Olympic lessons for every brand

3/ INTRODUCTION

9/ FINAL WORD4/ MYTH #1

“You can’t get staff to care as much as volunteers”

5/ MYTH #2

“Brands can’t evoke that kind of emotion“

6/ MYTH #3

“We’ll never touch that many people“

7/ MYTH #4

“An iconic setting is beyond our reach“

8/ MYTH #5

“Of course the budget has to be huge“

WHAT’S INSIDE

10/ TALK TO JACK

The Olympics are undoubtedly in a class of their own. Yet we believe there is much that brands can learn from the Olympics,and so many ways that brands can create engaging brand experiences that leave their audience with the same warm afterglow.

Some might say that brands can’t borrow the lessons of the Olympics. That they shouldn’t aspire to create this groundswell of goodwill or “think big” for their brands. (These naysayers may be related to those pre-Games doubters).We think they’re wrong.

We’ve identified five key myths (or myth conceptions)that may be keeping your brand from the medals table. We hope by the end of this paper that we’ll have dispelled these myths and inspired you to Olympic greatness.

‘Goodwill, positivity, advocacy –call it what you will: in 2012, London generally and the Olympics specifically have generated it in spades.’

The atmosphere has been so inspiring that people have literally been bottling it and attempting to sell it on eBay.

It’s a stunning turnaround from the pre-Games scepticism of whether we could actually pull this off (among the UK populace at least; when I asked colleagues outside the UK about those doubts, they were confused as to why I’d even ask). Now, among even the most sceptical generation – 18-35 year-olds – over 90% agree that the Olympics was a good thing for the nation.

INTRODUCTION

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MYTH #1 “You can’t get staff to care as much as volunteers”The common factor uniting volunteers was a passion to be involved with something significant, to be part of a once-in-a-lifetime movement.

It’s this passion that you want in your employees. As the first point of contact people may have with your brand, getting them to feel as committed and involved as Olympic volunteers is not just desirable, it’s good business sense.Sadly, too much of how companies engage employees is dictated by functional silos. But however separate Internal Communications may be from External Marketing in your company’s eyes, however far apart your brand team may be from the HR team, that’s not how people experience your employer brand. There’s just one Olympics cause; what’s your employer branding cause?

We need to think Brand to Everyone. People don’t define themselves in such narrow terms as job-hunter, employee, consumer. Successful brands create positive and differentiating experiences that make people want to engage with them on every level. Your staff need to feel every bit as inspired about your brand as the rest of the world. Why should they receive diluted or second-hand versions? Internal communication must be every bit as imaginative and engaging as external communication.

It’s been shown that companies with highly engaged employees perform better financially. Research by Towers Watson has shown that companies with “exponential” levels of employee engagement deliver operating margin that is three times higher than those with low levels of engagement.In his book Grow, former P&G CMO Jim Stengel tracks the stock performance of companies with highly engaged employees and shows how they outperformed the S&P500.

Here’s the Olympics lesson: Give your employees an experience they want to be part of, a sense of purpose, a cause, a reason to believe in your brand. Remember, those 250,000 volunteers wanted so much to be part of the experience they were willing to work countless hours for no pay. Of course even the most passionate employees expect to be paid – but research by Gumtree indicates that less than half of men and only a mere quarter or women are primarily motivated by money when looking for a new job.

So get ready to give your employees a reason to believe. Don’t know what inspires your staff? Ask them. You might be surprised at what they tell you.

A staggering quarter of a million people applied to be Games Makers (the name given to the Olympic and Paralympic volunteers).

So how do you attract such passionate, engaged people to be part of your organisation? What lessons can this teach us about recruitment?

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MYTH #2 “Brands can’t evoke that kind of emotion“But of course the Games heightened emotions, you may say: We were hosting the biggest sporting event in the world, welcoming millions of people from across the globe.

Can brands do that, too? Can they overcome the seen-it-all sensation of yet another product launch, yet another conference or tradeshow? Another speech, another day of observing and nodding politely? Another day of not being engaged? Yes, they can. Brands can connect emotionally if they do three things the Games did:

Appeal to basic humanity:Athletes’ connected when the public could identify with them. Behind all the elite cycling, swimming and running, we glimpsed real people – and real stories about their experiences, sacrifices and often, failures. This is what made us root for them. Similarly, P&G’s ongoing “Proud Sponsor of Moms” campaign made people fall in love with athletes and brands, whether they were mums or not, and in a way that felt authentic and respectful. For example, P&G practised what they preached by providing a P&G Family Home for athletes and their relatives in the Olympic Village.

Keep them on the edge of their seats:The pavilion with the biggest crowds in the Olympic Park was Coca-Cola’s Beatbox. Why? Easy: not only did it use innovative technology to capture attention; it was pure storytelling with the viewer as protagonist. Over the past few years interactive theatre has become increasingly popular. Following in the footsteps of early pioneers like You Me Bum Bum Train, theatre companies and comedians are pushing the boundaries further to truly engage with audiences. It goes without saying: as a vital

character in the performance you’re more likely to have a memorable experience. No more sitting in the back yawning or texting. And of course you will be more likely to share the adventure with your friends.

Make them feel special:Secret Cinema, another recent phenomenon, makes people feel a special kind of participation. Instead of watching the action unfold onscreen, viewers are led to a mystery location where they’re fully immersed in the film’s world – perhaps even selected to play a role. Deliberately vague, the Secret Cinema website invokes a strong sense of mystery; their “Tell No One” tagline makes you feel part of something exclusive. Before the event you’re part of an experience, and you’ve become involved in a mystery to which you’re one of the few privvy. As with interactive theatre, cinema routine is turned on its head. Reactions are provoked. Emotional responses are earned.

When brands take this counter-conventional approach, when they react to people by displaying their own humanity and humour (not just a blank corporate statement), a similarly strong engagement can result.

The Games inspired a myriad of emotions:

Wonder when the cauldron was lit, joy when the first gold medals were won, amusement at Usain Bolt’s showmanship, sadness when it was all over.

The common thread: these moments resonated, forged an emotional connection and got people talking.

Vistors were able to create their own beat for London 2012 by remixing the sounds of Olympic sports.

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MYTH #3 “We’ll never touch that many people“150 million tweets posted about the Olympics9.66 million mentions of the opening ceremony on Twitter on a single day80,000 tweets per minute about Usain Bolt’s 200m gold win1,045,469 likes on Team GB’s Facebook page461 million visits on the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympic website

Impressive statistics, especially when you consider that LOCOG (the organising body behind the 2012 Olympics) didn’t pay a penny for it. They earned this media by creating a special experience, which people wanted to share.

That’s what is so empowering about digital: it’s the perfect medium for facilitating word of mouth – one of the most powerful forms of marketing. Spreading the word about a new product, sharing a film with millions on YouTube, gaining massive consumer exposure with a campaign that goes viral, not to mention a new and deeper level of enagement – it’s all possible.

But to earn this sharing of digital content, as with any experience, you must offer something unique, something that adds value. Turn mere information or brand messaging into a game; use humour or imagery; or an emotionally resonant story and you’re more likely to capture people’s attention.

Look at how BA used their digital platform to engage with fans with a campaign entitled “Home Advantage”. They used Twitter to create a digital symphony, a measuring tool to find out how British supporters were responding

to the Games. Users interacted with a “barometer” through social media platforms, watching how the post affected its sound and appearance. As the social buzz around British Olympic athletes heightened, so did the symphonic composition and the over half million messages posted.

You don’t need the backdrop of global events like the Games to have a successful digital campaign. Think of the viral Dollar Shave Club series which depicts the company CEO making his pitch; he is unfailingly direct and honest about the benefits of his service. Why does this work? Because it’s simple, it’s authentic, it’s funny and begs to be shared. The ad cost $4500 to make and the views on YouTube currently stand at 6.5 million. Had the company taken a traditional advertising approach it’s unlikely they’d have received the same level of engagement – but very likely they’d be bankrupt from buying media. Instead, they earned media.

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MYTH #4 “An iconic setting is beyond our reach“

But such iconic settings are not outside brands’ reach. You can create an extraordinary environment if you’re open to the idea that anything is possible. A blank canvas can often provide the best setting, allowing you to be more experimental and imaginative. This may mean exploring obscure sites – we’ve scoured the world for disused air hangars and airfields for automotive clients, looked at underground tunnels for fashion and sourced pop up shops for product launches. Or sometimes that blank canvas is in a cool gallery, a hidden roof space or even a traditional congress centre.

Be prepared to find the impossible. To discover a setting that can become iconic you have to be imaginative, creative and resourceful and bear the following in mind:• Be flexible and open minded

• Look to offer something new that hasn’t been done before

• Prepare to overcome obstacles that may never have been challenged before

• Change habits and push the boundaries with both client and venues

• Stay up to date with the latest trends

• Contemplate every eventuality

• Ensure best value for money and service

• Build and maintain strong relationships with environmental location agencies, marketing agencies, national and international major hotel chains, independently owned properties, worldwide destination management companies

• Above all, have a fully integrated team – creative, logistics and technical teams working side by side

And it doesn’t have to be about the building – technology can create new worlds in the unlikeliest of places. For one Olympic sponsor we transformed an old fashioned hotel ballroom into an enchanted forest using 270 degree projection. Guests were then taken on a journey along the River Thames – from the beautiful greenery of Kew all the way to the Olympic Park, turning a standard welcome dinner into an unexpected adventure.

Beach volleyball in front of Horse Guards parade; a state-of-the-art Olympic Park in East London, a time trial race culminating outside Hampton Court Palace: it’s hard to think of more iconic settings.

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MYTH #5 “Of course the budget has to be huge“

1. Invest in strong ideas that will travelPowerful ideas are priceless. They can make the difference between a visually impressive but instantly forgettable experience, and a brand experience that is emotionally engaging, memorable and reaches multiple people because they want to share and retell it. Take that strong idea and multiply it and you really have won gold. Think multi-purposed content: create (and pay for) it once; repurpose, refine; re-use multiple times. If the content is good and the idea strong this will work.

2. Use your audience: make them part of the experience; not just passive observers. Get them to become the entertainment; set them a task; get them to share their talent. People learn more by doing than watching so they’ll be more engaged and invigorated and messages will be absorbed with a longer lasting impact.

3. Use a venue you own. Don’t feel restricted by what it looks like; it can be dressed in a multitude of ways and props can all help bring the experience to life. This works particularly well if you’re creating a theatrical immersive experience, as people focus on the detail of what they are experiencing in their immediate surrounds; other people or actors and the props. The investment here is in creativity rather than budget. 4. Be clever with technology. Technology advances at such a rapid rate that it is hard to keep pace; but it can offer exceptional opportunities for enhancing live experience.

Augmented reality, for instance, can bring immediacy and impact to global presentations; allowing a remote audience to feel immediately immersed in a 3D presentation, rather than passively observing a PowerPoint presentation from their desk.

5. Make the venue do the work: if you choose somewhere that is a good fit with your brand; it can make everything more cost-effective; as you don’t have to spend so much dressing the space or trying to turn it into something it’s not. So if the product you’re launching, for example, is a gritty urban computer game, why not set the launch in a gritty, urban setting, complete with already burnt out cars, and graffiti? Accompany this with army rations for the catering and other props inspired by the game and you have an authentic memorable launch experience.

Thinking big doesn’t necessarily mean you have to spend big. There are many clever and creative ways to create memorable experiences that don’t come with the same price tag as the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

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FINAL WORD

The Olympics are, perhaps, the ultimate brand experience but, nonetheless we can learn from every aspect of that amazing example to craft our own brand experiences.

You don’t have to have the biggest budget, the most impressive venue or a horde of willing volunteers to deliver a genuinely breath-taking experience. You just need to be open to new ideas, be willing to stop focussing on the challenges and certainly believe that your brand has a purpose and offers an experience that’s uniquely compelling for your people and your customers.

We hope we’ve inspired you to look at things differently and that we’ve succeeded in debunking some myths, but we’re always interested in sharing opinions. So do get in touch if you want to talk some more.

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Julian PullanE: julian_pullan@jackmorton.co.ukT: +44 20 8735 2000

Liz BighamE: liz_bigham@jackmorton.comT: +1 212 401 7212

Read our blog at blog.jackmorton.comFollow us on twitter @jackmortonVisit us online at jackmorton.com

ABOUT JACK MORTONJack Morton Worldwide is a global brand experience agency with offices on five continents. Our agency culture promotes breakthrough ideas about how experiences connect brands and people - in person, online, at retail and through the power of digital and word of mouth influence. We work with both BtoC and BtoB clients to create powerful and effective experiences that engage customers and consumers, launch products, align employees and build strong experience brands. Ranked at the top of our field, we earned over 50 awards for creativity, execution and effectiveness last year. Jack Morton is part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE: IPG).

© Jack Morton Worldwide 2012

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