Interesting blog. Also interesting that Apolo Ohno seems to be personally engaging with his fans, answering specific questions from them. This can’t help but make the Olympics a draw for the younger crowd. I really enjoy reading your entries.

The whole competition of beating out American Idol with who had the most viewers really intrigued me. To be honest I never would have thought that American idol would have more viewers than the Olympics. Come on people this is America here we are here to support our athletes who are representing our country. The Olympics only come ever two years, where as American idol comes on ever week. I am glad to see that the Olympics finally over took the spot light and moved Idol out of the way. Thank you America for showing your support to something that really matters!

Just want to say that I think that American Idol needs to go off the air, its been way too long and really the only good people are Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkston, and maybe Chris Daughtrey. Thank you Olympics for taking American Idol down! Secondly, I have never really been into the whole twitter thing. Personally I think that it is creepy and weird to type what you are doing every minute (or how often you do it) to let people know. Although, I do think it was cool to see the Olympians “twitts” like the blog posted. I agree that it is cool to get to know the athlete and have a better understanding of what it took to get to that position. I loved the Olympics and thought this article was very interesting.

I thought it was interesting how the Vancouver Olympics were underestimated in how many people were going to attend and want to watch. I feel that they should have looked back on how whenever the Olympics are near or on American soil, we are truly patriotic. How could you expect anything less? That being said I am relieved and actually glad that the Olympics beat out the American Idol show. Personally I feel that show has had its day and needs to end. Everything about that show is the same and it does not look like its changing any time soon. I would choose another show over Idol any day. I would have to agree that the ‘personal touch’ on the Olympics did create a sincerity that is lacking in most other daily TV shows. I felt that it really made a memorable experience for watching. Since not every devoted fan of the Olympics can attend them in person, the TV coverage is the next best thing. NBC did itself a major favor to but for the viewers, too.

I would definitely say that one of the perks of social media is that it brings us closer to experiences and people that we probably never would have gotten otherwise. These Olympic athlete tweets are a perfect example. Although I have never personally gotten into Twitter, I can see why that type of media has a big draw on a lot of young people. The Internet has this tricky way of making us feel like we are more connected to things than we actually are. This new phenomenon of social media is just what the Olympics needed to get back on top—a way to really connect with viewers. Let’s just hope they can maintain that position now.

Interesting post, I have always had a special place in my heart for the olympics and the nostalgia of an event that can connect people from all around the world with one purpose, to participate in sports together as fans and participators. Although I have never used Twitter before, it is interesting to see how this is used to further connect the athletes to the fans. Fans of the olympic athletes can feel connected to what is going on in the olympics though this social network and to draw new fans. The younger generation is moving towards social networking more and more, so it makes sense that it is being used to further the olympics and to engage with the spectators. I glad that other people are enjoying the olympics. On a personal note, my family has had the opportunity to volunteer for the olympics, and this has connected me to the event. For other people twitter has connected them to the olympics and given an avenue to feel like a participator as well.

I think it is insane how the Olympics beat out American Idol. I think it is just one of those things that when you see it on TV, you stop everything you are doing so you can watch. Also, it is all so extremely original that no event ends up the same. I think that is why it is so popular for American audiences. It is a program that draws people together.

I think using social media can be an effective way of boosting interest in the Olympics. Having athletes tweet about their day can certainly build a certain kind of rapport with the audience that simply showing them playing the sport cannot do. With the growing number of people, especially younger people, turning to social media, I think it is impossible to ignore this as a way of boosting viewership.

Is this effective? Well, that depends on a lot of factors, but it is definitely worth the effort. As mentioned, the practice of featuring the human-interest stories of athletes on television has been an effective practice for several years. It can even spawn interest with folks who may not even care about the sport. I have felt more connected and am more likely to want to view the Olympics if I have heard a compelling human interest story about one of the athletes. It gives you a reason to care and a frame of reference if you are not a follower of the sport.

I think connecting with the audience can be done either via television or social media, but with social media, there is a greater chance of gaining more viewers because presumably those who view the television human-interest features are already watching anyway. Using social media is a way to connect with those who may not even know that the Olympics is happening.

It doesn’t matter who they are, what sport they play, or how much I know about them; I love cheering for American Olympic athletes. I am sure many of you feel the same way.

Doesn’t it seem strange that we come together once every four years to cheer for someone we have never seen or heard of before in a winter sport we really don’t care about?

There is just something about national pride that makes the Olympics worth watching. But is that enough to keep viewers coming back night after night for two weeks? For me it has been but I am not sure if it is for everyone.

NBC has tapped a brilliant strategy by making Olympic athletes accessible through social media and through human-interest feature stories on television.

American viewers love the idea of an unlikely hero overcoming the odds to win gold in front of the world. That is one reason why American Idol has been so popular for many years. Telling the athlete’s stories helps personalize their struggles and what they have overcome to compete in Vancouver.

NBC is showing the humanity of these Olympic athletes. They seem much purer than the professional athletes whose names we would recognize. Baseball has been slapped with doping, football with troubled players, and basketball with a size matters most approach.

These factors could have a lot to do with why we love seeing a mother from Montana or a 16-year old boy from Atlanta realize their dream of competing before the entire world. Social media allows viewers to gain a little more insight into what that feels like.

Viewers who type a question and hear back from athletes feel like they too have a piece of the American Olympic dream. NBC recognized that people don’t want these athletes to be like many professional athletes today. They want to see them as a normal human being who doesn’t live in a mansion and who is genuinely thrilled to experience such an amazing journey.

I think it is clear that NBC’s use of in-depth feature stories and social media connected with viewers. I feel there will be a much deeper dependence on social media during in four years as well partially because of this success. The numbers alone tell how popular the Olympics were. We have to attribute at least some of that success to NBC’s strategy of giving viewers a sense of buy-in to the event.

My husband is a huge fan of the Olympics so we spend a lot of time watching the events when they are airing. I think the idea of getting the athletes to use social media was a fantastic plan, however, the lack of publicity demonstrated how poorly it was planned.

It is no secret that some of the most popular athletes are those that maintain an approachability with their fans. Like the concert go-er who locks eyes with the lead singer during a ballad, this tactic’s strength was dependent on the notion that fans are more likely to commit to watching the events of those athletes with whom they believe they’ve made a connection.

Reading tweets and blog entries written by the athletes themselves, the fans become engulfed and are reminded that these Olympians are people too. Tapping into their anxiety, fear, pride, and humor, viewers gain a sense of ownership in the athlete’s success or failure and are more apt to follow their event.

One of my favorite parts of the Olympics is the stories that are aired featuring the trials and tribulations of certain athletes. I love to hear about their struggles and what they have overcome to get where they are today.

The use of this social media is a great way to increase the number of personal stories in the media and succeeds in drawing in viewers like myself who otherwise might not have invested their time in watching.

I believe that there were several factors leading to the Olympics popularity this year. I have to say that when I was a kid, the Olympics were a big deal. However, we only had 3 TV stations so it almost had to be. If you aren’t into sports, it is hard to watch. However, the athletes becoming more approachable, with their background stories, tweeting and Facebook posts, it seems that kids today kind find heroes amongst them. Also, you see a lot more of them doing popular ads and getting their names out there. I believe too that the tragedy that occurred with these Olympics also drew in some of the crowd. People want to watch to see the replay, find out what happened and be a part of the process. Overall, feeling like you almost know the athlete does encourage you to watch that sport and cheer on these folks. I found that once drawn in, we watched the women’s downhill ski competition and because one of the athlete’s was named Hannah, we cheered for her. If I think about what got us to watch them to begin with, it was probably looking for a show normally on that channel.

The Olympic Games are such a magical thing. We all grew up glued to the television set for hours. While I personally prefer the summer games, the winter sports are still intriguing. To be honest, NBC saved themselves during the Vancouver games through their advertising approaches.
For one, the human interest stories pulled at our hearts. By the time an athlete’s story aired, we were already cheering for them. It kept up watching and waiting for that next race. If they won, it made us want to continue watching. If they lost, we continued to tune in to see if they could redeem themselves. NBC also did a fairly good job in teasing those stories. They would run a story about an athlete who just lost both parents right before their race. The emotional connection that was developed was deep. This helped save the dwindling viewership.
Social media also added to that connection. As a viewer, we could follow an athlete through Twitter. Good or bad, we got reaction fairly quickly. Also, people following their favorite athletes were more willing to tune in after they read a tweet.
Speaking of social media and the Olympic Games, one athlete has mastered that art. Michael Phelps started up his own social media site. It is called Swimroom.com. Everyone needs to check it out. I heard about this during the summer Olympics. It is combination of several social media sites. I can go on and design my own profile page. This is targeted to those interested in the swimming world. All of the well known swimmers have profiles that are made public. The “featured” swimmers have their own blogs, which are available on the home page. They also feature videos of the latest races. I can go on and send Michael Phelps a personal message or post on his wall. During the Olympics, Michael posts comments and pictures daily. I am sure this has increased viewership, or at the least increased interest in the sport. I think they should start up a general Olympics site similar to this. When it comes to attracting viewers in the future, it is all about thinking outside the box.

I think the trouble with any Olympic game is that they are just too long. The world games are a time when all nations can come together and celebrate the great athleticism and cultural differences as a whole. However, after only a few days of watching, reading, and hearing about this, the bright light of the Olypmic Torch starts to lose its flame.

As viewers we get bored and the tweeting added interaction this year to the games. The question I have though is did these athletes tweet on their own, or were they urged by officials from the the Olympics to tweet. If they did it on their own, there is no proof that those individuals rsponding to twitter messages were actually watching the Olympics. If they were urged to tweet by officials, who is to say that it is actually the athletes tweeting and not assistants. Nonetheless I do feel as though it was a good way to at the very least keep younger audiences informed on how the US was performing in the winter games. I am sure that there were many viewers or fans who watched the games and then went to twitter to read updates from their favorites!

Using the personal tidbits to draw in viewers is a great idea. The Olympics aren’t the only ones to do it, even it’s rival American Idol, adds in personal stories about the contestants. I like learning about the athletes and once I do, I am even more interesting in seeing them compete and win. This even works on me for athletes from other countries. There were a few Chinese divers who were doing great and the announcers told a few things about who they were, etc. It was very interesting to hear what their training was like and to hear about their countries expectations of them.
In general, we like to feel connected to the people that we see on t.v. It’s one reason why reality t.v. and sitcoms that portray more regular folks are such a hit. Why shouldn’t the Olympics use whatever it takes to keep viewers engaged.

There is no doubt that the viewership in the past few Olympic games has been down. So it is clear that they had to do something to boost ratings. The idea to connect viewers to the athletes on a more personal level was just the right touch to achieve their goal. The public has always been infatuated with celebrities and famous people and they always want to get to know them on a more personal level. That is why so many “People” and “US Weekly” magazines are sold every week. So for the Olympic marketing team to allow the public to get to know the athletes more intimately was an effective way to create a new connection in order to drive viewership. I am more likely to watch and root for a particular athlete if I know about her background and know that she likes the same music I like or if I know her personal struggle to get to the top. I certainly don’t think the intimate athlete interviews and social media connection boosted ratings on its own, but it was an effective piece of their integrated marketing communications effort.

The thing that ‘sells’ the Olympics to the American viewer is the raw emotion of the games. We eat that stuff up. Knowing that the Olympic Games are the final, ultimate culmination of years of training for one single moment is ratings gold, and not focusing on the back stories and the human element would be a horrible programming decision. For many of these sports and events, there isn’t a season that can be followed so we want to know why and how someone has devoted their lives to curling or the bobsled or skating.

Consequently, people are willing to spend money on inspiration and advertisers know that. Take the summer games in China, had the network been able to super-impose the Subway logo onto the back of Michael Phelps during his races, it would have been worth millions; to both the network and the restaurant.

The post made reference to the Olympics beating American Idol in the ratings. I think that because of the popularity of American Idol, the Olympics were able to beat it. People tune in to see others achieve their dreams and fall short, but, unlike American Idol, there isn’t a ‘next week’ with the Olympics. It’s reality television at its finest and we’re tuning in to see the real results of a lifetime of work. The stage couldn’t be bigger and the drama couldn’t be higher. Pure emotion + big ratings = ADVERTISING DOLLARS!

The Olympics are event television not unlike the SuperBowl. We watch to feel a sense of connection to the athletes, share in their stories and come together as a country. There is a sense of community during the two weeks of the Olympics, we have a sense of pride when out team (or countrymen achieve victory) and we share in the sense of loss when we lose. The Web 2.0 adds to that sense of sharing–having the athletes connect in a personal way, I’m not quite sure that more interaction with the viewers will prove to be a boost in ratings but the more commonality shared the better the potential for a greater shared experience.

From my point of view, I believe the Olympics is growing, particularly in more recent years, because NBC and the Olympics have evolved and grown with technology. The public relations and advertising of the Olympics have progressively gotten more effective and continue to draw the huge audiences pointed out by Dr. Willis. I was never a die hard Olympics fan but the past two Olympic events I found myself planning which events and atheletes I wanted to watch and support!

Dr. Willis noted it best, “You can’t get much better one-on-one marketing than this, and it comes to us courtesy of that Web 2.0 world we’re discovering more about every day.” This is a prime example at how through careful strategic planning, a transformation for the better can occur! Thanks to the Web 2.0 the Olympics have develop a profound shared experience that everyone wants to be apart of, including myself. I look forward to seeing what other advertising and public relations approaches organizations, events, and companies continue to come up with utilizing the Web 2.0! I think there has been a huge discovering in developing common shared experiences for the audiences institutions advertise to.

I completely agree with Audrey on the American Idol comment. That show is just dumb and has been around wayyyyyyyyyyy too long!!! Any who in relation to the this weeks question I think this was an amazing way to pump up the viewers and their ratings by giving America something that had never been done before.

Society is naturally nosey. They want to know all of the ins and outs about everyone and who else to learn about than a celebrity. I think the profiles were a great marketing tactic for both the Olympics and the station allowing the viewers to get to know their athletes on a more personal level.

The tweeting was also a stellar idea allowing viewers to see athletes comments and thoughts instead of having to answer questions asked by an interviewer.

Both of these I think brought a different atmosphere to the Olympics. For the first time viewers were seeing the athletes as more than people to win medals for their country. They were seen as humans going after their passion of their sport along with the love of their country. This in a lot of ways I think formed a sort of virtual bond between everyone that brought back the excitement and desire for the Olympics.

My first reaction to this post is that I never realized that the athletes were keeping blogs online. Maybe due to my life of information on athletes even though I really do enjoy watching the Olympic games. I think that is so cool that social networking can work into the greater good of the Olympics and help the fans to feel more apart of it while building the organization up. It helps to create that bigger sense of community–world wide–as so many millions fans of the Olympics are online and share that passion. It relates back to McLuhan’s theories on how new technology and medias contribute to building our tribe. And Twitter I think is amazing for events like this. Twitter is real time and can draw the viewers in in ways they have not been able to before. Viewers can be in the moment with the athletes. It builds anticipation and that in turn builds a higher number of viewers. I have to comment on Shea’s quote above. I mentioned consumer curiosity in my stealth marketing post, but yes, we are SO nosey thanks to social networking. I cannot tell you why I like to follow my favorite tv characters’ lives on People.com, other than the fact that it is entertaining and I am nosey! Therefore, expanding on those efforts for events like the Olympics, I think is awesome and very important. This is an event that needs to be around for years to come. Just as you said in the question, it has seen better days. However, the web2.0 and social networking can rebuild that for the future. The neatest part is that it connects the web and television in present day like no other event. Sure, maybe award shows can do the same thing but they are short lived. Political campaigns can do the same thing, but they are politics. The Olympics is world wide entertainment for people in every country. It can now connect the internet with the television for reasons of pure enjoyment. Social networking will enable us to be familiar with the athletes and full of anticipation long before the games begin.

I agree with Shea! Society is naturally nosy! They want to know everything about everything. As we become more industrialized, our need for knowledge continues to grow as the world grows. It is only natural for someone to want to know all about something. With the athletes tweeting, it gives the viewers a whole different side of the Olympics. As our paper discussed, Maslow’s pyramid is important, and love and belonging is met when the viewers can interact with athletes who are tweeting. It definitely put a whole new spin on an event that has been losing viewership.

The Olympics tap into America’s sense of pride, novelty and the underdog spirit at the root of our core.

NBC did a pretty good job of highlighting events where Americans were prominently figured — coming out of the event I doubt I could name a non-American who competed, which is disappointing. They, of course, figured out that most Americans, especially the casual fan, wants to watch their countrymen.

Second, the novelty of many of the winter events appeals in small doses. People aren’t going to follow ice skating or snowboarding for months and months, but a week they can handle.

Finally, if a non-American is going to get some face time, there better be a good story. America was founded as an “underdog” and its people will rally around someone of the same ilk who succeeds. It’s the same reason we get so enamored with cinderellas during March Madness. NBC’s staff does a good job of digging up the stories behind the athletes, which makes following their achievements that much more rewarding.

I believe it was an extremely effective way of connecting viewers to a television experience. I say this first and foremost because of the ratings. “NBC discovered just this week that the Vancouver Olympics — at least on some days — was indeed one of the most popular shows on TV. For example, just today a Washington Post writer noted that the Vancouver Olympics actually bested American Idol,” Dr. Willis writes. Interaction on social networking sites with the audience and the athletes was a phenomenal idea. Anytime you can get the viewers involved in a new and creative way you’re going to see success. People love to feel as though they are part of the action or that they personally know those who are competing. Many of us connect with athletes and movie stars at a deeper level, and this opportunity for interaction was unique and constructive.

Though I am not much into sports, I have watched portions of the Olympics most years because of the human interest side of the games. NBC was smart in focusing on human interest stories on the various athletes, humanizing the games and getting us to care about the athletes as people. I am sure that part of the reason for the decline in viewership has been the splintering of our media choices over the years – we have so many options today. When I was a kid, and the Olympics were on….that was all that was on! Not so today. It is important to reach out to people where they are and by having the athletes tweet about their activities and respond to fans helps to drive interest from a demographic that might now otherwise tune in.

The Olympics are a sporting event like no other, a unique extravaganza that is able to bring families, communities and entire countries together. Whether you’re a sports fanatic or a fan of drama and emotion, the Olympics have it all, and now social media is helping NBC to capture and distribute the emotional stories and personal triumphs of Olympic athletes to viewers. The fact that athletes are able to utilize social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook to interact with viewers brings a new dimension to the network’s audience, which often leads to bigger ratings, which almost always equates to more revenue and advertising dollars. Consumers enjoy interactive engagement opportunities with the stars (athletes, musicians, and actors) that they watch and support, and adding a social media component to one of the world’s most watched events on one of the most established networks only increases the buzz around an event of this magnitude. Social media, and its ability to connect with viewers on a very personal level may be what saved the Olympics.

The Olympics are every athlete’s ultimate dream and I’m sure that everyone has had a dream at some time in their life. To see someone actually achieve their goals and watch their dream coming true for them is just an awe inspiring event and we all want to succeed and see our dreams come true. Unfortunately, as time goes by and people get older, they give up on their dream for some reason or another. The Olympics is what most people view as athletes who are champions, the best of the best. The fact that these athletes would take the time to communicate with every day people through the internet is great. It allows people to really empathize with the athletes. Social media has added a new dimension to the television viewing experience, it helps to really humanize the athletes and shows that they are just people too.

Lots of athletes are on Twitter now, but somehow the Olympic athletes seem different. When an NFL player tweets about his workout or his dinner plans, it doesn’t really make us part of the action. It’s just a window into his everyday life. But when an Olympian tweets about the weather in Vancouver or the goings-on in the Olympic village, it seems like they’ve having a special experience and they’re sharing it with us. It also helps us get to know the athletes up close and personal, much like the special interest stories NBC ran during the Olympic broadcast did. These tactics helped the athletes build relationships with the public (much like what Ivy Lee helped his clients do 100 years ago), which built public interest in the Olympics.

Social media is definitely an effective avenue to connect television viewers to the experience, and most likely the primary reason the games were able to surpass American Idol. Twitter transformed viewership into an experience. The athletes provided such personal and emotion-charged accounts of their events, and the circumstances leading up to and after such events, allowing the audience to feel like they were by their side throughout the duration of the Olympic Games. On top of that, the athletes were responding to viewer questions about what the events were like, why they wear their hair in a certain way, what equipment they like best, and more. Twitter opened up the door to allow these athletes, and the Olympic institution, to build relationships with the general public. Social media has erased the disconnect between athletes and television viewers. Even if an individual cannot fly half way around the world to watch the games, social media can now provide them with an even better option: direct interaction.

I think this is a phenominal way to connect viewers to a television experience. One of Maslow’s Hieracy of Needs is the need for friendship and belonging. It’s no wonder that more people use the internet as their source for entertainment because they can interact with almost every aspect of the internet in today’s Web 2.0. Traditional television programming is only one-way communications. It isolates viewers to just ‘pretending’ to be invovled. The use of social media incorporated into programming allows the viewers to interact and feel as if they are truly invovled in what they are watching…just as NBC did during the Olympics.

We can see this type of effective interaction in some of our other programming today, specifically the news. Many news stations have social network sites in which people can log into to ask a question or make a comment. The newscast usually incorporates these questions and comments into their news segments. As a viewer, I feel more connected with them, even if it’s not me they are directly answering.I think that’s why we see that reality shows like American Idol or Dancing with the Stars are so successful. Besides the entertainment value, viewers are encouraged to participate and write the end of the story. It gives us a sense of belonging to be a part of a larger community, tuned into the same interests.

No matter why audience interest in the Olympics waned in the 1990s, it’s very evident why the Vancouver Olympics drew such large audiences in 2010: the athletes and executives at NBC made the experience more interactive for those watching. Audiences in today’s new media age have grown accustomed to interactive media and are no longer satisfied with being passive observers. Being able to ask questions and get the “inside scoop” directly from the athletes via Twitter made audiences feel more connected to the Games. That social media connection coupled with the “up-close and personal profile stories” aired by NBC made audiences feel like they knew the athletes personally, and they were consequently more interested in the outcome of their events—not just because they wanted the United States to bring home the gold, but because, knowing their backgrounds, they wanted their favorite athletes to taste of victory, as well. Evidence of the success of engaging viewers in a more interactive way can be seen in the number of television programs that are employing such tactics today. Talent search shows like American Idol and America’s Got Talent encourage viewers to call-in and voice their opinion, making them, in essence, the shows’ fourth judge. This season, America’s Got Talent has required all of their contestants to use Twitter to interact with fans. Even the show’s host makes himself available to audiences who want to carry the conversation over to the Web—he refers to himself at the end of each episode as @NickCannon. It seems that in order for a television show—whether it’s the Olympic Games or American Idol—to be successful in today’s interactive media age, audiences have to be engaged on multiple platforms.

Amanda Mikulski
Journ 620
Willis
November 2, 2011
Blog Posting Wk 7My Response to: Canada’s one-on-one Olympics

Thanks for providing these numbers. I had no clue that the Olympics grew in popularity to this extent. I watched a lot, but I really enjoy the winter sports more so than the summer. Anyway, yes, I think that the network was smart and took a look at what people liked and drew on it. Just look at their competitor, American Idol. It is a show about people singing, lots of people singing. For weeks viewers watch to see if their favorites will continue. They become their favorites because they know their stories sometimes from the first episode they are featured on. Reality television is also huge right now. We like that we can get to know the character, and that we can live in someone else’s shoes for a while. Maybe this is because life has become so complicated and is so busy. It is nice to escape your own reality with someone else’s.
NBC and the producers behind the Olympics (I guess) made wise decisions by getting up close and personal with their sports stars. It almost was like picking your favorite, which often has not been done because we do not see these athletes the way we see football and basketball players. We see them for this brief period of time, and just see them as super-human athletes and not much else. They did a great job, and did even better by encouraging athletes to feed into it. I am sure those that got on Facebook and Twitter ended up with great advertising contracts because they made their own fans.

When it comes time for the Olympics, nothing else on television is relevant to me. I like the summer Olympics better, but I still watch the winter. I watch sporting events that I don’t even know about merely because it’s the Olympics. I thought it was an American thing to tune into the Olympics every time they were on, so I’m finding it a bit of a shock that NBC was shocked that it was so popular on some days. Do people really not watch the Olympics? The Olympics should also be out American Idol.
I really enjoy the up-close-and-personal stories on the athletes. It makes me feel more connected to them as a viewer. The athletes using Twitter does the same thing. These things attract people because we can better relate to the athletes, which appear to be gods to some of us.

I think that this type of approach was absolutely effective in attracting more popularity for the Olympics whose fans had started to dwindle. The Web 2.0 has given individuals the ability to interact rather than just sit back and listen. There are conversations happening between celebrities and common folks rather than speeches. The way in which we all interact on a daily basis on the Web speaks volumes as to how our mentalities have changed so in order for certain programs to be desirable, they must also change and cater to our new expectations, which is to be involved.

By engaging the public by providing backstories and promoting the events on Twitter and Facebook proved successful for the Olympics. Using social media helped to pull in a younger crowd. This is beneficial in targeting a future generation of Olympics viewers.
Providing stories about the people involved in the Olympics helped the public to understand and feel close to those competitors. Understanding their struggles and discipline to succeed helped connectivity between viewer and competitor.

As Americans we are a proud society, but when we truly and intimately “walk” with those athletes through their personal stories, tweets, and blogs,we take on a more personal relationship with our support. As NBC has evolved more and more into showing us the world of these athletes, we feel bonded to them.
I, honestly, feel emotionally connected to some of these athletes if I know they have been through tough times and worked twice as hard to get somewhere.This is an amazing and honest way to gain viewers and public support.
The addition of social media to the climate of these personal stories has taken this connection to a whole new level. Fans and supporters can actually express their support to the athlete, instead of just rooting them on in front of their television. Web 2.0 helps people invest themselves into the athlete and their success; this is a genious way to ensure they actually pay attention and watch the athlete compete.It is a recipe for success.

Background profiles on Olympic athletes is pertinent for sparking interest in the viewing public. As this article states, these Olympians become representatives for the entire country over the course of two weeks and so their personal accounts are an integral part of the storyline. Having known someone firsthand who prepared for the Olympics, I can personally say that there is a lot of self-sacrifice that goes into preparing and maintaining the level of intensity for an Olympic athlete.
As we have learned from the Maslow Hierarchy, the personal accounts also provide several different stages of personal interest. Putting a story with a face is crucial for becoming one of the many to be counted in the Nielsen ratings.

I absolutely believe that NBC’s tactic to share the personal side of the athletes with the audience and extend the viewing experience of the TV screen and onto the web was effective. I primarily say this because, on the eve of the 2012 London Olympics NBC is employing this same tactic, but has continued to expand the depth of the story for each athlete and to cultivate the relationships, and it has absolutely worked to lure me in. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t follow more than a few athletes on Twitter, or that I didn’t get sucked into some of the online videos and in depth coverage of these remarkable individuals provided by the network. What’s more intriguing is seeing how the Olympic partners and sponsors or getting into this tactic as well, the advertisers have taken notice of the broadcast networks success and are using it to their advantage. P&G’s mom’s campaign showcasing the woman behind the athlete is one of the adverts running and really taps into the personal connection, showing that these individuals are attainable and not behind human reality, but people just like you and I. This helps instill a sense of fandom in the individuals who represent our country. I know I’ll be rooting for Team USA in a few weeks.

I think viewers feel a more personal connection to the Olympics when they feel like they know the athletes better. NBC, taking a page from popular shows like “American Idol” and “Survivor,” is giving us an up-close-and-personal look at the athletes’ lives and accomplishments – in addition to the pulse-pounding coverage of the Games. I think this connects to viewers in a human way, particularly when it’s supplanted with social media interaction and glimpses into what the athletes are experiencing and most of us only dream about. The Olympics is a brand unto itself, and any athlete associated with the Games attracts attention. In the Vivian text, celebrity endorsements are mentioned as being a buzz advertising tactic that generates attention and sales, and this is especially true with Olympic athletes (think Apolo Ohno for Century 21 and Gap, Michael Phelps for Subway, etc.). Even if you’re not an avid sports fan (I’m definitely not), the associated advertising and personal athlete stories have a profound and moving impact on viewers. For just a few weeks, we can put the doomsday headlines, personal stress and other negativity aside to admire the determination, sportsmanship and grit displayed by the world’s best athletes. In short, watching the Olympics on TV reminds us all, at least for those few weeks, that we’re all connected as one race: the human race.

Submission Field : Getting to hear the personal stories of the athletes definetly makes the Olympics more interesting to watch. Many of the athletes have to overcome enourmous odds and hurdles in their pursuit of medals and getting to hear their stories makes the Olympics an all around more compelling broadcast. Not only that, but the Olympics only come around every two years — you only have to wait a few months for the new season of American Idol to start.