Our Global Director of Sport and Co-founder, Alex Ross, is currently working on strategies for a couple of sports competing at the Milano-Cortina Olympic Games, below he shares a huge challenge that keeps appearing.

‘It’s actually critical for the survival of loads of Olympic sports (and no, I’m not being hyperbolic):

How do sports take that massive attention they get during the Games and turn it into interest that lasts all year?

The truth is, you have to start by nailing two things: getting huge reach and then being super consistent.

Here’s where I’d start:

Phase 1: Make Yourself Famous During the Games

Treat the Games as the moment of maximum Curiosity. This is the most attention your sport will ever get, so focus on the casual viewer – the non-fan – with content that builds two things: instant recognition and positive emotion. I can’t stress this enough: stop worrying about being ‘different’; just worry about being unforgettable.

Use simple brand assets that are unique to you. Constantly feature your easiest visual and verbal cues: logos, signature colours, signature athlete moves and unique sounds. People should immediately recognise your sport and feel good about it.

Be unforgettable. Games-time content should not teach rules. It needs to make your sport unforgettable (emotion) and unmistakable (recognition) to people who don’t normally bother with your sport.

Phase 2: Keep Those Memories Fresh

Refresh the Memories. If you do not refresh those new memories all year round, they will just fade away. The strongest memories still erode quickly without you constantly topping them up.

Demand Consistency. This requires a few things: brilliant branded creative, smart distribution, consistency, patience and frequent media buys (even if you have a tight budget). Together, this helps to keep your sport visible and top-of-mind.

In Summary:

Use the Olympics for a massive, reach-based brand build, then sustain that by refreshing those memories throughout the rest of the year.

Easy, right!

If you would like to chat more about proper, evidence-based marketing – from Diagnosis to Strategy, Tactics to Media – drop me a message. I’d love to chat!’

Get in touch with Redtorch to discuss how they can help make your sport more relevant and commercially successful.