As I’m sure you know by know, we’re sport mad here so we’re naturally very excited for the Commonwealth Games and you can bet your bottom dollar it will be showing on our big screen every single day.
Also, being a leading communications agency, we’ve of course been keeping an eye on the marketing activity of one of the biggest sporting events of calendar year and here’s our take on it.
Athlete Exclusivity
This was something that was originally introduced by the Olympic Games and the Commonwealth quickly followed suit. From one month before the games all competing athletes aren’t allowed to promote any external partnerships, with all promotional activity having to be relevant to the Games itself. It’s a clever tactic from events of this size and effectively allows them to amplify their marketing, utilising the millions of supporters which actively follow the athletes themselves.
Social Media
I’m not privy to the social media brief for the Commonwealth Games but from having looked at socials, particularly Facebook and Instagram I can guess part of it and I’m sure it read VIDEO, VIDEO, VIDEO!
The Games has made a clear decision to utilise the strength of video throughout its social channels and why not? A recent report by Insivia found that viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch in a video compared to 10% when reading it in the text, and the Sprout Social Index revealed 85% of social media users want more videos from brands. The Commonwealth Games is providing the audience with the information it wants them to receive, in the way they want to receive it. Job done!
Engaging the Local Community
Being local to the Games ourselves we see it frequently in the news and one thing that stands out in particular is the community engagement which started a while back, with the naming of the now famous Commonwealth Games mascot – Perry. Aptly named after Perry Barr, the area home to the newly-built Alexander Stadium. This immediately got the locals on board and the relationship has only strengthened since.
From publicising the creation of jobs for the area, to liaison with local businesses and striking up a fantastic rapport with local media, it’s been great to see and we look forward to these relationships growing further during the games.
