July
22, 2021
5 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Summer in Tokyo will highlight much-needed stories of heroism, nostalgia and inspiration from around the world. Stories of resilience and acts of overcoming challenges will bring positivity and hope after months of uncertainty.
According to a 2019 Twitter study, Twitter was the number one platform where people hope to find out about the Olympics first . We have taken advantage of that momentum since then, since 3 times more people on this social network say that they are big fans of the Olympic Games and everything related to them vs., people who do not use it. Because the fans who watch the Games do so not only because they are part of the sporting achievements, but also because of the stories that those achievements generate.
In Latin America people empathize with an exemplary success story, so 82% of the people surveyed on Twitter believe that the Paralympic Games deserve to receive more coverage than they are given .
We’ve made improvements to the products to better discover content and discuss moments by putting the conversation around the Games front and center. This includes adding new Topics that will provide the latest content on your favorite sports, teams, and athletes. We will present event push notifications to update people in real time so they can tune in to what’s happening.
The Games will be everywhere on the birdie social network, on searches , event pages and trends , as well as an exclusive destination that selects popular information and content in real time from Tokyo. Fans choose Twitter to follow live sporting events because they want to know what’s happening on and off the field in real time.
What brands can do
We learned a lot during the ambiguity and complexity of marketing during the pandemic. We’ve taken some of these previous learnings along with the current context of the conversation to create guiding principles for advertisers, which we’d like to share with all of you.
1. Show your support
Before and during the event, we encouraged brands to elevate positivity by prioritizing any opportunity to amplify unique, uplifting and inspiring stories through campaign messages and creativity. These can include athlete backstories, exciting competition results, moments of cultural unity, and more.
2. Practice self-awareness
Consider whether your planned sponsorship and association with the Games is in any way related to the day-to-day conditions of the pandemic through the eyes of the people who use your products. Consider how your marketing and communications teams are aligned with what your brand has been doing in recent months to support your community, industry, employees and customers during the pandemic, and assess what role this plays in your message and creative tone in general.
3. Keeping up with the conversation
Keeping up to date on how your brand is being talked about will allow your teams to take advantage of moments of positive trends, as well as react authentically and address any event related to your brand presence in real time. We have a variety of tools, product features, and information capabilities that can help your Brand, Communications, and Agency teams stay up-to-date with the latest events and circumstances and help you navigate your responses to them.
4. Plan for flexibility
In the event that the Games do not go as planned, it is important to proactively prepare for how your brand will recognize and respond to these changes, as well as adjust your tone, creative messages, and media strategies. Evaluate each of your sponsorship components from teams to countries to athletes and more when making these scenario plans, and consider how they might be questioned or viewed in light of unplanned circumstances.
5. Consider what people need to know and how to help
As part of planning your scenario, consider what utility or support your brand can offer to fans and consumers should conditions change during the Games. This could include considering the following components: frontline personnel and healthcare workers, local customers and employees in Japan, and athletes with whom your brand and their home countries are associated.
Without a doubt, the challenging events of the past year will bring big changes to the Games and to the viewing experience. We’re more hopeful than ever that there will be many incredible moments, performances, and personalities that will fuel important conversations on Twitter throughout the summer, and we can’t wait to be a part of the conversation.