I’ve been trying to work out why I enjoy the contest so much and I’ve come up with:

• Captivating - I’ve been glued to the coverage on the BBC and have watched everything from the Luge, Curling, Ice Dance, Snowboarding, Ski Jumps – in fact if there is ice or snow involved, I’ve been memorised by the skill and courage of the athletes as they put their all into the competition.
• Inspiring – there is never a better time to inspire future athletes and based on previous Olympics, there will be an uplift in interest in local sporting clubs and there are many websites including the BBC with information about how people can get involved in the individual sports, either as a participant or as a spectator.
• Educational – the Olympics open the world up to us. I’ve been as interested to see South Korea as I have been to watch the sports, as well as to hear about the countries taking part and how the athletes got there (and I don't mean their mode of transport!)
• Historical – not only is the background to this the 23rd Winter Olympics, and the sports fascinating (where did Curling come from and who thought of the Skeleton first!), but each Olympics brings their own milestone achievements including:
• the total number of events (102 this time) across the number of sports (15 this time)
• the number of medals achieved by athletes / countries
• the number of Olympics an athlete has competed i
• the first time a country wins a medal o the first time a country competes
• a country not competing
• countries competing together regardless of political situations
• the length of time since a record was beaten / since a country won a medal in a sport
• human interest i.e. siblings / spouses competing
• the financial cost from the home country for hosting the Olympics
• the volumes of food, drink, equipment, condoms!
• Inclusive – I’m not alone in this reaction to the Olympics judging by social media, the viewing figures and the many conversations I've heard or taken part in. It’s open for viewing by everyone.
• Political – I won’t pretend to know or understand all the politics around the Olympics, and will only say that it felt to me (in my very limited understanding) that for the host country(s) to come together to compete as one team seemed to be monumental and potentially has achieved something in sport that politics couldn’t.

From a marketing perspective I have discussed before the pre and post coverage of the Olympics, the iconic branding and the opportunities open for sponsorship. For businesses not directly involved in the Olympics, they can time their own marketing activities with relevant content and product and service promotions. This doesn’t have to be unique to the Olympics but for other sporting events .. don’t forget it’s the World Cup this year too!

For help and advice on how your business can be topical with your marketing activity, contact Helen Stott on 0790 3727750