Viva’s Blog: Why we love the Olympics

What is it about these 17 days of sport and politics that captivates us and unifies an otherwise often divided nation? Why did twice as many people watch the Olympics Sunday night compared to the combined primetime viewership of ABC, CBS and FOX?

How do you create a brand your customers love? There’s a lot for business people to learn from the Olympics.

Lesson #1: Make it about a common goal.
The Games matter because people across the world want their country to win. You can ask 100 Americans why they watch the Games and they’ll all say the same thing – to see their fellow Americans win. Having a common goal is very powerful. A goal that everyone understands and embraces is a game changer.

Case in point: A Cleveland-based medical laboratory (and Viva La Brand client) conducted research and learned that their low retention rate was directly correlated with their inconsistent manufacturing quality. When surveyed, their employees, who were each responsible for one step of the manufacturing process, had no idea that their end product was often faulty.

We devised three simple metrics related to quality. The president implemented daily 15-minute stand-up company meetings at 8 am to review just three quality metrics from the previous day. Without making changes to any processes or staff, the results for all three metrics improved by the end of the first week. Why? Because they had a common goal.

Lesson #2: Make it personal.
Even non-sports fanatics are sucked in by the human-interest stories about the athletes. Sure the Olympics are about sports, but they’re also about excellence, friendship and respect.
Lolo Jones and her new bobsled career, Bode Miller and his custody battle, and Meryl Davis and Charlie White and their 17-year history skating together. These stories and countless others grab the attention of viewers and turn the Games into something more than just sporting events.

Savvy business people get it. They understand that people want to be treated like individuals with hearts and souls, individuals who appreciate relationships with people, not just a name on a computer printout or an automated message.

Another Viva La Brand client follows up every customer call with a handwritten note. Sure it takes a lot of time, but the brand’s image increases tremendously in the eyes of their customers.

Lesson #3: Make it familiar.
Can you picture the Olympics logo? Of course you can. Brand gurus know that to establish a brand and then maintain top-of-mind awareness, you need to use the same logo, colors, design and even messaging across all media types and over time.

NBC has done a great job of using the same music and announcers on top of presenting the brand consistently regardless of where it appears. While business people often get bored of their brand’s look and feel, according to Yankelovich Research people see 3,000 to 20,000 marketing messages a day so it’s likely they won’t get bored of yours as fast as you do!

Think the Golden Arches. They were first introduced in 1953 and are still part of the iconic brand’s marketing today. McDonald’s wants you to have an emotional reaction every time you see them, one that steers your car into their parking lot. That only happens after experiencing the brand many, many times.

Whether the U.S. tops the list of countries in the medal count or not, one big win is building love for the Olympic brand. Learn from the Olympics and build love for your brand.

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