For marketers two things became clear at the recent London Olympics:
- The need for speed was not exclusive to the track; and
- People are hungry for content.
In the UK, there were no less than 26 channels covering the Olympics. In the US, all 32 sports and more than 3,500 programming hours were streamed over the internet, including the awarding of all 302 medals. Add to that 150 million tweets during the 16-day event and you’ve got a lot of buzz.
A lot of this content bolted out of the blocks in record time in response to people’s desire to celebrate with their favorite athletes. Saatchi & Saatchi London produced a fantastic 10 second clip of Usain Bolt after his win of the 100m, which attracted 20 million viewers soon after it aired on TV and online. Other agencies released similar work honoring athletes in a matter of hours from their medal ceremonies.
The Age of Now may be all about action and creating a movement at warp speed, but there is also a lot to be said in running the long distance when it comes to campaigns. First impressions do last, but good things also take time.
