September 2, 2008

Big Bucks Didn’t Translate to Big Buzz at the Olympics

As the Olympics have come and gone, it is now time to reflect on the medal counts, the spectacular achievements and finally, the advertising success. China sealed up official sponsorships with record deals and NBC pulled in record viewers on TV and online. The flood of consumers that poured over the games lit up marketing opportunities like an opening ceremony. Amongst these opportunities was a gamble over which athletes to run with. According to a study of global online chatter conducted by Zeta Interactive, some of the biggest winners were those with precision tactics rather than carpet-bombing ad campaigns. Nike bet on Liu Xiang who fell out due to an injury and despite an interesting continuation of sponsorship, it didn’t generate nearly as much buzz as Puma with Jamaican sprinter, Usain Bolt. We’ve written before about Speedo’s LZR Racer and by picking the focused sport and athlete of the game, their publicity and favorable image was unmatched by other corporations.