Digital Connections

Nice Olympic London 2012 one year to go ad from Adidas / Team GB

Certainly saves on the cost or time of using an ambassador .........

The latest Digital Connections newsletter, but on a blog

A belated Happy New Year everyone!

Once or twice a month, I send out a Digital Connections newsletter to a few subscribers. As a quick test I've posted the latest version as a blog post. Unsure whether I'll keep on doing this - but if you'd like it in your inbox then it would be great if you subscribed. The box should be somewhere on your right ---->

 

Digital Connections Newsletter #2

Apparently the brief for Rio's 2016 Olympic logo was to "Transmit Olympic values and attributes, to reflect the local culture, to project the city and country's image, to assure universal understanding as well as be current until the actual Games, along with many other considerations." In which case why should we be surprised that it's another wishy washy Olympic logo? More here

An intriguing football supporter infographic map of London, pulled together by a graphic designer using data from footballderbies.com and a bit of guesswork. It first did the rounds on Twitter but was picked up by Wired Magazine.

 I love this concept -> Nike's designers are now designing kit to make American Footballers look faster.  The colorways are meant to bring your eyes to the fastest moving parts of the player's bodies -- the hands, and in particular the shins, which move twice as fast as the thighs do while running.I wonder how long this will take to cross over to mainstreams sports and teams?

This visualization did the rounds a couple of weeks ago - but its still awesome. Using data from 10million people (2% of Facebook users) of the connections between friends on Facebook, Paul Butler an (amazingly talented) intern at Facebook has created a remarkable map of the world tracking conversations.

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you wont fail to have heard the story about Ryan Babel the Liverpool footballer who posted a picture of referee in a Manchester United Shirt. Plenty has been written but for me this "Twitter Ye Not" article by the BBC's John Sinnott was the pick of the bunch. And by the way Ryan Babel's photoshop skills aren't too shabby either!!

I'm really liking Google Realtime at the moment. It's a good tool to monitor breaking stories on Twitter. I've used it this week to keep an eye on the Spurs v West Ham "Olympic Stadium" conversations. Interesting to see when the story broke & see how conversation has changed over the days.

If the England Football Team were a car, they would be a ...
Vauxhall follow up their sponsorship of England with similar but smaller deals with the Welsh and Northern Irish football associations. Sports Pro article here

An attempt by Nike to get across Nike's CSR message - Not quite sure whether I believe any of it - but its a really nice example of an HTML 5 microsite. www.nikebetterworld.com

Finally, an interesting article in the Guardian covering the Office of Fair Trading's investigation into Celebrities endorsing products on Twitter. One to keep an eye on as there will obviously be an impact on the sponsorship industry.

Technology Behind The Games: How To Clock An Olympian

Rather frustratingly I only came across this video 48 hours after the end of The Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Nonetheless, an interesting background to the technology at The Games.

Sublime skill by Jocelyne Lamoureux at the Winter Olympics (Not for Sharing)

[This blog & article is my personal view and not necessarily that of my employer]

The IOC's current stance towards online coverage of the Winter Olympics will result in classic sporting moments becoming memories to a lucky few, instead of becoming online conversation and appreciated by the wider online audience.

Day 3 of The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver saw this sublime piece of skill by Jocelyne Lamoureux during the USA's 12 -1 Ice Hockey victory over China.

via news.bbc.co.uk

I'm unsure whether I'm even allowed to embed an Olympic clip from an external site - in this case bbc.co.uk.

It's a level of skill that if performed by a footballer in the World Cup would achieve millions of views on YouTube. However, all Olympic content is capped and removed from YouTube on a daily basis, meaning that Lamoureux is unfortunately unlikely to become talked about or go on to become a viral phenomenon.

It seems bizzare to me that when minority sports finally get their day in the sun, a protective shadow stops them reaching a younger, wider and broader audience.

Naughty use of the Olympic Rings and Torch by Google

Today see's a cheeky homepage header from Google, as they celebrate the start of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver by creating a special Olympic homepage masthead.... incorporating the Olympic Rings and Olympic Torch.

But as far as I'm aware Google aren't an official sponsor or partner at any level (full list here in yesterdays Vancouver Sun) and as such only Olympic partners are granted exclusive marketing rights by the IOC, which includes being allowed to communicate their association with the Olympic Movement through the use of Olympic marks and imagery.

Ambush Marketing

Only official sponsors, licensees and government partners of the Olympic Movement are allowed to suggest an affiliation with the Olympic Games. Creating an unauthorised association with the Games is known as ambush marketing.

In order to assess these unauthorised associations, VANOC and the IOC established an assessment model that considers such factors as the use of proprietary marks, messaging, the timing of the advertising or communication and the strategic placement.

First, VANOC and the IOC assess whether there has been an infringement of the brand or the creation of a misleading business association that is prohibited under applicable law. If VANOC and the IOC conclude that there has been either an infringement or the creation of a misleading business association, it will consider what appropriate action, if any, is required.

I guess Google can expect a wrist slap from the IOC or VANOC ... I wonder if Google will care? They didn't seem too bothered about Time Warner of even China.

Google Streetview takes to the slopes in Vancouver

One of the great things about major global sporting events is that we see technology, innovation and creativity pushed to new levels.

To help fans get closer to the action at the Winter Olympics those clever chaps at Google have attached their streetview camera onto a snowmobile and driven it around the Olympic Venues in Vancouver.

 

From Google's blog:

You are indeed looking at a snowmobile equipped with our full Street View camera system. In typical scrappy Google fashion, we were able to put this together over the course of a few weekends using extra pieces for our Street View cars, some 2x4s, some duct tape, and a lot of extra hard drives (keeping them running properly in the freezing conditions was one of our major concerns). We got in touch with the folks at Whistler Blackcomb Mountains and Whistler Resort Municipality to discuss our slightly crazy idea, and fortunately they were just as enthusiastic. In fact, they even suggested we also photograph the roads and paths of Whistler Village and Whistler Creekside, so we piled the snowmobile and a trike into a trailer and made our way up to Whistler.

The results are pretty impressive and the closest that I've ever got to Whistler.

Google's landing page for the Vancouver Games (above) also links through to Google News, Widgets, Favourite local places and real time search. Its pretty rough at the moment but definitely engaging content around the Vancouver2010.

 

Confusion as we get ready for The Twitter Olympics

One week away from Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and the expected confusion around the use of Social Media has started.

Back in September the IOC released their blogging guidelines around the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. And if I'm honest they looked devilishly difficult to interpret, with many grey areas.

The guidelines opened on a rather positive note...

"The IOC considers blogging, in accordance with these Guidelines, as a legitimate form of personal expression and not as a form of journalism."

The IOC then goes on to define a blog as basically an online diary, and

"should not contain any interviews with, or stories about, other Accredited Persons".

 .....So that would rule out a lot of "@LanceArmstrong style" Tweets, in particular actual comment and analysis of their days competition.

It also seems pretty clear that no moving images are allowed...

"The dissemination of moving images of the Games through any media, including display on the Internet, is a part of the IOC’s intellectual property rights. No sound or moving images (including sequences of still photographs which simulate moving images) of any Olympic events, including sporting action"

So I’m interpreting that would mean that a video embed reporting on live sport from the Time website wouldn't be allowed on an athlete’s blog?

And

"Accredited Persons may not use on their blogs the Olympic Symbol - i.e. the five interlaced rings, which is the property of the IOC."  

I wonder whether an athlete could post this photo then?

(REUTERS)

It really starts to get even sticky when we get reach the Advertising and Sponsorship section...

"As a general rule, Accredited Persons must not include any commercial reference in connection with any Olympic Content posted on their blogs. Specifically, this means that advertising and sponsorship opportunities may not be offered and/or sold to third parties in connection with Olympic Content contained in their blogs."

This is particularly tough, it means athletes can't blog if their personal blog contains images featuring non-Olympic sponsors. Now as virtually all athletes have sponsorship deals which feature non Olympic sponsors - this pretty much rules out blogging (remembering that Twitter is micro blogging).

Confused yet?

Well so are Lindsey Vonn, Nick Pearson and Team USA...

Here is Lindsay's Facebook profile ...

In 7 days time when the Winter Games start, if she updated her Facebook status then Lindsey wouldn't be allowed to use that profile picture as it features Sprint and Bed Bull, both non-IOC sponsors, and she would also need to remove the vast majority of her video and picture gallery.

This has prompted Lindsey to announce to her 35,000 fans that she will be stopping her Facebook updates and Twitter page until the Olympics are over, for fear of breaking IOC guidelines. 

Similarly Nick Pearson (US Speedskater) has felt under the same pressure..

But Team USA think it’s OK to blog and Tweet, posting several updates advising Lindsey, Nick and other athletes that there is nothing to worry about.

The IOC, in trying to take Martin Sorrell's advice on board

• Think like Your Customers
• Create the rights franchise of content
• Engage with the young in the right environments
• Understand the technology opportunity
• Think about what digital inventory you can offer sponsors and partners 

and at the same time protect their own Olympic property; have instead created a bit of a blurry landscape.

Just as other business are working out where they fit within the New Economy, the same goes for Governing Bodies and Sports Rights Holders.

This social media story will develop over the coming weeks as the 2010Winter Games get underway, we've got a way to go yet.......

Vancouver 2010: The Best Winter Olympic Trailer From The BBC Yet

Great piece of animation from the BBC (Y&R and Red Bee Media) for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

From Creative Review.

To advertise its coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the BBC has commissioned this dramatic animated film from director Marc Craste...

Craste was briefed by agency RKCR/Y&R to create a film based around a legendary quest, where an Inuit hero retrieves a spiritual stone that has been stolen from a mystical totem by a giant bear. While performing his mission, our hero reveals some pretty nifty sporting skills that would prove useful at the Olympics, including skiing, snowboarding, and CR's personal favourite winter sport, curling.

While Craste has become known for his recent ads for Lloyds TSB, the black-and-white, graphic imagery here is more reminiscent of his earlier films, including the excellent Jo Jo In The Stars. In his Olympics film, the intricate background shots were based on designs by Jon Klassen, who worked on the movie Coraline.

I genuinely think its a fantastic peice of work,and I'm sure that it will stand the test of time better than some of the other trailers/intros from the BBC.

2010 Winter Olympics: Vancouver

And for those curious about the BBC's theme music for the 2010 Winter Olympics..

The track is Michael Buble and "Cry Me A River".

 

2006 Winter Olympics:Torino

 

2002 Winter Olympics: Salt Lake City

1998 Winter Olympics: Nagano

International Olympic Committee (IOC): All Together Now

Awesome...

Hat tip to the chaps at “Ads of The World” for drawing my attention to the latest instalment of the IOC’s (International Olympic Committee) “Best of Us” campaign - an animated commercial entitled “All Together Now”.

With five months to go before the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, The IOC has released a TV ad showing athletes from across the globe working together to unite the Olympic spirit. Six animated athletes are seen pulling countries together “symbolizing the inspiration of the athletes and their superhuman abilities to unite the world”

It’s a beautiful animated ad, which aims to bring the Olympic values of Excellence, Respect and Friendship to life and engage youth around the world.

“All Together Now” aired in the States during the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (in Berlin, Germany), and is being made available to global broadcasters as a PSA (public service announcement).

Print work (below) has also been developed and we can expect a digital experience in the coming months. 

 

Great work by Cole & Weber United, and the rather talented guys at Nexus Productions.

(Best of Us - Stage one (2007) can be found here)

Advertising Agency: Cole & Weber United, USA

Executive Creative Director: Todd Grant

Art Director: Scott Fero

Copywriters: Jake Baas, Greg Lane


Executive Producer/Broadcast Producer: Pete Anderson

Production Company: Nexus Productions


Director: Fx & Mat Executive

Producers: Charlotte Bavasso, Christopher O’Reilly