The document provides strategies for marketers to effectively communicate their brand during major sporting events like the 2012 London Summer Olympics and Euro 2012. It recommends focusing on developing a powerful "Big Idea" through consumer research, choosing impactful creative executions, knowing the target audience well including differences between genders and age groups, and using an optimal media mix including television. Testing concepts early and investing in strong creative is emphasized over high media spending alone. Morale from national athletic success can influence ad performance.

1. Aim to Win in 2012
Prepare Properly to Effectively
Communicate your Brand during the
London Summer Olympic Games
and Euro 2012
Diego Pagura, Copy Testing Product Manager, Ipsos ASI
Lys Hugessen, Vice President, Ipsos ASI
REFLECTIONS
Inspiration for Action

2. Page 2 Aim to Win in 2012
It is true that the emotional engagement with major sporting
events, like the Olympics, can create a halo effect that can Viewer Attention to Commercials while watching TV
% Total
drive positive perceptions and motivations for sponsor brands
and organizations. Why? The large, global attentive audiences Watched commercials 34
are excited about their teams’ prospects. And, for potential
sponsors, Summer 2012 will be noteworthy, with Euro 2012
Switched channels during
and the London Summer Olympic Games spanning much the commercial breaks 23
of the season.
Stayed in the room in which
the TV was located, but did
something else while the 62
commercials were on
Left the room in which the
TV was located for any
period of time while the 52
commercials were on
Source: Ipsos ASI
If 2010 is the barometer to understand the potential to
With a short advertising window, when audience attentions
engage audiences, 2012 should be a significant opportunity
are focused on who is winning or losing, marketers need to
for savvy marketers.
invest wisely to ensure positive returns for their brands.
And not just with TV. 2010 was also the year where both When faced with the decision to spend heavily on media,
media silos and content merged, with fans actively following or on developing the best creative possible, we strongly
their favorite teams or athletes online, or on their tablets recommend the latter.
or smart phones.
Because whichever way we look at the data, developing
powerful creative is the best strategy: we observe that
‘creative’ explains 75+% of the variance in campaign success.
And it is an investment that marketers can completely control.
To ensure a better chance at winning gold, here are a few
strategies to consider.
1. Discover your gold winning Big Idea
2. Choose your ad approach wisely
But major sporting events, for those who host, participate,
3. Know your viewing audience
and advertise, come with a considerable cost. The invest-
ment is sizeable. While the media cost for a 30 second ad 4. Don’t forget your brand
during the annual US Super Bowl alone is held up as the 5. Choose your media mix well
extreme, marketers are guaranteed high levels of exposure,
as watching the ads is as much a part of the big event as As with any campaign, start first by
scoring the final touchdown. discovering your gold winning Big Idea.
But the media costs for major sporting events other than As Ogilvy coined, “it takes a Big Idea to attract the attention
the Super Bowl are still well above average, and cannot of consumers…, even during a sporting event. For an every-
”
guarantee the same exposure, or even a benefit to the brand. day campaign, getting this Big Idea ‘right’ is challenging.
And, with ~150 hours of advertising in the US alone during Add in the complexity of sponsoring an event like the Sum-
the 2012 Summer Olympics, it could be tough for ads to be mer Olympics or Euro, where audiences cross geographies,
guaranteed a return. and getting the Big Idea right feels like mission impossible.
But it can be mission possible – if the starting point is big.
Likelihood to Switch Channels Essential human motivations and values that we all share,
While Watching a Television Show
Percentage of Viewers who did not switch away from their primary show regardless of culture, should ultimately be ‘big. And many
’
cultures value major sporting events in a similar way. Explore
Soaps 78
and discover the essential human truth that works for
Reality TV 68
your brand.
News 65
To guarantee you have the right Big Idea, you need to talk to
Investigative 63
consumers. Contrary to popular belief, you can successfully
Comedy 62 complete Big Idea research. Doing so will ensure you know
Movie 58 just how to connect your brand to the sporting event at
TV Magazine/
Entertainment 58 hand, so that consumers will do so too.
Sports 55 Doing so will also ensure your advertising has a better
History/
Documentary 52 chance of crossing geographies – one global unifying theme
Music 43 Source: Ipsos ASI may not be enough, because it may not consider what is
most relevant to the audience.
Ipsos ASI – The Advertising Research Specialists

3. Page 3 Aim to Win in 2012
Average Effectiveness of World Cup 2010 Impact of Country Morale (Success of Athletes)
Global Campaigns in 5 Countries on Advertising Performance
Reach Response 140
130
123
116
Reach (Branded Recognition)
110
Response (Positive Feelings)
101
78 82
75
Average Index
Market Market Market Market Market Market Market Market Market Market
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Visibility Brand Link Positive Feelings
Source: Ipsos World Cup 2010 Study towards the brand
˾ Low Morale ˾ Neutral Morale ˾ High Morale
When deciding upon what type of ad Source: Ipsos World Cup 2010 Study
approach to use, Choose Wisely
Celebrities continue to benefit and hinder breakthrough. To
Your Big Idea is just one ingredient in the development of
be effective, the celebrity needs to be relevant to the event
great creative. Given the media expenditure, and the amount
as well as to the brand. During the 2010 World Cup, ads
of clutter, it is also critical to find the right executional
that featured well-known football /soccer celebrities broke
approach – one that will have impact rather than fade into
through and were associated to the advertised brand: there
the background. Various tactics like event-themed adver­
was seamless integration of the celebrity with the brand
tising, leveraging “Ring Rights” if you have them, (official
together with a relevant football /soccer scenario.
Olympic Sponsor status) national pride, or the use of celeb-
rities, might make sense at the starting line. But each one World Cup ads
comes with its own potential pitfalls.
Speaking the same language, and developing an event-
themed ad can help drive higher sponsorship awareness.
But ensure that your brand benefits. In an environment where
all advertising could be event-themed, it will be difficult
to stand out as unique. Furthermore, it is challenging to
Brazil – Samsung Germany – Nutella
communicate both a sponsorship and a branded message.
Consumers may remember your ad, but not what you said.
Performance of Event Themed Ads versus Others
during the 2010 World Cup
126
113 107 100
83 79 Spain – Cruzcampo
Average Index
During the 2011 Super Bowl,
where many different types of
celebrities were showcased,
Visibility Brand Link Positive Feelings the opposite held true. Many
towards the brand celebrity ads failed to break-
˾ Not Event themed ˾ Event themed through in the same way that
Source: Ipsos World Cup 2010 Study
Super Bowl 2011 – Snickers ads that featured less expen-
sive talent did (like dogs and babies). But many of the celeb-
Also, our data shows, “Ring Rights” are not a guarantee of
rities used were neither relevant to (American) football, nor
higher ad recall. Remember, great creative is.
were they showcased in a scenario that was relevant to the
The use of patriotism and national pride to engage audiences game, meaning consumers had to work too hard to under-
can also be a double-edged sword. While it can positively stand what was going on.
impact overall ad performance, you must pay close atten-
tion to the morale or spirit of the countries you are adver­
tising in during the event: ask yourself, are their athletes
winning or losing? Advertising effectiveness is clearly affected
by the overall morale of the viewing country, and there is
only ever one winner.
Ipsos ASI – The Advertising Research Specialists

4. Page 4 Aim to Win in 2012
Regardless of what you decide, our experience shows that Our 2010 World Cup study demonstrated that male viewers
when you spend time and effort in testing a variety of were more positive towards World Cup ads than female
approaches at the earliest stages of development, to under- viewers, suggesting that within that context, ads were equally
stand what is going to work best, you are more likely to relevant to each of the two genders.
find a gold winning creative idea quickly. You can easily take
risks that consumers will reward you for, and learn before Average Advertising Effectiveness
investing in finished film. of World Cup Ads by Gender
124 118
117
109 ˾ Females ˾ Males
Impact of Early Stage Testing
Average Index by Gender
on Air-able Copy Rates 82 77
Likelihood of ads to be aired when originally tested
100% at the earliest stages of development
90%
80%
84%
70% 76% Visibility Brand Link Increase in
60% Positive Feelings
Source: Ipsos World Cup 2010 Study
50%
40%
52%
30% In contrast, our most recent Super Bowl study conducted
20% shortly after the 2011 game demonstrated significant differ-
10%
(n=2116) (n=152) (n=62)
ences, on average, between male and female viewers – only
0% one or two worked for both.
Non Screened Screened in Early Screened and
Stage test Scored Average
or Strong in
Source: Ipsos ASI Global Database Early Stage test Appealed more to Males Appealed to Both
Snickers/Loggers Snickers/Betty White (2010)
Male CEI: 130 Male CEI: 132
Really Know Your Viewing Audience Female CEI: 46 Female CEI: 179
Beyond the Big Idea it is also important to know who is
Appealed more to Females
Appealing to Males
watching what, and where.
Doritos/Pug
Events that were once the domain of young males, like the Male CEI: 1
Super Bowl and World Cup, are now attracting a greater Female CEI: 229
pro­ortion of female viewers. And females continue to
p Appealing to Females
dominate Olympic viewership. So, while both genders can
respond similarly to advertising, they often don’t, and
sometimes that makes perfect sense. In our 2010 study the Betty
White Snickers ad was a
Proportion of Viewers of Super Bowl great example of creative that
and Olympics by Gender worked for both male and
Super Bowl Viewers by Gender Olympic Viewers by Gender female viewers, as it com-
bined a universal and relevant
Super Bowl 2010 – Snickers consumer insight (you are not
yourself when you are hungry) with a relevant scenario (touch
football) and celebrity (Betty White).
Females Males Females Males
46% 54% 56% 44% In 2011, the Snickers ad, set in a logging camp, featuring the
celebrities Richard Lewis and Roseanne, did not repeat that
broadly appealing success. It was, in fact, one of the few ads
that appealed more to males than to females, who must
Source: The Nielsen Company
have appreciated the slap stick comedy more, because they
found it more humorous and less irritating.
And the Doritos ad that tied
for first on the US Today Ad
Meter? It was seen as hum­
orous by both males and
females, but only females
appreciated it fully: perhaps
Super Bowl 2011 – Doritos males didn’t want to be seen
as the guy trapped under the door.
Ipsos ASI – The Advertising Research Specialists

5. Page 5 Aim to Win in 2012
It is not just gender that is important. While marketers And Choose Your Media Mix Well
continually target younger audiences, sporting events, espe-
Great creative is an incredibly important piece of the puzzle,
cially the Olympics, are more likely to be watched by older
but it is only the first step. Getting the media mix right is
audiences – audiences that still hold considerable buying power.
critical too. Consumers will continue to merge their use of
Executional devices need to be considered carefully.
media to be fully informed whenever, wherever. It stands
Likelihood of Watching the Olympics to reason that good multimedia campaigns will drive the
and Super Bowl by Age Group highest recall and response.
182 But don’t forget, TV presence is the key driver of campaign
recall: don’t underestimate it when faced with emerging
Age Group Viewership Index
media hype. TV continues to be the best medium to get
115 mass reach in a short timeframe – important during events
106
like the Olympics or Euro. You just don’t have the same
80 80
amount of time to build reach for your campaign. And, the
43 best media package will not generate ad recall for a weak
ad...even if it is Olympic or Euro themed.
12 to 17 18 to 49 55+
Campaign Recall by Media
53
Source: The Nielsen Company
˾ 2010 Olympics ˾ Super Bowl XLIV
By knowing your audience intimately, you can ensure the
Recall, % 23
message is relevant to who is watching, when (and how). 20
17 17
11 9
Don’t forget the brand
Marketers that start the ad development journey with Big
TV Billboard Radio Newspaper Store POS Magazine Online
Idea testing understand intimately how to showcase their Source: Ipsos ASI North America Ad*Graph Database
brand, in a way that is meaningful for viewers. For those
that may not know, the investment to advertise during major Recognizing that TV creative is key, non-TV media can con-
sporting events could come at the expense of the brand, tribute to greater overall reach. When you add touchpoints
although it really shouldn’t. And, this is not good brand to a campaign, you reach more consumers, reinforcing your
building practice. branded message.
Ability of Super Bowl ads to Impact Advertised Brand
Impact of using Multiple Mediums
32 on Campaign Reach Potential
Fits the way I feel
about the Brand 17 REACH GAIN +9 +6 +5 +5
OVER TV ONLY
18 66
63 62 62
57
34 53
Makes me feel good
about the brand 26
22
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
˾ Ipsos ASI AII Ad Norm ˾ 2011 Super Bowl Average ˾ 2010 Super Bowl Average
Source: Ipsos ASI Super Bowl Studies
Just keep it simple: know what your brand stands for in the TV only @ TV only @ TV @ 1000 TV @ 1000 TV @ 1000 TV @ 1000
context of the event, ensure you know how to showcase 1000 TRPs 1500 TRPs TRPs + Radio TRPs + TRPs + TRPs +
@ 1500 TRPs Magazine @ Newspaper Outdoor @
it in a broadly relevant way. And test early to be able to 300 TRPs @ 850 TRPs 2000 TRPs
leverage the opportunity ahead. APPROX 100 150 150 150 150 150
COST INDEX
Source: Ipsos ASI North America Ad*Graph Norms
Ipsos ASI – The Advertising Research Specialists

6. Page 6 Aim to Win in 2012
It is best to use a consistent creative approach across media Putting it all together
(grounded in your Big Idea) with synergistic messages. Other­ When advertising in and around major sporting events, just
wise you will clutter or confuse. as with the athletes competing, proper preparation will help
And, not only does a multimedia presence contribute to greater you win gold for your brand. Value your brand from the start:
overall reach, it contributes to a greater branded response uncover your brand’s Big Idea that is truly grounded in
– better return on investment. essential human motivations. Then weigh the risks and
rewards of your creative approach, in the context of your
Impact of using Multiple Mediums on Brand Response viewing audience, before you cross the starting line.
Average Brand Imagery (T3B%)
Remember to start testing early and to never forget the
73
78 brand. And, when finalizing your media plan, keep in
67 mind that audiences will be merging their use of multiple
58 mediums to stay connected. Choose the right message for
each medium to guarantee a winning campaign.
None 1 Medium 2 Media 3+ Media
Source: Ipsos ASI Database
And, we also recommend you consider the use synergistic
TV ad pools. It not only improves your chances of break-
through, it helps to prevent the wearout associated with this
type of broadcast environment, where continuous viewing
of one ad can result in high ad exposure and fatigue.
Finally, recent events have demonstrated that different
events score more with different mediums. During the 2010
Winter Olympics, US viewers were most likely to watch
skiing on TV.
Most Viewed Olympic Sports in the US
through 2/15/2010
Rank Sport Average # of Viewers
1 Freestyle Skiing 26,928,346
2 Downhill Skiing 26,689,344
3 Luge 26,157,455
4 Snowboarding 25,469,008
5 Figure Skating 25,448,801
6 Speed Skating 22,557,801
Source: The Nielsen Company
But, it was hockey that dominated the online environment,
creating the most buzz volume.
Most Buzzed About Olympic Sports
Proportion of Online Messages by Sport
30.6
Buzz Volume, %
17.6
10.0 8.6 8.2
5.4
Hockey Luge Figure Skating Curling Speedskating Snowboard
Source: The Nielsen Company. February 9 –18, 2010
Effective campaigns assign a strategic objective to each
element in the media mix – so plan first and early, before you
execute.
Ipsos ASI – The Advertising Research Specialists

7. About Ipsos ASI
Ipsos ASI offers marketers state-of-the-art advertising research built on more than 40 years of experience using measures
predictive of in-market performance. We offer a full-range of solutions across all media – at any stage in the creative
process – from equity assessment to strategic development, advertising testing, and tracking. Our research is backed by
a dedicated team of advertising research specialists whose mission is to deliver the answers that will add value to your
business anywhere in the world.
About Ipsos
Ipsos ASI is a member of the Ipsos Group, a leading global survey-based research company. Ipsos member companies offer
expertise in advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, and public affairs research, as well as forecasting, modeling,
and consulting. With offices in 66 countries, the Paris-based company was founded in 1975.
For general information, contact us via email at:
info@ipsos-asi.com
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