The Magic of the Winter Olympics

Performance Communications | مارس 1, 2018

The PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games have now finished but it’s not all over as the Paralympics kick off on 9th March.

I love watching the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. I first got the bug eight years ago when I was lucky enough to go to Vancouver 2010 with my former employer and global Olympic sponsor Visa.

At the time, the Games felt like the cooler sibling to the slightly more sanitised Summer Olympics. I watched ski cross make its debut , tried to follow the puck in (ice) hockey and fell in love with a marmot called Mukmuk.

Brand activations

For sponsors, the Games provide an excellent opportunity to showcase new products and services. Vancouver 2010 was Proctor & Gamble’s first Games and where they kicked off their ‘moms’ creative. It was obviously a success as they continue to use a version of that campaign to this day.

What about the brands this year?

In terms of social media mentions, Brandwatch reports that Intel received the most mentions, perhaps thanks to its VR headset campaign and the Intel Shooting Star drones used in the closing ceremony.

But for me, these are the brands which stood out this year.

Alibaba
The ecommerce giant celebrated its first Games as a sponsor with a nice campaign around ‘the greatness of small’, highlighting their support of small businesses. The advert has more than nine million views on YouTube so they must be doing something right.

Samsung
Another TOP sponsor, Samsung used these Games to showcase their technical innovation by developing a ‘SmartSuit’ for two Dutch speed skaters. With one skater winning the Netherlands’ first ever gold medal in short track speed skating, I’d wager other counties will be looking for their own Samsung SmartSuit.

Ralph Lauren
Team USA have Ralph Lauren as their Official Outfitter. For these Games, the team were lucky enough to have been kitted out in self-heating jackets – with a different one for the opening and closing ceremonies, naturally.

Under Armour
Another company who focused on speed skating – this time for Team USA. After a disappointing performance in Sochi, Under Armour developed a supposedly physics-defeating speedsuit. Unfortunately it was to little success.

The athletes
We see a lot of brands trying to tap into the emotion of the Games or any live sporting event but nothing beats watching the ecstasy of winning or in some cases, the agony of losing.

TO CHARGE FOR FEATURES, OR NOT TO CHARGE? THAT IS THE QUESTION FOR SOFTWARE DEFINED VEHICLES

I enjoyed my first visit to FT Future of the Car summit last month, and it got me thinking. While Software Defined Vehicles (SDVs) and connected cars were a hot topic, communicating the benefits of these vehicles to consumers isn’t necessarily straightforward. It’s especially hard when it feels like new tech is simply the enabler […]

PARTNERSHIPS, PARTNERSHIPS, PARTNERSHIPS

Sam Mercer noticed a running theme at the FT Future of the Car Summit as the complexity and cost of producing modern cars is pushing more and more companies to work together. “Protectionism doesn’t work”. That was the clear statement from one panellist at FT Future of the Car last week. And this sentiment truly […]

Breaking Barriers

It’s not often you stop and stand in awe of sporting achievement, but Sunday morning’s London Marathon stopped me in my tracks. The sub two-hour barrier for a marathon was never meant to be beaten in competition across 26.2 miles. While Red Bull and INEOS’ 2019 event showed it could be done in controlled conditions, […]

2026 is make-or-break for self-driving cars in the UK

We all know that driverless cars are no longer the stuff of science fiction. While both China and the US have embraced autonomous technology, Aisling Fitzgerald looks at why 2026 promises to be a big year for self-driving vehicles here in the UK… This year is set to be a turning point for autonomous mobility […]

Do e-axles hold the key to the EV transition? Why EV powertrains are going all-in-one

While battery technology typically takes the role of frontman in the rock band that is the EV transition, Matthew Kirtley looks at another member of the group that could be about to take centre stage… According to a recent report from Automotive IQ, the total value of EV powertrains produced worldwide is projected to more than […]

The law of unintended consequences: The new per-mile EV tax in detail

It has been more than a week since the later-than-usual Autumn Budget, and we think the new proposals could have an unintended consequence that will bring an age-old challenge for the auto industry back in the spotlight. The 2025 Autumn Budget has introduced a new per-mile road tax for battery EVs and plug-in hybrid EVs. […]

5 key takeaways from the IAA Mobility show

We were on the ground at the IAA Mobility show earlier this week, and what a show it was. The European motorshow is back with a bang. Here are my five key take-aways: Rise of the small EV: Favourable market conditions and demand for low-cost EVs, lead to an abundance of great-looking all-electric hatchbacks. VW’s […]

Nuclear’s Role in the EV transition

It’s no secret that mass adoption of BEVs and PHEVs depends on access to reliable charging infrastructure, but an under-appreciated aspect of the EV revolution is how much it depends on affordable electricity. Here, Performance Communications’ own Matthew Kirtley explores how nuclear might be the missing piece of the jigsaw. Rolls-Royce has recently claimed that […]