All that annoying repetition paid off for Canada’s Olympic advertisers.
More than three quarters (81%) of Canadians who followed the Sochi 2014 Games were able to name at least one sponsor, with an average of 1.8 brands achieving top-of-mind status, according to new research from Toronto’s Solutions Research Group (SRG).
Global Olympic sponsors McDonald’s and Coca Cola were tops for overall recall, while RBC, Canadian Tire, Visa, Bell, Tim Horton’s, Petro Canada, P&G and Air Canada rounded out the top 10.
Underscoring their growing importance, SRG’s research also found “significantly higher” levels of both ad and sponsor recall among people who followed the Games on mobile or social media.
While 36% of Sochi followers could name three or more sponsors/advertisers for the Games, half of all people who followed athletes or the Olympics via Twitter, Facebook or Instagram could name at least three sponsors. In addition, 53% of people using a CBC app were able to name at least three sponsors.
While TV was the leading delivery platform for Olympic coverage, reaching 79% of those who followed on any platform, digital continued to make significant inroads as a delivery platform. SRG’s research found that online, mobile and social media reached 59% of people who followed the Games.
SRG found that 17% of Sochi followers used a smartphone to catch the action, slightly less than laptops (19%) but well ahead of a tablet (9%). In addition, 13% of Sochi followers followed an athlete or organization related to the Olympics on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
SRG president Kaan Yigit said social media brings “an added dimension of intimacy” for consumers, providing a direct connection to athletes and organizations.
The findings are based on an online survey of 806 Canadian consumers 12+ who followed the Sochi Olympics. The survey was completed just before the end of the Sochi Games as part of SRG’s quarterly “Digital Life Canada” study.
