The Olympic Games are unique. While many sports have massive followings, and events like the FIFA World Cup and Tour De France attract billions of viewers, the Olympics is the world’s largest multi-sports event. Athletes from around the world compete in hundreds of different sports, with supporters from every corner of the globe cheering them to victory.

Held in Paris, the 2024 Olympics had its share of highlights and inspirational moments: Simone Biles’s triple gold pole vault triumph, swimmers Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh winning four models each, Noah Lyles becoming the 100m sprint champion by a mere .005 seconds. The 2024 Paris Olympics was also the first to reach gender equality, with 50% female athletes. The event was phenomenally successful, with more than 30 million viewers tuning in every day.

On social media, it attracted just as much attention, with the #olympics2024 hashtag racking up 4.6 billion views on TikTok. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) relaxed the social media guidelines for athletes, allowing them to showcase more of their journeys while protecting the interests of media rights holders. The opening ceremony caused social media controversy, with opinions divided on whether it was referencing Da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper’ or the feast of Dionysus. Australian breakdancer Raygun and Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec both went viral, their images launching new varieties of memes.

Of course, brands got in on the Olympic action. 2024 Olympic Games social media marketing was a mixed bag, with good and bad strategies and many lessons to learn. Here’s the Anchor Digital guide to some of the most relevant social marketing lessons of the 2024 Olympics.     

The Growth of the Olympics on Social Media

The Paris 2024 Olympics have the unusual distinction of being the most memed-about Olympics ever, with images of Raygun, Yusuf Dikec, and even Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart in equestrian gear shared widely. With the IOC relaxing its restrictions on what athletes could share on their accounts, many offered glimpses into what was going on behind the scenes. Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen, for example, became known as “the Muffin Man” after his love of the chocolate muffins at the Olympic Village’s dining hall went viral.

Simone Biles got in on the action, posting a now-legendary TikTok when Team USA of women’s gymnastics took gold. During the first week of Paris 2024, the @Olympics accounts on both Instagram and TikTok experienced whopping increases in engagement compared to Tokyo in 2020. On Instagram, there were 34.16 million engagements compared to Tokyo’s 11.97 during the same time. Tokyo reached 216.6 million accounts on TikTok, compared to Paris’s 68 million.

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games broke records for digital engagements, and social media allowed athletes to reach their fans in new ways. Where there’s an event and influential figures with huge reach, brands follow to be seen. The Olympic Games' social media marketing landscape in 2024 had some hits and misses.

The Social Marketing Mistakes Made

While brands like Samsung, Louis Vuitton and Coca-Cola ran successful campaigns during the Olympics, some of the least successful moments in Olympic Games social media marketing were:

Being disconnected from the spirit of the Games

Released to coincide with the start of the Olympics, Nike’s ‘Am I a Bad Person?’ ad missed the mark. As footage of sporting greats flashed across the screen, Willem Defoe’s narration asked the titular question and followed it up with statements like “I’m selfish”, “I have no empathy,” and “I don’t respect you.” By linking the determination and single-mindedness of athletes at the top of their game with these negative qualities, the ad came off as ill-suited to an event that many associate with connection, togetherness and inspiration.

Similarly, Google’s ‘Dear Sydney’ ad, in which a little girl uses AI to write a fan letter to her favourite athlete, was seen as tone-deaf for an event encouraging human connection.

Using athlete images without proper authorisation

Several brands used images of athletes for promotional purposes without obtaining proper authorisation. One of the most high-profile examples is Indian shooter Manu Bhaker, whose management team sent a legal notice to several brands over ‘illegal social media activity’ when they used her likeness in their materials.

Spreading rumours and misinformation

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif’s gold medal victory was marred when some high-profile public figures made unproven claims about her gender eligibility.  She went on to file a lawsuit for “acts of aggravated cyber harassment”, demonstrating why both brands and celebrities should be careful about what they assert on social media.

Hashtag hijacking

Some brands with no connection to the Olympics attempt to use the hashtag to generate publicity for unrelated promotions, leading to user confusion and frustration. Brands should remember that creating material implying a relationship between them and the Games can lead to legal issues.

What Lessons To Take From the 2024 Olympic Social Marketing

As a brand, here are some ways to draw inspiration from the Olympics, its social marketing successes and its more wholesome viral moments.

Think outside the box

Like the Olympics, your brand affects people through emotions and moves them through stories. Inspiration doesn’t have to be literal or taken directly. Whether you’re partnering with an athlete or just injecting some Olympic spirit into your own campaign, don’t be afraid to be abstract and creative.

Understand the key metrics of social media

Understanding engagement, growth and reach—all areas in which Paris 2024 outdid Tokyo 2020—is key to understanding the performance of your own social media posts and campaigns. Get social media savvy and use the right analytical tools to better track your own growth.

Take your audience behind-the-scenes

Brands like Proctor and Gamble and some athletes offered the public a peek into life at the Olympic Village, which isn’t a place the average person gets to see. By offering a peek into the inner workings of your own organisation, you can use people’s curiosity to your advantage and humanise your brand.

Stay true to your brand and its values

A lot of the most touching moments shared on social media during the 2024 Olympics feature athletes like Simone Biles at their most authentic. To build a trustworthy and relatable social media presence, be who you are and remain true to yourself.

Stay honest and don’t deceive

Whether hashtag hijacking or the unauthorised use of athlete images, being deceptive and unethical is never the shortcut to success. To succeed in social media marketing, stay sincere, genuine and authentic.

Get Seen with Anchor’s Social Media Marketing

Anchor Digital can take control of your marketing strategy so you can get on with doing what you do best. As a full-service creative marketing agency, Anchor can help you clarify what you want to communicate and then look at the best tools for the task. Every time we launch a campaign, we back it up with a solid strategy and ensure you’re showcasing what you do better than your competitors in the most honest way possible. From brand strategy and brand positioning to workshop facilitation and customer and market research, we draw on a number of strategies to help you achieve your goals.  

Our social media marketing solutions are designed to build brand awareness and drive conversions while staying true to the authenticity of your brand. We’ll craft a social media marketing strategy that overcomes obstacles and uncovers hidden opportunities. Our data-driven team delivers highly integrated marketing solutions that demonstrate the power of your brand with authenticity.

If you’re ready to put the social marketing lessons you’ve learnt from the 2024 Olympics into practice, contact the Anchor team.