Marketers finding Olympics opportunities online -- and on the phone.
The 2004 Summer Olympics officially begin tomorrow in Athens. But savvy marketers and service providers already are rallying around the games for brand association, and using a plethora of digital media to do so.
NBC, of course, holds the exclusive U.S. media rights to the Olympic Games through 2012, which include Athens in 2004, Torino, Italy in 2006, Beijing in 2008, Vancouver 2010 and the Summer Games of 2012. The network will be running unprecedented around-the-clock coverage of the games. That will total 1,210 hours aired across seven platforms -- NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, Telemundo, Bravo, USA and NBC-HDTV. Over the 17 days of the Athens Games (Aug. 13-29), NBC's coverage will average more than 70 hours per day.
To keep viewers informed of what's running when and where, NBC's Olympics Web site has teamed with Zap2it TV, which is providing a searchable online viewing guide. The TV listings page features a two-hour window of Olympic programming, and users also have the option to search for updated tune-in information by sport, day part, time, date or channel.
"One of the most heavily-trafficked areas of NBCOlympics.com is the television listings section," says Gary Zenkel, executive vice president, NBC Olympics. "Zap2it.com's leading online television listings technology ensures our viewers will be well-served in navigating through our 1,210 hours of coverage across seven platforms, especially those who are looking for listings for a particular sport."
Advertisers on the TV listings page include Nissan, SBC and Chevrolet.
Hyundai sponsors MSN.com's extended coverage
MSNBC.com yesterday launched the "Big Picture" and "How-To Interactive" features on the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, both sponsored by Hyundai Motor America.
MSNBC's Big Picture, an award-winning multimedia feature, focuses on the future of the Olympics. As the Games return to their historic home, this interactive feature asks readers to explore a variety of issues that will impact the future of this global event.
The Big Picture interactive features include:
- The future of the Olympic Games: Users find out what it is like to sit on the International Olympics Committee, and consider and vote on emerging concerns, including mixed-gender competitions and genetically modified athletes.
- Olympics site selection: Viewers will get a tutorial on the selection process that guides the choice of a host city, how sites have been chosen in the past, and what may determine how they are selected in the future.
- What is a sport?: Authorities discuss the factors that have shaped the definition of Olympic sports, and talk about which events may find their way into future Olympics.
- The limits of athletic evolution: Users can test their hunches against historical milestones, the records of actual champions and expert opinions on where we can go from here.
MSNBC.com also will provide how-to interactives on top events, also sponsored by Hyundai Motor America. Viewers can learn the fine points of top events by calling up detailed, nuts-and-bolts information on how judges look at a gymnastics routine, what it takes to pull off a great dive, how to score Olympic events, which athletes may break from the pack in 2004, and more.
In addition, there will be entertaining features such as:
- Olympic IQ, which lets users test their knowledge of the summer games, the history of the events and the competition's classical origins.
- "Postcards from Athens" -- daily updates from MSNBC.com producers working at the Games. These behind-the-scenes reports will provide an insight into life in Athens during the big event.
- Off-beat and unusual sports.
"MSNBC.com's Big Picture and how-to interactive features marry the richness of video and animation with the convenience of the Internet to take users right into the heart of the 2004 Olympic Games," says Charlie Tillinghast, general manager and publisher of MSNBC.com. "We are pleased to be working with Hyundai to provide our viewers with comprehensive interactive coverage of this summer's competition."
Hyundai teamed with MSNBC.com earlier this year in a sponsorship of the site's Big Picture movie award guide, which Paul Sellers, executive director of marketing for Hyundai Motor America, deemed "an unqualified success, thanks to MSNBC.com's unique approach to delivering news and advertising in an interactive environment."
Wireless providers bring the games to users
A number of wireless carriers are also jumping into the action. For example, Crisp Wireless is providing advanced mobile content management applications for delivery of NBC Olympic Games' coverage exclusively for AT&T Wireless customers. The mMode(TM) Olympic Games applications provide users with instant, on-the-go access to a wide variety of Olympic Games information through any compatible phone.
Tailored specifically for the NBC Olympic Games, Crisp Wireless' mMode applications provide AT&T Wireless mMode users with up-to-the-minute Olympic information, including news stories, event schedules, results, medal counts, country profiles and even an exclusive Michael Phelps diary.
Crisp Wireless' applications also include advanced functionality to make the Olympic experience even more engaging, entertaining and informative. Highlights of new features include customized alerts, fantasy Olympic games users can compete in, and Olympic videos that include highlights, athlete interviews, promos and Olympic trials.
AT&T Wireless -- a U.S. Olympic Team Sponsor -- has also teamed up with Samsung Telecommunications America -- a TOP V Worldwide Olympic Partner -- to offer consumers a new, pocket-sized phone that allows them to receive the up-to-the-minute news from the games.
The Samsung e316 became available nationwide yesterday for $199 (after a $70 instant activation credit, $50 mail-in rebate and two-year contract). The phone is available at select AT&T Wireless retail outlets, authorized dealers and online.
Sprint also offers info from Athens to its customers. Through Athens on Location, Sprint customers with the Sprint PCS Vision phone can watch daily video feeds from the streets of the Greek city, tour hot night spots and hear interviews with locals.
Blogs compete with coverage
As with the political conventions this year, bloggers are also getting into the action. The most comprehensive blog, according to the Blog Herald, is Livingroom's Athens Olympics. Recent postings have included the diet of ancient Olympians, linking to an article titled, "Ancient Olympians Followed 'Atkins' Diet, Scholar Says.
Proving that blogs have gone mainstream, The Indianapolis Star's online site, the Indystar.com, has sent its star photographer, Robert Scheer, to Greece to write a daily blog.
Other blogs found by the Blog Herald include: