Let the Games Begin

Published on April 29, 2016, at 10:00 a.m.
by Rachel Chandler.

In just a few short months, the world will come together for the next Olympic Games. This year, more than 10,500 athletes will gather in Rio de Janeiro for the most highly anticipated sporting event on the planet.

The Games location, though, seems to be creating some panic. Problems are arising left and right, making these games “the most unsettled in decades.” For instance, Hope Solo of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team admitted that she would consider missing the Games because of the emerging threats of the Zika mosquito virus outbreak.

Between Rio’s virus threat, water contamination, unfinished venues and impeachment of Brazil President Dilma Rousseff, public relations efforts will need to be tiptop to overpower the unsettling commentary that’s racing through the media.

According to former International Olympic Committee Marketing Director Briton Michael Payne, this year’s Rio games has “one of the most dramatic visual backdrops of any Olympics to date” and a “carnival atmosphere.” He believes that as long as the people behind the scenes carry out strong plans of action, there is still great potential.

Over the past year, NBCU has launched extreme marketing efforts to build hype for the opening on Aug. 5, 2016. It has initiated campaigns across all of its networks, as well as the Golf Channel, to extend viewership to a wide variety of audiences.

Other promo efforts have been launched across digital content, such as email and social media, with #RoadtoRio as the hashtag to bring everything together.

The Rio 2016 Summer Olympics may be posing some very rough bumps on the #RoadtoRio for PR groups, but with a positive outlook and strong content, the world will be in position. Let the Games begin.