PR lessons from the Paris Olympics
The Paris Olympics were considered the first Olympic Games in the post-COVID era, and by all accounts, viewers showed up to support their favorite athletes and nations. NBC reported an 82% jump in viewership compared to the 2020 Games, with an average of 30.6 million viewers across its platforms.
The large audience led to increased cultural conversation—from memes to hot takes and more. Below are a few takeaways that public relations and marketing professionals can take from this summer’s biggest sports event.
Audiences respond to flexibility
Much of NBC’s audience boost is due to the use of the broadcaster’s Peacock streaming platform. Not only could viewers watch prime-time coverage that focused on the most popular sports (often with an American slant), but viewers could also watch any event in full and on-demand through Peacock.
Consumers are used to getting media products at the exact moment they want them, and the Olympics are no different. In addition to streaming, viewers engaged with the competitions and athletes through discussion on social media platforms such as X, Threads and TikTok.
The lesson here is that the more visible you make your brand, the more consumers will see you and engage with you.
The athletes are the influencers
As I wrote in our previous Olympic article, social media has given athletes an increased platform to take fans behind the scenes and into the Olympic Village and playing fields. This boosted the platforms of athletes like USA Rugby Sevens player Ilona Maher, who now boasts 2.3 million TikTok followers.
As reported by Wired, NBC sent its own influencers, but they didn’t receive the same draw that the athletes did. On the other hand, Snoop Dog drew much discussion and positive attention from audiences for his hosted segments and sideline appearances.
This shows the value of brands working with athletes. Influencer deals with athletes can be expensive, especially if they are already established as Olympic medalists, but brands can form valuable long-term relationships with athletes by investing in them earlier in their careers.
The spotlight is short
Mainstream media in the US shined a bright spotlight on the Games for the duration of the festivities. However, the coverage did not kick off until shortly before the opening ceremony and concluded shortly after the closing ceremony.
US media do not often cover ‘niche’ sports like cycling, track and field, or wrestling, but during the Olympics, they are on the front page. This means that PR and marketing pros who work in these sports need to find creative ways to promote their brands outside of the brief Olympic window.
Negativity is fleeting
As with any major event, negative stories existed in the press. In Paris’ case, the water quality of the Seine River was a big talking point, along with criticisms of the major security presence in Paris and even the surfing venue. However, once the Games started, much of the attention turned into positive attention on the athletes and competitions. There was no doubt a PR response from the event organizers about some of these negative stories, but it’s a powerful PR lesson that things will almost always blow over eventually.
As we mentioned in the previous post, the IOC puts stringent regulations on brands and commercial activity during the Olympics. While these rules were relaxed compared to previous years, the IOC was still on the lookout for violations. They sued the energy drink company Prime for using the trademarked terms “Olympic” and “Team USA.” Oops.
What was your main takeaway from the Olympics this year? Is your brand considering investing in the LA 2028 Games? Let us know!