An awe inspiring performance from an Olympic Class brand
53 brands associated with London 2012.....but who wins Gold?
17 days of the Olympics, 11 Worldwide Olympics partners, 7 London 2012 Olympic Partners, 7 London 2012 Olympic Supporters and 28 London 2012 Suppliers and Providers equals a grand total of 53 brands and companies associating themselves with the Olympics. Phew!!
So which 2012 Olympic brand is the Usain Bolt of the 100 metres? My blogs on UPS and Visa probably indicates that they haven't won...so who is it?
One company, many global power brands, a Worldwide Olympic partner that has signed up for 10 years of Olympics and embodies what every athlete who has competed in London 2012 possesses.....commitment, dedication, insight, creativity and downright hard graft.
That company is P&G. Unlike most companies in the realm of sports sponsorship P&G has brought a wealth of expertise, creativity and sheer genius....and a shed load of cash! Given that the average worldwide Partner pays about £100m the rumour is that P&G have spent 3 to 4 times that activating the sponsorship. Take out the money however and the lessons and principals of how to activate a partnership with commitment remain the same.
The overall campaign idea is "Thank you mom" with the youTube film hitting circa 6m views:
P&G is using its voice at the London 2012 Olympic Games to recognise a special person behind every athlete: Mum. (sorry I just can't write "Mom"!) P&G will serve the Mums of Olympians in London at the P&G Family Home, which is a home away from home where Mums and families of Olympians can relax and be together during the Olympic Games.
Not only that but they have hair salons and nail bars for the female athletes too....Nail art stories are hitting all major newspapers - great PR. Total brand activation and word of mouth marketing all combined...again genius.
Each of the individual brands also have a campaign theme: Gillette - "A Great Start Every Day" , Ariel & Tide - "Proud Keeper of Your Country's Colours" etc.
P&G are supporting more than 150 of the world's top athletes across 48 countries for 34 different brands. Jessica Ennis, is the face of skincare brand Olay; swimmer Michael Phelps & Team GB cyclist Mark Cavendish front Head & Shoulders; Gillette - "A Great Start Every Day" campaign featuring Roger Federer, Sir Chris Hoy, Chinese Badminton player Lin Dan, and swimmers Felipe Franca and Ryan Lochte.
Given that fewer than 5% of athletes in the London 2012 games have a direct sponsor there is a huge opportunity to tailor relevant authentic stories by country for each local brand.
A gold medal sponsorship performance includes:
- It's all about delighting the consumer who is at the heart of everything P&G does
- The whole campaign & sponsorship is based on consumer insight - behind every great athlete = Mum (or Dad since P&G responded to Dad's for a Father's Day ad as well!)
- and that insight delivers a compelling and emotional story that links back to the brand message
- The campaign has wonderful emotion and therefore has great PR and word of mouth marketing
- The campaign adds value to the brands and also the sport. Win / win
- It is taken through the line in every direction (web, facebook, twitter, YouTube, PR, advertising, free Beauty app) and through every pore of the parent brand and each individual brand too
- The campaign is cleverly layered as well depending on how deep into the campaign you look, as well as being tailored to brands, countries and athletes
- The partnership is long term equity building - hence the 10 year multi million pound, global investment
If you really want to see how brilliant their ads are, and cry your eyes out like I did, then check out the story of Kerry Hincka, mother of Special Olympics athlete, Molly Hincka. Although Molly was faced with many obstacles, Kerry chose to see the possibilities beyond them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HJa46dB2LQ
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