Olympic-fever is coming: Are you ready to go for gold?

9th May 2016 by Joe0

Three months to go until the 2016 Summer Olympics take the world by storm starting on 5th August.

To put the event’s popularity in perspective, according to a report by the London 2012 Olympic Games, a projected 3.6 billion viewers saw at least one minute of London 2012 coverage on television – that’s more than half of the world’s population!

But what does that mean for your business?


Despite lasting just over two weeks, The Olympic Games capture the imaginations and attention of people weeks, sometimes months, before they even begin. This offers up the perfect opportunity to connect with your customers in a new and different way for the entire summer by simply getting into the Olympic spirit yourself.

Not sure how to make the most of Olympic-fever? Here are some tips:

Tie your marketing into the Olympics
With a bit of creativity, The Olympics can be linked to a huge range of industries, from health and sport to food and clothing – so get your thinking cap on and take advantage of this year’s opportunity.

For example, could you develop an Olympic-themed exercise regime or diet leaflet for customers? Can you connect your company to The Olympics in an offbeat way that looks good on your marketing materials? If you take this route, make sure you get started sooner rather than later. The last thing you want is to wait until the last minute and end up with a delivery of Olympic-themed brochures and leaflets after the event has come and gone.

Another way of tying into this year’s festivities is through PR or a special Olympic-themed product or package offer. Like I mentioned before, by getting creative, as well as finding a strong hook, you could catch the eye of both journalists and customers.

Bring the Olympic Games to your customers
If you want to take things a step further beyond simply tying your company’s messaging into the Olympics, why not bring the celebrations to your customers?

One thing I’ve learned first-hand is that anything can be turned into a game or competition – so if you’re a High Street retailer, get customers involved and engaged by running your very own in-store Olympic Games or perhaps a multi-week long competition for customers to take part in. All you’ll need is a bit of creativity and a couple of killer prizes to make this work.

If you go with an ongoing competition, be sure to make the most of social media advertising to spread the word by sharing videos and photos of customers taking up your challenge to encourage others to give it a go.

And don’t forget: reward customers for taking part with a small gift or discount for next time they visit.

Celebrate the spirit of the Games with a sale
If you don’t have the time or manpower to run a competition or event, show your Olympic spirit by running a sale throughout the Games.

Even better, why not steal a trick from McDonalds and tweak their 2012 “Win When USA Wins Gold” contest? All you need to do is design and print scratch-off cards with the names of GB Olympians on each. Once you’ve got your cards, give one to customers that spend over a certain amount and, if their Olympian wins Gold, they win a discount or prize.

With the start of summer less than a month away and the Olympics three away, now’s the time to start thinking about if and how you can tie into this summer’s Games.

And remember: you can’t earn gold without dedicating the time and effort, so block an hour or two out to simply sit down with a cuppa and get creative, jotting any and all ideas down.


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