Well, the Super Bowl was fun. Even though the game wasn’t terribly exciting, you still had fun tweeting about the game, ‘80s cultural icons, that cute puppy and David Beckham right? Social media provided a platform for viewers to weigh in on one of the biggest cultural events of the year, and your next opportunity to do so is just a few hours away.

The 2014 Winter Olympics are getting under way in Sochi, Russia this week. You may have missed the buzz in the press, what with all the talk about the Super Bowl and Bruno Mars and ‘Top 10 Commercials’ lists. And in all fairness, the Winter games won’t attracted near as many viewers as the Super Bowl (I know what you are thinking… but everyone loves figure skating!), which reportedly drew an audience of more than 111 million, making it the most watched television program in history. There are distinct and obvious differences between the social impact of the Olympics and the Super Bowl, and to borrow another sports analogy, the Olympics are a marathon, not a sprint.

The 2014 medal design

Super Bowl buzz built steadily for months, culminating in a social media explosion during the event, an extreme concentration of activity focusing on the game and the ads, but lasting only a few hours. Media Bistro reports that tweets pertaining to the Super Bowl hit nearly 25 MM during the telecast. A sprint, if you will. Advertisers also capitalized on a socially engaged audience, with Budweiser, Go Daddy, Coca-Cola and H&M enjoying significant online buzz. These shares, likes and tweets created additional value for brands looking to make the most of a significant ad investment.

The Olympics will likely prove to be a different story. The games last for more than two weeks, and cover 98 events with hundreds of athletes from around the world. The Super Bowl featured two very prominent quarterbacks for example, and while the Olympics won’t feature stars of that caliber, they will feature many more athletes across numerous disciplines. The advantage here is that the variety offered by the games is likely to reach a broader audience. Figure skating (come on, you know you’re looking forward to it) will draw a much different audience than curling (aka ‘ice sweeping’). In other words, the Olympic space is much more fragmented in terms of both its content and audience. This fragmentation will likely translate to the social space as well.

Also, consider this: Sochi is nine hours ahead of the east coast, which makes watching live broadcasts a challenge. This is in stark contrast to the 2010 games in Vancouver, which made watching the games in real time easy for Americans. Forbes reports that NBC and its sister networks will air more than 1,500 hours of Olympic coverage, though some will be delayed to accommodate the time difference. A word to the wise: if you want any suspense at all regarding the outcome of your favorite events, you will probably want to stay off social media altogether, as it will capture these moments as the happen through both traditional media and the participating athletes. The International Olympic Committee even encourages athletes to share their Olympic experiences socially (with a few guidelines of course), giving fans and followers a closer look at the atmosphere of the games. This may also give away the outcome of your recorded events. Overall, the length and variation of the games, and the fragmentation that creates, will likely result a social media marathon as users enter and exit the conversation based on interest.

Winter Olympics Tips and Fun Facts:

• NBC has two apps to help you stay on top of events and results. The NBC Sports Live Extra app (iOS and Android) allows users to stream live coverage through their cable providers, while the NBC Olympics app (iOS and Android) features athlete profiles, event schedules and results.

• Team figure skating will debut at these Olympic Games. Not sure what this means, but I can’t wait to find out! My boyfriend is thrilled! (gross exaggeration).

• Sochi is the warmest city to ever host the Winter Olympics.

• U.S. snowboarder Shaun White looks for his third consecutive gold medal in the men’s half pipe.

• This is the first Olympic Games held in Russia since the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Moscow hosted the summer games in 1980.

• Famed U.S. Olympic hurdler Lolo Jones will represent Team USA in the women’s bobsled.

Let’s not forget an important similarity between the Super Bowl and the Olympics, and that is the patriotism they foster. The Super Bowl is a uniquely American event, almost a holiday in its own right, while the Olympics give us the opportunity to support our country and athletes. Social media allows fans to show that support openly, even directly to our teams and athletes. So no matter if you are a sprinter or a marathoner, an ice hockey fan or an alpine skiing aficionado, you have numerous opportunities to support our athletes in Sochi. And with that I would like to extend my well-wishes to Team USA, and I can’t wait to hear the national anthem and watch our flag ascend when we win all those gold medals.

USA! USA!

Posted on 2/6/2014

Written by Rachel Lewis

Rachel Lewis is a senior strategist for a full service, global digital performance agency. For more than seven years, she has helped some of the world’s largest luxury brands and retailers achieve their digital goals. Prior to her marketing career, Rachel worked as a television news producer for ABC and NBC affiliates in Texas. She is a proud alumna of Baylor University, and received her graduate degree in Communication Studies at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. Her interests include pink, Robert Griffin III, macaroons, traveling and 80’s pop. Perhaps more impressively, she can cure hiccups without fail. Follow her on Twitter @rachellynell.

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