Will The Olympic Torch Burn Brightly For Retailers?

Is there anything more American than the Super Bowl? Perhaps not, but the Olympics certainly gives it a run for its money. And as the parties (leaning towards riots) are finally winding down in Philadelphia, marketers are turning their attention from Alexa losing her voice and inspired cries of “Dilly Dilly” to the global stage, which comes with a host of other problems — and opportunities — for retailers and brands alike. Unlike the Super Bowl, which impacted the grocery and apparel sectors, along with playing host to elaborate marketing campaigns, the Olympics has a much more limited effect on retail. The apparel sector is still impacted, but the unique opportunities that the Olympics offer tend to center around ad campaigns, where marketers have the opportunity to tell longer stories, and take advantage of patriotic emotions and part-time celebrities. “The apparel category is what gets the bounce. There’s not as many viewers or point-in-time social elements as there are in the Super Bowl, so you don’t have big viewing parties and areas where there’s a lot of consumption,” Greg Portell, a lead partner in the retail practice of A.T. Kearney, told Retail Dive. “It’s more storytelling and wanting to be a part of something that’s global or national as opposed to being in a room full of people looking at an event at a point of time.” Read more at Retail Dive.