Dive Brief:
- YouGov has released its BrandIndex Word of Mouth Score for the first week of the Olympics, concluding that NBC led all brands in key consumer metrics.
- The automotive industry has been the big spender on Olympics coverage.
- Polo Ralph Lauren, the official clothier of the U.S. Olympians, had a boost half as positive as NBC’s.
Dive Insight:
One proof of concept with NBC’s coverage of the Rio Olympic Games is in its streaming video results. Over the first weekend of coverage, the streaming video numbers outpaced the previous games results combined. The marketing takeaway is the second screen is a key way to reach an audience, and it might be the first screen that audience chooses to go to for news and video clips.
The success of NBC’s digital live streaming efforts — and the dramatic increases over the 2012 games in terms of digital engagement — serves as an illustration of growing importance of streaming video. Once limited to linear TV, people are increasingly willing to watch content in different ways and on different screens. Over the first weekend, NBC’s digital streams outpaced the 2012 London Games by an average of double digits.
Fans are taking part in NBC’s digital video streams and social platforms, but marketers should be aware of the U.S. Olympic Committee's long list of prohibited keywords and actions that brands cannot use on social media. Official Olympic sponsors are the only brands allowed to use any of the hashtags and imagery through Aug. 24, according to the committee.