The Olympic Advertising Platform #BeTheFastest
Emotional connection when creating an advertisement has become increasingly important. As the public consumption has reached an all-time high, the subconscious has adapted to blocking out many forms of advertising to the point where brand recognition is comparable to breathing for our younger generations. How often do we really remember the advertisements that we see? What captivates us these days? Innovation and emotion are the 2 main factors we recognise in Virgin mobiles Usain Bolt add below.
Marketers have been using sporting events to advertise as long as a television has been in living rooms around the world. There are more and more events going on every year, providing a great platform for this continued practice. One of the most coveted events on a global scale is of coarse one of the oldest and only takes place every 4 years, thus creating even more anticipation and excitement leading up with a big count down. The 2016 Olympic Games.
Marketers worldwide have a chance to use this global build up to their advantage when it comes to advertising. With 207 countries participating this year and 306 events to take place imagine the multiplications included when it comes to calculating global reach for brands that will be advertising during and leading up the event.
Emotional connection when creating an advertisement has become increasingly important. As the public consumption has reached an all-time high, the subconscious has adapted to blocking out many forms of advertising to the point where brand recognition is comparable to breathing for our younger generations. How often do we really remember the advertisements that we see? What captivates us? Innovation and emotion are the 2 main factors we recognise in Virgin Media's, Usain Bolt add #BeTheFastest below.
This advertisement uses emotions, excitement, pop culture and pure heart to capture the audience. This is a tastefully done advertisement because as you can see, it is impossible to decipher what brand it is actually for until the very last frame. The audience is captivated by each 9.58 second interval, they do not want to look away, it is so eloquently put together that most would not even realise that it is indeed an advertisement at all. We recognise and commend Virgin Media on this successful campaign #BeTheFastest. Comment below and let us know your thoughts!
The Meteoric Rise of eSports
Why would anyone want to watch someone else play a computer game? That’s the questions that a lot of sport marketers may have asked themselves when first witnessing the advent of professional gaming tournaments, or as the industry calls it, eSports. The answer may lie in the ‘professional’ part.
Why would anyone want to watch someone else play a computer game? That’s the questions that a lot of sport marketers may have asked themselves when first witnessing the advent of professional gaming tournaments, or as the industry calls it, eSports. The answer may lie in the ‘professional’ part.
For example, if you are a lover of soccer and play it in your spare time. Would you still follow the games of your favorite professional team on the TV? Would you try to watch them if they were playing in your town? If your answer is yes, then you understand the sentiment behind why so many millennials flock to arenas or tune in to watch their favorite professional gamers practice their craft. Gaming at the highest levels requires an average of 200-300 mechanical actions per minute coupled with critical thinking, quick decision-making and seamless team communication and strategizing.
Now that we’ve gone behind some of the psychology behind this, let’s look at how popular eSports actually are. In October 2013, Over 32 million unique viewers tuned into the finals of League of Legends World Championships. This figure also includes a sold out crowd at the Staples Center. To put this into perspective, this total viewership figure is more than the combined viewership of the 2014 World Series and NBA Finals. With figures like this, it is safe to say that gaming tournaments are no longer confined to a group of friends having a Counter-Strike LAN party hunching into their monitors whilst consuming unhealthy amounts of Cheetos and Mountain Dew.
A testament to this is the rise in the number of universities in the USA that offer gaming based scholarships. Furthermore, the number of students participating in inter-university gaming events dwarf the number of participants in men’s division 1 basketball, soccer and hockey.
With such impressive stats and major sports networks starting to broadcast professional gaming tournaments, it was only about time that sponsors would start getting in on the action. Brands such as Red Bull, Monster, Coke Zero, Intel, Nissan, and American Express have been sponsoring major eSports events. In fact, even the Obama administration utilized the help of professional gamers to promote the launch of healthcare.gov.
That being said, there is still a lot of space in the market for other brands to come in. of course, they have to be mindful of the fact that there is still some stigma attached to playing games. Pre-conceived notions about gamer's still exist amongst a large amount people, including parents and peers. But to that we counter and say that we’re in 2016, and nerdy is the new sexy.