases that broadened platform allows new authorities to bubble up, and new personalities to become an integral part of the worldwide discussions.

“The most visible change is that you have access to conversations taking place everywhere, 24 hour/day,” says Thismoment.  “Before social media, conversations remained in face-to-face social groups.  

“Today, the opinion of my local news editor can potentially carry as much weight as an opinionated and witty tweet from a 25 year old Grad Student from Spain.  People have always loved to share their thoughts; however instead of having 30 individuals to share with, we now have several thousand individuals that we could potentially reach.  That is tough for a brand to a) harness, b) manipulate on the brands behalf, and c) create ROI from around that event.  It’s like trying to catch falling sand.”

Tide & Thank You Mom Olympics Page

Procter & Gamble was one of the first brands to unveil a special campaign spot as a partner of the London Olympics in 2012.  With the slogan “Thank you, Mom,” P&G has chosen to position itself to address the mothers of future athletes. We also loved the emotion that the brand created around the theme “the best job in the world.” Mothers, the heart of target group for P&G, are honored in this spot that features athletes’ moms, emphasizing their role in supporting the success of their child to become an Olympic athlete.

P&G’s Tide laundry detergent brand powered by Thismoment’s DEC platform ran their campaign on YouTube. Through the campaign, users watch videos, browse through demos and view commercials. The company also asked users, “What Does the Red, White & Blue Mean to You” in their “My story, our flag” campaign.

VISA London Economic Outlook

Coming together to support athletes was the theme chosen by Visa Olympic marketing for its “The Difference” campaign. The aim was to encourage people to express their support for athletes involved in Olympic and Paralympic Games as a click, a post, video or photo. This campaign was part of a global brand campaign, entitled “Go World” and was backed by a multi-channel strategy.

The company launched an infographic “VISA London Economic Outlook” designed by Bright Blue Day featuring summary of the London Olympics impact report.

The report “Realising a Golden Opportunity: Visa Europe’s London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Expenditure and Economic Impact Report” suggested that the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games would deliver $1.2 billion consumer spending injection for the UK this summer and the economic legacy spending would reach to $8 billion by 2015.

In addition, 78.7 percent of economic activity between 2013 and 2015 will be generated outside London. The winning sectors during this period will be high street retailers, hotel sectors, entertainment, food and drink, supermarkets and travel sector.

Contributors: Saroj Kar