46 . Glasgow Business September/October 2012
BIG TALKS Brian Welsh is Account Director of the Sports Team at The BIG Partnership
›› LONDON 2012 FEATURED AN ARRAY OF VERY CLEVER MARKETING PLOYS FOR PRODUCTS AND THE NATION
have gone any beter from the host nation’s point of view. Tree weeks of epic sporting competition
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transformed a largely cynical British public into an army of passionate, flag-waving Team GB supporters in a timely reminder of the power of sport and the good it can do. Personally, I savoured every single moment.
My only envy was that I was limited to viewing the action on TV – for those lucky enough to be there, it must have been the experience of a lifetime. Te efforts of Hoy, Wiggins, Ennis, Rutherford, Farah and many more are well documented and rightly so – who will ever forget those three track and field golds within an hour on Super Saturday? But as well as
the performances of those
competing in the colours of a staggering 204 countries, there
hatever you wish to call it, there’s litle doubt that the whole Olympic event, from start to finish, could barely
Top five... Olympic stunts 5. PROCTOR & GAMBLE
Launched a hugely successful ‘Olympic Mums’ YouTube campaign – which racked up more than 10 million views worldwide. P&G recognised there was a special person behind every athlete – and I won’t argue with that.
4. USAIN BOLT
Both Visa and Virgin used the charismatic Jamaican’s personality to full effect through TV advertising, anticipating he would achieve even more success at the games (which he did) to further increase his rising domestic and worldwide profile (which it did). And that strategy paid off for the two organisations which paid him.
3. DON’T STOP ME NOW
A superb marketing coup by Adidas, featuring highly effective brand placement within a two- and-a-half minute clip, featuring a host of Team GB members, including Sir Chris Hoy, all rocking out to the Queen classic. Beautifully executed,
2. NEED TO BE CAREFUL WITH THIS ONE!
A famous sports brand countered the event’s official sponsorship with a direct rival via a superb fluorescent-yellow trainer guerrilla marketing campaign, which saw the majority of runners (many winning ones) wearing the same blinding
footwear. A wonderful piece of ambush marketing which caught the
eyes and waggled the tongues of millions. 1. THE OPENING CEREMONY
The winner by a country 1500m. The single greatest marketing and PR stunt of the games for both “internal comms” (getting buy-in from within Great Britain) and external audiences (generating international acclaim – and, admittedly, sometimes confusion). There will be no greater TV event this year. Danny Boyle’s Isles of Wonder wins the gold medal of London 2012 marketing.
perfectly timed, hugely popular, it captured the moment and mood of the nation perfectly.
were some significant achievements elsewhere which caught my eye. Yes, London 2012 also featured an array
of marketing masterstrokes both by official sponsors and by organisations creatively positioning themselves in the limelight. You’ll all have a few you remember
and perhaps this article will trigger some recollections. Meantime, see above for my own “favourite five” public relations
and marketing “stunts” of London 2012 (in reverse order). Tere were many terrific memories
to savour aside from those generated by the 10,000+ athletes, all of which helped London 2012 win over many of the most ardent cynics. And as one Scotish comedian concluded:
“A couple of weeks ago I knew nothing about the Olympics, now I can’t wait for next year’s.”
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