There are now more people watching the Olympics online then those that watch the games on TV. What about the Super Bowl Coco Cola ad? 100,000,000 people saw it on TV, while 500,000,000 say it online. Those of you still not convinced that social media is viable and here to stay, need to get up and do a set of push-ups. The 2010 Vancouver Olympics are in many circles referred to as The Social Games. Just take a look:
Visa: According to Marketing Chief, Antonio Lucio, about 40% of its Olympic marketing funds will go to digital, four times the past share.
McDonalds has created a virtual scavenger hunt, “How do you McNugget?” The first to figure out such things as how Olympic athletes eat McNuggets, can win a trip to the 2012 London Games.
GE: According to Linda Boff, Global Director of Marketing Communications, The company is using the Olympics as a basis for a big social media push for better health. Under the Twitter tag, “gohealthy”, GE will have 25 experts tweeting about healthy lifestyles.
Coke: A fun virtual snowball fight was created to share on social media. In addition, a companion TV commercials was created, both of which were fun and entertaining.
The critical component to a successful social media campaign is connecting – connecting to your audience – connecting to your co-sponsor – and connecting to meaningful and sincere engagement.
Posting, inspired by Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY