NBCUniversal has been touting its coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games for more than a year. But until very recently, readers of sports pages in the United States wouldn’t know that there was an Olympics beginning in Paris on July 26.
That’s because despite the best efforts of NBCU, which will televise the Olympics July 26-August 11, the Olympic Games take second fiddle to baseball, basketball, football and even soccer, which after many years of trying is now covered year-round in major print publications and on TV in the U.S.
There are many reasons that baseball, basketball and football outshine the Olympics among U.S. sports fans:
- Baseball, basketball and football are covered in the U.S. year-round, so fans can gain an attachment to a team.
- In addition to the coverage of those sports by print publications, radio and TV talk shows help promote baseball, basketball and football year-round.
- There is not a four-year lapse between the schedules of those sports, as there is between a Summer and Winter Olympics, making it easier for fans of those sports to know the players and root for them.
- Unlike having to be a super-like athlete to qualify for an Olympic team, there are many opportunities for young children to participate in baseball, basketball and football competitions. Various leagues and tournaments have encouraged youngsters to do so for generations.
- And finally, unlike the specialized skills and training necessary to participate in Olympic-type sports, anyone, regardless of age or talent can gather a few friends and play baseball, basketball or football.
At one time not too many years ago, baseball, basketball and football teams were composed of players born in the U.S. That is no longer the case. Teams now include players from all corners of the world. Players from Latin America and Asia have become stars and favorites of U.S. sports fans and are promoted as such by their teams.
Thus, many American baseball, basketball and football players have become known throughout the world. And because those leagues now schedule games to be played in foreign countries, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Football League have internationalized what once were considered exclusively American sports.
The internationalization of those sports have made it possible for brands that want an international sports marketing program to have one without having to cough up the exorbitant amount of dollars that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) demands of brands.
And importantly, unlike the strict restrictions that the authoritarian-like IOC demands of its sponsors, brands can craft a marketing strategy that best fits their needs.
Examples:
- Brands can create a marketing campaign featuring a player for a specific foreign market, using a Japanese athlete for Japan, or a Latino player for Latin America.
- Brands can also use the same player to deliver the marketing message in various countries: A well-known Korean ballplayer can be used to deliver the marketing message to Asia, the U.S. and Asian communities throughout the world, and because the “American” games has been played and televised in foreign countries for several years, American-born stars, because they are now known world-wide, can be used in a worldwide mark eting campaign.
PR people who work on Olympic marketing accounts have to follow the rules of the IOC. Not so, when crafting a program utilizing baseball, basketball and football players. Even though I believe that the Olympic Games are the most important of all sports events, because of all the restrictions that the IOC places on PR activities, it limits your marketing options.
When a client asks me to recommend a sports tie-in, I always recommend a baseball, basketball and football tie-in for the following reasons:
- Unlike the IOC, which places restrictions on what a sponsor can do, a brand can craft a program that can be used multiple ways,
- Baseball players, basketball players and football players are not restricted from delivering a brand message.
- A well-crafted sports marketing program can be used year-after-year with only minor revisions.
- The Olympic Games are always a magnet for negative publicity.
- And by crafting their own programs, brands can save millions of dollars and still have a viable international marketing program.
PR people should remember that it’s possible to construct an original international sports marketing program, and that while the Olympic Games might be the world’s premiere international event; it isn’t to sports fans in the United States.
