Olympic fever has officially hit, and it seems everyone is watching, whether they planned to or not. Coverage of the games helped NBC beat its rivals by the biggest ever ratings margin. At one point the network had more viewers than the next dozen channels combined. The ratings are the biggest since the Barcelona Games in 1992.Olympic fever it seems has infected us all.
And if you’re so inclined, you might want to try and capitalize on a popular event like the summer games that already has massive public interest.Sure you might not get an Olympic medalist to appear at your location… or have your product photographed in a champion’s hand… but you can still make a connection between what you do and the incredible interest we all seem to have in the Olympic games.
This approach comes from American’s Best Companies, a private nationwide organization for small businesses dedicated to providing you with tools, information and resources to help you compete with the big guys. Membership in the organization is open to any business — independent contractors, salons, auto shops, restaurants and others — all sizes and types, all across the country. A recent blog post on the ABC site by Josh Petersei suggest five ways any small business can promote itself during the games.
- Give customers an Olympic event schedule that places your business name and logo somewhere on the sheet that you hand out.
- Keep track of the medal count for the U.S. and update it daily. Then display the information in your lobby, window or anywhere you’re sure customers can see it.
- Put the games on in your office or lobby, so that customers can check in anytime they come by. If you’re unable to broadcast the games, try recording the previous night’s events, and replay them during the next day.
- Offer discounts if a particular event is won, or world record is broken. This works especially well if the event (swimming or gymnastics for example) ties directly to your type of business.
- Give out items like pens, buttons, magnets with American flags and your own logo.
Here are some other things you could try…
- promote the efforts of a local athlete attending the games and keep everyone updated on his/her progress.
- hold a fund raiser to support the Olympics or Olympic training
- run local newspaper ads or put up banners congratulating the winners
- support local Special Olympics efforts
- add a Olympic themed message to invoice/statement comment area
The Olympics, like other pop culture phenomenons, are generating lots of interest. There’s no rhyme or reason to what takes off, so the best you can do is watch for the trends… listen to what people are saying and be ready to tie your business into the next thing that catches the public interest.
Can you say political conventions? How about back-to-school? Fall sports anyone?
