Nissan and National Lottery struck gold at the Rio Olympics – here’s proof
As another Olympics ends and the British public basks in the glory of an unprecedented medal haul, sponsors are reflecting on how their own marketing efforts resonated with the public.
Our brand tracking research allows us to explore whether they have managed to benefit both from their association with the event and their sporting ambassadors.
YouGov BrandIndex data suggests that many high profile Olympic associated brands have struggled to connect with the public over the last month.
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One notable exception is Nissan. YouGov’s Ad Awareness metric (whether someone has seen the brand’s advert in the past two weeks) has increased by 5 points in the past month, indicating that its multi-channel activity has worked well.
However, other big name brands – such as McDonald’s and Visa – have seen little movement in their scores.
It is of course important to remember that prior to the Games Rio was a controversial choice of host city.
The debate over the cost of the games never went away, while many venues were sparsely attended, especially compared to four years ago in London.
Fears over the Zika virus prompted stars such as Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy to pull out of the golf, while, perhaps most damaging of all, allegations of Russia’s state sponsored doping hovered like a dark cloud over the Games.
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All of these factors may have contributed to a level of brand activation and engagement that fell below expectations. However, given it was the second week of the Games that proved especially glorious for Team GB, maybe it is still too early to see the golden glow show up in brands’ scores.
The biggest brand winner from the Olympics may turn out to be the National Lottery. Its role in funding British medallists has been well publicised and this has been reflected in an uplift across several metrics.
Its Buzz score (whether someone has heard something positive about the brand in the past fortnight) has increased by 5 points in the last week, signifying that the public has recognised its positive mentions in the press. Camelot, not to mention GB’s Olympians, will hope this success rolls on to 2020 and beyond.