Providing the intelligence behind the 2012 London Olympic Games
COUNTDOWN TO THE LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES
79 DAYS TO GO
Q What was your brand’s primary reason for being involved with the Games?
A London 2012 offers us a great platform to demonstrate how Nielsen provides information and insights to organisations to give them a comprehensive understanding of global consumers and markets. In addition to the work we’re doing directly for the London organising committee (Locog), our clients have also engaged us at the centre of their decision making related to the Games.
Q How did you structure the case for involvement to the board?
A We had been working towards the goal of official provider status for the Games for some time, providing insight in an unofficial capacity to the Beijing and Sydney Games before the research provider category existed. So getting our board’s agreement to the principle was quite straightforward.
Q What was the hardest question or issue to reconcile in order to get board approval?
A Like many sponsors, deciding what your objectives are and how to measure them was the most difficult question and the most crucial to answer. Delighting Locog with our ability to deliver the intelligence behind the Games was the number one objective. Other objectives included engaging and creating a purpose for our staff to be involved with the Games and especially the Paralympics movement, and naturally, revenue expectations from work for our clients in relation to the Games. Our measurement suggests we’re on track with these. Looking ahead, we’re also aiming to create new and lasting client relationships during and beyond the Games.
Q How have you structured your business to maximise Olympic opportunities?
A We have a dedicated team of five researchers based at Locog’s nerve centre overlooking the Olympic Park. They’re involved in every major decision that the organising committee makes, from the choice of the mascots two years ago, to the execution of the closing ceremony.
This team is currently focusing on building the spectator experience programme for the Games – a great example of the work that we are doing. Pre- and post-Games, there will be in-depth online surveys to assess visitors’ needs and expectations, and to measure how they were met. The team will also be running state-of-the-art geo-triggered mobile surveys during events, plus venue-specific face-to-face interviews using tablets, to monitor and help manage execution during the Games.
Q How did the announcement that you were involved affect your business?
A Very positively – both commercially and internally. Our Olympics commercial team, led by Doulla Croft, is ahead of plan at this stage for new business; and employee engagement has increased – especially in recent months as the Games gets closer – as employees have been getting involved with athlete stories and the personal side of the Games. The British Sonar sailing team, for example, is sponsored by Nielsen, and visited our Oxford office the other week. On a similar theme, we are running events for a children’s sport-related charity. And next month in the run-up to the Games, we will also have our Nielsen Global Impact Day, a worldwide day of volunteering, which will engage our employees in social-impact activities within their local communities.
Q How do you monitor your progress in achieving your commercial objectives and how will you judge your success post-Games?
A We use our global expertise around what consumers watch and what they buy, to help inform and evaluate marketing and engagement activity across numerous aspects of the Games. We are regularly appraised by Locog and also hold our own thorough internal evaluations. In addition, we regularly survey our associates in the UK, and tag and measure any revenues and new business that are Games-related.
Q What advice can you give those businesses that aren’t official partners to help them make the most of the commercial opportunities presented by the Olympics?
A Stay well within the rules! But see this for what it is if you are in the UK: a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We see a very wide spectrum of views from businesses towards digital media – from those yet to be convinced, to those reorganising their marketing teams around it. But as the use of digital channels expands and evolves, businesses will need to understand the emerging opportunities across the social media spectrum. Since London 2012 is the first digitally-integrated Olympic Games, broader audiences will be introduced to and start adopting social platforms, which will create new trends in consumer behaviour. This shift will have a dynamic and transformative impact on marketing in the UK as it continues to move it in a more professional, intelligent way.
Chris Morley is the group managing director UK & Ireland for Nielsen.