The “Rio Adventure” has begun, how does Olympic marketing work?

The Rio Olympics may be the most worrying Olympic Games in history. From the police strike that was exposed in the early stage, to the Olympic Village facilities and robberies, etc., the hot topics are always those annoying and vicious incidents. But when the curtain of the Olympics rises, our attention will be attracted by the gold medals, strength, and athletes. We are so proud to see the five-star red flag rise again and again.

It is actually unnecessary to worry about other people's family appointments. We sincerely hope that our Chinese athletes can win gold medals safely. From August 6th to 22nd, Beijing time, we will be with the Olympics. For marketers , this is the best opportunity to leverage marketing momentum.

100 days before the opening of the Olympic Games, I participated in Tencent Sports' Olympic-themed event "Run to Rio". Similar platform-level companies always spend big on Olympic marketing , and many resources become exclusive advantages. Let's take Tencent as an example and then talk about how small and medium-sized enterprises can take advantage of the Olympics.

Tencent’s example

1. Exclusive resources

Tencent has been well prepared for the Rio Olympics and has obtained exclusive resources that are envied by the industry:

• The only Internet service partner of the Chinese Olympic Committee;
• The 2016 Rio Olympic Games online broadcasting rights in mainland China.

All major platforms are vying for resource binding for major events and big IPs. Resources will affect traffic. In the Olympic marketing battlefield, what platform-level companies do is to deploy resources first. With resources like Tencent, more content will be produced and athletes will appear in front of Tencent’s cameras in a timely manner.

2. First time

Especially for event marketing, users hope to get the latest information. Tencent has exclusive rights to bring together more than 40 star athletes from the nine strongest Chinese sports delegations including table tennis, gymnastics, badminton, swimming and shooting, including Sun Yang, Su Bingtian, Ma Long and Yi Siling. They will interact with Chinese users in real time through the Tencent platform in the form of live broadcast and share their post-match feelings as soon as possible after the game.

3. Seamless connection

Tencent has built a 1,000-square-meter studio next to the Olympic Games venues, allowing users to establish a seamless connection with athletes through Tencent.

4. Second-line concurrency

Tencent defines the 2016 Rio Olympics as " social + technology". Social is Tencent's gene, and technology is also combined with live broadcast, VR , AR , etc.

technology:

At this Olympics, Tencent will use a variety of new technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and advanced broadcasting equipment to create a new Olympic experience for users.

social contact:

(1) Live broadcast for all: Tencent used the Penguin Live platform to launch a 24-hour live broadcast for all during the Olympic Games, allowing users with different needs to obtain front-line images of Rio from different perspectives and at different times.

(2) Social Matrix: The social matrix consisting of Tencent News Client, Tiantian Express, Tencent Sports Client, Tencent Video Client, mobile QQ, WeChat, Tencent.com and other mobile + PC platforms, as well as WeChat Sports, delivers Olympic information to Chinese Internet users in a timely and comprehensive manner, and aggregates the participation of all people in the Olympics.

(3) Program integration: talk show "Champion Express", live interview "First Time", growth story "The Next Me", food and warmth "Rio Home Taste"

(4) Online and offline interaction: We fully utilize Tencent’s social advantages and integrate resources online and offline. For example, the “Run to Rio” campaign, combined with WeChat Sports resources, started from Beijing and passed through 20 Olympic host cities to finally “Run to Rio”. In addition to the existing WeChat Sports interactions such as likes, rankings, and cover grabbing, we also launched targeted user interaction methods such as shake guessing, Olympic champion cheering PK, and torch relay, which can be participated in at any time. At the same time, seven offline road running events were held across the country, gathering celebrities and mobilizing fans to accumulate running steps for their idols and improve their rankings, thereby achieving fan marketing.

Tencent has made great efforts in Olympic marketing, and has become a model of domestic Olympic marketing leveraging its "unique" advantages of "exclusive resources, first-hand time, seamless connection, and two-line concurrency".

How can small and medium-sized enterprises take advantage of the Olympic Games?

Some people say that there are too few platform-level companies like Tencent. So how can small and medium-sized enterprises take advantage of the Olympics?

1. Taking advantage of the Olympic Games

1. Leverage new media content

When creating content on new media, copywriting and posters are often the main sources.

During the Olympics, don't always think that mentioning keywords like "Rio" or "Olympic Games" is the only way to take advantage of the situation. During the Olympics, images related to Olympic sports can trigger associations. For example, if there is swimming on competition day, the picture is a swimming pool and there is a gold medal opposite it. When the event is at its peak, it is easy to make the connection.

2. Joining forces with powerful media resources

For some companies, it is impossible to obtain exclusive resources like Tencent, but you can cooperate with platforms similar to Tencent.

Whether it is naming or participating in content marketing, we can take advantage of this aspect.

3. Activity Integration

In fact, various activities can be held long before the Olympics, such as selections, competitions, and art exhibitions with the gimmick of going to Rio to watch the Olympics, which can attract target users to participate. During the Olympics, you can combine guessing and other methods:

• Online, you can guess the results of games and the names of sports by looking at pictures;
• Offline, you can guess the name of the sport based on the movements and be rewarded with related sports products, such as table tennis rackets, swimming tickets, footballs, etc.

4. Product related

If you have Olympic authorization, it is difficult to make related products. However, in traditional marketing, there are examples of selling televisions and beer during the World Cup, and the same is true for the Olympics. When designing Olympic clothing products, avoid the five rings, athlete images, Olympic logos, mascots, etc.

2. There are some interesting ways to take advantage of the Olympics

1. Copywriting poster:

After the words like Rio, Olympics, victory, etc. are restricted, you will find it difficult to do marketing by leveraging the 2016 Olympics, because many companies are not sponsors of the Olympics, but it is more difficult to take advantage of this hot topic.

Example: Durex

On the afternoon of August 5, 2016, I posted a Weibo with the text "I am not afraid of any opponent, as long as there is water, it is my world." Some people saw it as dirt, some saw it as the Olympics, but I didn't mention the Olympics...

2. LOGO image:

Especially during major holidays, many websites will launch logos that suit the occasion. The same is true for the Olympics. However, if you are not a sponsor or authorized partner, you should not include certain logos, such as the five rings or the Olympic Committee logo.

Example: Google Olympic commemorative logo

Every Olympic Games will launch a commemorative LOGO, and different stages will have different themes related to the hot spots of the event. This kind of leverage is very down-to-earth, but no images or logos are used in the picture to avoid infringement.

For example, during the Athens Olympics, Greek mythological figures Zeus, Athena, and Poseidon were incorporated into the LOGO. For example, for each event of the London Olympics, graffiti LOGOs with different themes were regularly made. It was very interesting, cleverly leveraged the momentum, and very down-to-earth.

3. Activity creativity:

Simple online interactive methods such as guessing the picture mentioned in the angle section are easier to leverage on the Olympics.

If you want to do it in an O2O format, you need to plan interactive activities with strong participation and low threshold.

3. Things to note when leveraging the Olympic Games

1. Pay attention to the use of athlete images:

In some previous competitions, we have seen various posters that took advantage of the situation, which were all over the screen. Most of them used the image of athletes, added a company logo, and put a congratulatory copy. This kind of follow-up marketing cannot be called taking advantage of the situation. Instead, it will bring trouble to the company. Have you seen Durex or Coca-Cola using images of athletes?

2. Avoid using LOGO logo:

Please be careful not to misuse the images of the Chinese Olympic Committee, the Rio Olympic Games logo, the five rings, etc. These logos are commercially licensed. If you use them to promote your own brand and sell products, this commercial behavior will cause unnecessary trouble, unless you are prepared to become an Olympic partner.

3. Be careful when using images of events:

Generally, companies that take advantage of the situation are willing to simply photoshop the news pictures, add some words and a logo, and then publish them on new media. In addition to containing the images of athletes, the copyright of this type of picture is also owned by some media and institutions.