Paris Olympics 2024.
The Summer Olympic Games in Paris is in full swing, and there is no shortage of inspiring stories and international controversy. The history of the games goes back around 3,000 years—held every four summers in honour of the Greek god Zeus. But modern companies can gain valuable lessons from the competition despite its ancient origins. The Paris Olympics reflects the unique hopes, dreams and challenges of the 206 territories that make up our diverse, imperfect and beautiful world.
Getting noticed
The Olympic ceremony launched with extravagance and controversy. The ceremony featured performances from Lady Gaga, Celine Dion and a torch-bearing Snoop Dogg. But it was a scene featuring drag queens, a transgender model and a semi-naked blue man that sparked international outrage. Critics viewed the performance as a parody of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper”. Catholics and other religious groups called the show demeaning, disgusting and disrespectful. The Vatican said it was saddened by the Paris opening ceremony and the Organizing Committee apologised. The contrasting reaction to the opening ceremony highlights growing cultural polarization: accelerated and amplified by social media algorithms.
Most marketing goes unnoticed. If your marketing goes unseen, everything else is academic. In the words of Oscar Wilde: “There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” Brands are drowning in a sea of sameness. For marketing to be effective, it needs to evoke an emotional response. A positive emotion is ideal, but any emotion is better than apathy. Now, that doesn’t mean being controversial for the sake of controversy. Getting noticed can be as simple as making a stand, choosing a common enemy or telling a story. The Beijing (2008) and London (2012) Olympic opening ceremonies are still talked about today because they made people feel something. What would your brand’s opening ceremony look and feel like?
Niche Subplots
Historically, the Olympics could only be viewed through a handful of official TV broadcasters that secured the licensing rights. But in 2024, the most exciting and eccentric coverage is happening on TikTok. Fans are getting direct access to life in the Olympic Village from their favourite athletes. The spontaneous nature of the content makes it more human, relatable and engaging than the official programming from NBC Universal, BBC or Eurosport.
Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen aka Muffin Man has become one of the breakout stars of the games, not for swimming but for his obsession with chocolate muffins from the Olympic Village cafeteria. He has generated more than 100 million views documenting his love affair with the baked good. The democratization of media has a the unfolding of several unexpected subplots. From Turkey’s nonchalant marksman turned meme, Yusuf Dikec who won silver in the air pistol competition wearing casual clothing. To “Aunty” Ni, the 61-year-old grandmother who won her first game in the women’s table tennis. And Stephen Nedoroscik aka pommel horse guy who charmed the internet with his Rubik’s cube, prescription glasses and commitment to the niche apparatus. The lesson for marketers is simple, don’t just focus on tentpole moments and big celebrity names. Your message will get lost. A better strategy is to tap into niches where you can find immense passion and energy. Going niche is the best way to achieve mainstream appeal.
Long-term Vision
The emergence of China is an untold Olympic story. In the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, the USA won a whopping 44 Gold Olympic medals, in contrast to China’s 16 Gold medals. The Beijing Olympics announced China as an economic, political and sporting superpower on the international stage. China finished the Beijing 2008 Olympics ranked first with 48 gold medals. What is perhaps less documented is China’s strategic plan since the 1980s to become an Olympic heavyweight. The masterplan began with a shortlist of sports with the highest potential for a gold medal. Before expanding to medal-rich sports where China traditionally had limited representation. This was known as Project 119—named after the number of gold medals available in the events—which included track and field, swimming and water sports. Finally, since 2008, China has targeted more internationally popular sports.
China invested in 3,000 state-run sports schools and more than 400,000 students were enrolled in sports schools in 2005 ahead of the 2008 Olympics. It combined centralized investment and grassroots development to identify, develop and train the best talent in the country. Unlike China’s long-term vision and investment, many companies operate under the tyranny of quarterly results. If China made decisions for the next Summer Olympic Games rather than future generations, its results would be vastly different.
The lack of time, space and vision for the future prevents companies from imagining a future that is different to the current reality. Today’s priorities don’t have to detract from future opportunities if brands adopt a core, expand and explore model.
