Despite a soggy start, the Olympics are well underway, and they’ve delivered on their promise of thrills and chills. The abundance of sporting choices at these Games allows us to view them through our own lens. Sports like gymnastics and swimming are perennial favorites, but we also get to binge on our personal faves. I spend a lot of time watching sports that I played competitively when I was young (like table tennis, field hockey, and badminton) but don’t get to see much of in the United States.
Here are my five observations for marketers from this year’s Games:
- Luxury democratized. LVMH is all in. From the trunk that bore the torch and the medal boxes that are a constant fixture to the free-flowing champagne, the company is betting big on the Olympics. Apart from the French provenance as motivation, LVMH’s big bet on the Olympics is a testament to a growing sense of the democratization of luxury as its sports sponsorships migrate downstream from the elite realms of tennis clubs and golf courses to running tracks and swimming pools.
- Down-to-earth Games. Speaking of democratization, the “every person” authenticity of the Olympics is alive and well. A “kid” from a few streets away from us in Cincinnati (who went to high school with my son) swam his way to a silver and a bronze. Coco Gauff is housed in dorm-style living, sharing two bathrooms with 10 girls, even though the 3 million bucks from her 2023 US Open win could buy her better.
- Ads losing the plot. I’ve had to watch more ads this last week than I’ve seen in a year (live sports = last bastion of captive ad audiences). Some companies took advantage of the eyeballs — the overlap with back-to-school was perfect timing to tout the MacBook. Others wove a bit of Olympics magic in … athletes flying on Delta, Reese’s shaped like medals. Then there were the motivational spots about endurance and glory that concluded with an unrelated financial services or automotive logo: brainchildren of advertisers who’ve lost the plot, confusing the ad’s memorability with the brand’s.
- Using the platform effectively. Companies that adopted the Olympics as a platform and wove it into a more carefully crafted and meaningful marketing program utilized the occasion well — both for their customers and their employees (the value of the Olympics as an employer-branding tactic is not to be underestimated). Sephora had pop-up stores along the torch relay sites, and Bridgestone drafted 40 Olympians and 20 Paralympians into “Team Bridgestone” and created content and events around it.
- A spotlight on women athletes. The Olympics spotlight women athletes much more so than most other sporting events in the US, where often the women’s leagues and teams get second billing. By showcasing women’s achievements, the Games create a targeted opportunity unlike any other. Brands such as Athleta have capitalized on that with a little help from legends like Simone Biles.
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