In just 17 short days, the Winter Olympics showcased nearly 3,000 top athletes competing to be the best in the world. These athletes had unique stories that thousands of media employees on location and back in their home countries needed to capture.
Below are four storytelling lessons your brand can take away from the recent games in Pyeongchang.
1. Find the emotional hook
Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim were the only pairs team to represent the United States in figure skating. They were also the only married U.S. Olympic athletes. Yet, that was not what their NBC feature was about. The feature focused on how Alexa suffered from a rare gastrointestinal condition that was diagnosed in 2016. The condition threatened the Knierim’s Olympic dream and Alexa’s life. But after two abdominal surgeries, Alexa pulled through and the couple helped the U.S. win a bronze medal in the figure skating team event.
The condition threatened the Knierim’s Olympic dream and Alexa’s life
The short feature outlining the Knierims’ tough journey to the games and their love for each other aired on NBC every time the Knierims would take the ice. The feature educated the audience and created an emotional connection between the viewers and the U.S. team. The Knierims went from a pairs team that was not favored to medal to America’s favorite couple to cheer for.
Takeaway: Use your brand’s evocative, and often hidden, stories to create emotional hooks that will positively resonate in people’s minds.
2. Look for the non-obvious angle
Most brands have their Shaun Whites and Lindsey Vonns so recognizing that your audience loves to love them is key. But don’t forget about the underdogs or the people behind the scenes like the Knierims or the Zamboni drivers.
Don’t forget about the underdogs or the people behind the scenes
Takeaway: Highlight the stories of your employees or clients to personify your brand. These non-marquee stories often are able to connect with your audience on a more relatable level.
3. Always consider your audience
The top Olympic sponsors had lines of people eagerly waiting to participate in their on-site activations. The secret to these brands’ successes was understanding the audience: South Koreans. South Koreans love to take photos, especially selfies. So each activation was visually friendly with life size picture frames, personal photographers and mascots waiting for photos with fans.
The secret to these brands’ successes was understanding the audience
Coca-Cola won gold with their massive vending machine. This machine prompted folks to drop a two-foot coin into a slot, then rewarded fans with either a free Coke or Coca-Cola bear. The fans did most of the work for the brand by sharing their images throughout social media with #CokePLAY in the caption.
Takeaway: You don’t need to have Coca-Cola’s budget to connect with your audience. Use your audience’s habits to create a brand experience that matches your brand values. Your audience will market you through their own platforms if your brand connects with them in a natural way.
4. Expect the unexpected
USA Men’s Olympic Curler, Matt Hamilton, was first recognized due to his participation in the first ever mixed doubles curling pair event at the Olympics. Did we mention that his teammate was his sister? Well that fact is what won American hearts. But wait there’s more: as his popularity grew, so did his brand on social media.
Fans took notice of his massive mustache so Matt ran with it by tweeting #hamiltonmustachemilitia earning a great deal of fan participation. To top it all off, he helped win America’s first Olympic gold medal in curling.
Takeaway: So what we can learn from Matt Hamilton? That a great story can come from anyone at any time. Your brand needs to have the tools to capitalize on these stories in the moment. If you see marketing potential in a story, create great content and then let your audience do the work.
Katie Yeatts is a senior at Northwestern University majoring in Radio, Television and Film with a certificate in Integrated Marketing and Communications. She was lucky enough to intern with NBC Sports during the Pyeongchang games, her second-favorite internship ever (TeamWorks being the first*).
*Editor’s note: We made her write that.