The 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, France, are rapidly approaching, with an expected one billion live TV viewers worldwide and 15 million visitors expected to the French city. This event offers businesses an unmatched platform for global marketing. With expectations for record-breaking digital viewership and over 160 countries broadcasting the Paralympic Games, advertisers are rushing to create compelling campaigns. This presents a unique opportunity for brands to significantly boost their visibility and engagement on a global scale.
The Digital Shift
The 2024 Summer Olympics are poised to be the most digital games ever, surpassing the 64% of viewership via social media and online platforms seen during the 2020 Olympics. The landscape of social media has evolved significantly in these four years, transforming from a highlight reel of polished moments to a dynamic space for real-time reactions, hot takes, and interactive discussions. This shift has influenced how people consume content, with 54% of viewers preferring to watch creators break down major events rather than the events themselves. This underscores the growing influence of creators in driving engagement and public interest. Influencers are expected to play a crucial role in the Olympics' social media coverage, potentially surpassing traditional on-air coverage by bringing audiences closer to the action.
Advertising Themes Overtime
Brands have a prime opportunity to leverage this shift by strategically using influencer marketing. Partnering with creators who have dedicated followings allows brands to engage authentically with the Olympic fervour, joining online conversations in real-time. While the Olympics are known for athletic triumphs and rivalries, content related to the games extends beyond sports. According to DoubleVerify data, 57% of English-language Olympic content focuses on sports, while 43% covers other themes, including business, travel, food, and celebrities. This diversity in content presents opportunities for a wide range of brands to connect with audiences through relevant Olympic-related topics.
The Olympics generate high engagement and emotional investment from viewers, making them more receptive to advertisements. Advertisers can capitalize on this excitement by staying attuned to consumer behaviour and the types of content audiences consume before and during the games. However, it's essential for brands to align their reputation with the content they advertise around, utilizing consumer insights to optimize campaigns effectively. Continuous testing, learning, and optimization throughout the Olympic and Paralympic campaign cycle are crucial for success.
Brands that strategically plan and execute their Paris Olympics campaigns will position themselves ahead of the competition, capturing the attention and enthusiasm of audiences during this global event.
Ideas for Brands
In the dynamic landscape of the Olympics, brands have a unique opportunity to weave themselves into the aspirational narratives of athletes, encouraging viewers to pursue their dreams. Positioning the brand as a supporter of personal growth and achievement can resonate deeply with audiences. This can be achieved through various strategies, such as partnering with creators for reaction videos that recap Olympic moments, or humorous skit videos that recreate iconic events, subtly incorporating the brand as a hero. Additionally, leveraging creators to share behind-the-scenes access, real-time commentary, and personalized content can enhance engagement and create genuine connections.
Collaboration with athletes and sports organizations can lead to exclusive collections, merging high fashion with athletic wear, boosting sales, and enhancing brand loyalty. The 2024 Olympics also provide a platform for emphasizing sustainable fashion, with a significant portion of consumers willing to pay more for eco-friendly products. Paris, as a global fashion capital, offers cultural influence that can inspire collections and drive sales.
Pop-up stores and events in Paris during the Olympics can attract a global audience, offering direct consumer engagement and excitement. Social media will play a crucial role in amplifying brand visibility through real-time updates, athlete endorsements, and influencer collaborations, driving online sales and engagement.
Brands can adopt three main strategies to maximize their presence: dominating the space with significant investments, sparking large conversations with unexpected yet relevant actions, and thinking laterally to make a big impact unofficially. The success of Beats by Dre during the London 2012 Olympics is a prime example of creative lateral thinking. By providing athletes with branded headphones, they gained significant visibility without violating sponsorship rules. Marketers should consider where global audiences will be and what they will need, finding ways to offer surprisingly useful, on-brand solutions in these moments.
Example
NBC is capitalizing on new formats by broadcasting the 2024 Paris Olympic Games via the streaming service Peacock, as well as incorporating numerous digital features. NBCU declared that from July 26 to August 11, 2024, their main platforms for Olympic coverage will be the NBC broadcast network and Peacock.
With streaming access to every sport and event, including all 329 medal events, Peacock will offer the most thorough coverage of the Olympics in American media history. In addition to live and upcoming events, the Olympics hub will have interactive scheduling, NBC programming, curated video clips, virtual channels, full-event replays, and sections devoted to almost 40 different sports.
Peacock Live Actions and Peacock Discovery Multiview are two new features that Peacock is launching in time for the Olympics. Fans can select how they want to watch live and primetime coverage with the interactive Peacock Live Actions tool. Peacock Discovery Multiview offers a four-view experience to help users navigate important events.
Alex Cooper, host of the popular Call Her Daddy podcast, will lead "Watch with Alex Cooper," a series of interactive watch parties on Peacock during the Olympics. Cooper, a former athlete, will bring on special guests, share thoughts on Olympic events like soccer, gymnastics, and basketball, and answer questions from fans on social media. The series will be streamed on Peacock in conjunction with the event in picture-in-picture format.
NBC has a history of incorporating celebrities into its Olympic coverage. Alongside Cooper, other notable hosts include Kelly Clarkson, Peyton Manning, and Snoop Dogg, who will join Mike Tirico in hosting duties. This blend of traditional and non-traditional commentators aims to bring audiences closer to the excitement of the Paris Olympics.
