Brand strategies with the 2012 Olympics

The 2012 London Olympics have the world watching and companies are all trying to benefit from the large audience of the games. Some companies become an official sponsor for the fee of 825 million Euros and get their brand to grow. Not all companies decide to pay the fee but still find ways to connect with the audience. These companies develop marketing plans to assist them in connecting with the audience as a un-official official sponsor.

Nike is one of the top brands that people recognize by just looking at their logo. This might have been a factor as to why Nike decided to skip the fee and do a commercial campaign focused for the Olympics. The Nike ads show athletes from all over the world in other placed named London such as London, Ontario. The commercials work because they show sports and London yet avoids any trouble of having it in London locations worldwide. It works on the theme that greatness can occur anywhere and people will immediately associate it with the London Olympics due to the sports and London locations. In this way the ads make it seem that they are official sponsors and still get the same audience.

Here is a sentimental analysis on how people feel about the Nike ads which is overwhelmingly positive reactions.
*Graph created by Alerti

Nike’s campaigns are an example other brands can take follow to connect with the Olympics’ audiences. An option companies can use it to buy ad space during commercials and at Olympic event spaces. People still get to see your brand and although expensive it still costs less than a sponsor fee. It’s a good idea to center your ad campaign on a sports theme even if your brand has nothing to do with sports since it will connect more with the Olympics.

Some companies can afford to pay the sponsor fee but it’s not always the best option. Official sponsors can’t put up ads around the venues and also aren’t associated with the games. Companies still know that the price to be a sponsor can reap great benefits but everyone can see the role of a sponsor different.
After the 2008 Beijing Olympics the China Market Research Group performed surveys on Olympic sponsorship and discovered that close to 80% of Chinese consumers said they didn’t care who were the sponsors. This might not apply to this year’s Olympics but Nike’s campaign is already getting more attention than Adidas, who is an official sponsor.

In this episode of “The Future of Engagement” Murray Newlands reviews Nike’s advertising strategy without being an official sponsor and how other companies can do the same.

Highlights

Creating an advertising campaign even if you’re not an official sponsor can provide you with a global brand awareness opportunity.
Have advertising with sports themes and getting ads on commercial breaks and around the venues can be another option.
It’s not guaranteed that being a sponsor will always result in success for all brands.

Click on the free white paper here to get some information on social media monitoring that can help you focus your ads.