The Olympics have come a long way since they began in 776 B.C., and with current mobile advertising technology, the games will continue to expand and reach new audiences. During the Beijing Summer Olympics, NBC executives were shocked to see that 6.5 million viewers visited their mobile website during the games. This is the inspiration that caused NBC to add two applications, a smartphone version of the NBC Olympics mobile site, and new social media features to its mobile offerings. In addition, NBC said they have been “able to attract advertisers to mobile—not because it was part of a large media TV or online buy—but because of the strong performance numbers from Beijing.” The applications offer news results, videos and the opportunity for viewers to follow athletes’ Twitter feeds and Facebook; however, there are no live coverage links of the events. With changing technology, many fear that such an ancient tradition that has contributed so much to our world history may be lost. However, with advances such as smartphone applications and mobile coverage, the games will be further preserved.
Lacey Inman
Stephanie Saulsbury
IMC Hawks Blog 
I believe that NBC’s addition of facebook pages, smart phone applications, and other social media sites for the Olympics are a good thing. I agree that the ancient traditions are changing, but there are so many more people in the world today and our society has changed drastically. With more ways to access information about the Olympics more people are getting involved and finding out about results and athletes. This addition is also good for advertisers to reach an audiences who are interested in athletics. This form of advertising is epidetic because it directly relates to the current Winter Olympics. It shows a world that we are interested in now.
I feel that the more ways people can view and see the Olympics the better. It is the longest running sports competition and really hasn’t changed that much except for all the brands that are associated with the sports these days. Olympics purists don’t like all these advertisements, branding and NBC branching out to the online market, however without all these different aspects there would be no Olympics. I feel that all these online media sites and applications not only promote Olympics in a positive light but also get people involved that may not have been interested otherwise.
I think that the Olympics have come a drastically long way, in 776 B.C. who would have thought Pole Dancing could be an Olympic sport? But with the advances of technology, we rely on so much, and expect to do whatever we can think of on our phones or PDA’s. Some may think that we rely on our phones too much, but it is also helping us explore new things. One may watch the Olympics that never could before due to other obligations. Advances in technology, though some are ridiculous, others are making things possible that never were before.
I see NBCs addition of applications as a perfect example of consumer driven marketing. The powers at be obviously realized the potential of the technological upgrade and decided to make a change to better serve their public. As a consumer myself, I believe that this is a good thing. It gives the power back to the consumers in deciding what they want (ie olympic coverage) and how they want it (ie via mobile apps).
Just like the Olympics game themselves have changed since ancient times, so has the world of advertising. NBC’s approach to this by adding smart phone applications is nothing more than an epideictic mode of advertising as they are focusing on current events using today’s technology. The availability of such applications creates convenience for the viewer to stay up to date with what’s going on all while posing as an excellent advertising tool for the network. It is also a way to promote their brand on multiple levels at the same time.
I agree with the idea that such advanced technology and increased coverage of this ancient event will continue to preserve the tradition of the Olympics. Just as the Megachurch uses marketing to gain members, NBC uses many different forms of technology to market the Olympics to gain more viewers. By making these events more accessable by these advanced means the Olympics will be more readily preserved by more people.
I agree that with all the advances in modern technology, consumers have been able to have a much more convenient way of getting or viewing information, in this case of the Olympics. The example of NBCs new campaign of applications for Olympic coverage is perfect in describing the idea of catering to the consumer and making everything easier. With these new applications, the consumer can pick and choose what he or she wants to view or read about whenever they want, and they can do it from several different mediums making it all the more convenient and practical. I only see good things coming from this new technology in building a stronger and stronger fan base every 4 years for this world famous and historical tournament.
I had no idea the Olympics were that old. Media really is using as many resources as possible in order to keep up with society. I think it is great how efficient cell phone use has been and how it has helped expand the media. Olympics are amazing events that interest many people, so being able to access the events whenever, wherever definitely helps draw more people to watch them.
NBC’s use of new technologies in promoting the Olympics is critical in maintaining their relevance in today’s society. As seen through the widespread use of social networking sites like facebook, our society values up to date news of what people are doing and even thinking. NBC’s use of Twitter takes full advantage of this developing phenomenon. This tool generates buzz and immediate excitement integral to any promotion. While the idea of following athletes on twitter is new, it keeps an older audience while hooking new consumers. I believe that the use of mobile technologies has become part of the majorities’ narrative. Just as any product develops new, improved models to grow with its consumers, so must the Olympics.
In the world today, NBC was genius to add new applications to smart phones. People want everything now. That’s how it works these days and for people to be able to access important cultural activities at the touch of their finger is great. It is a convenience for people to access these types of things while waiting to pick up their kids from school or while on a lunch break. By making the Olympics more accessible to viewers, they are really expanding their audience and gaining more support for the members of the teams and the events that they are participating in.
Though I do fear that that this new technology may detract from the way the Olympics are observed, I agree that overall it will be a step in the right direction. By introducing this new technology, new interest is sparked by a wider variety of consumers. Advertisers now also have a chance to embrace our reliance on consumerism and encourage us to buy new products that relate to the Olympics. This is Epideictic Rhetoric at work because “it shows a world that you want to live in now” (i.e. the excitement of the Olympics currently happening in Vancouver) and directly promotes the goods of our consumer culture.
I believe the technological advances are a positive for the Olympic games. Just because the games are an ancient tradition doesn’t mean consumers should be expected to communicate about them in outdated ways. The appeal of the Olympics would not be enough to survive the lack of information out there. Besides, a lot has changed in the world since 776 B.C. The epideictic rhetoric of the Olympic Games makes people want to take part in the action right now which is exactly what they must do. There is constant change, and the games don’t last long or come around often. Convenience makes information attainable. New technology emerging to keep interest alive and people all over the world connected? I’m all for it.
I agree with those before me who have said that smartphone applications and the wide mobile coverage of the Olympic games are a good thing. I personally love getting involved in the spirit of the Olympics and it is nice to have it so accessible. I think that more people around the world can support their countries and rally around their athletes when they know what is going on. No matter how much NBC televises the events, people always want to know more and these applications can keep us in the loop.
The advertising throughout the Olympics can get redundant and old but as with any brand, the Olympics must find a way to sell their product so that people will attend and watch from home. The committee does a great job of not crossing the line and the games have remained traditional and classy through all the years. They have preserved the idea that winning an Olympic gold medal is the ultimate achievement while still adding new and exciting events as well.
As years pass we will always find innovative ways to serve the public but the Olympic games has thus far kept a nice balance between tradition and the new age of technology.
I think that this advanced coverage for the Olympics will benefit it. Now those who aren’t sitting at their televisions, or who don’t have the patience to sit there and watch the boring sports, can still check and keep up with the Olympics scores and news. I do not think that this coverage and advertising will change the Olympics at all, I think that the Olympics are changing all on its own, simply because as the years go by, things change. I do think that technology plays some part in the change, but new things always come up as time goes by. I think that this advertising through cell phones and technology will help expand and make the Olympics name more known, and also more popular. It’s not always easy to keep up with the Olympics simply by watching it on television, therefore this technology will help those who want to keep up with the Olympics, but in a different way.
Nowadays advertising plays a significant role in our daily life and we see thousands and thousands of advertisements on a daily basis. Due to the current technology, mobile advertising is getting more and more popular and it has become a great way of reaching your audience. So Why wouldn’t they use mobile advertising for the Olympics as well ? I think that as technology has changed over the years, so have the Olympics, but that doesn’t take away the actual ‘feeling’ that comes with it. It is not the actual sports that have changed, it is just the whole marketing/advertising around the Olympics.
I believe that the new media which is surrounding the Olympic games is not only a much more convenient way to seek coverage of the events, but its also a necessity when it comes to the survival of these games in our current day media craze. When it comes to the Olympics, the more people who can see it the better. If you can get someone actively involved in the games from a variety of different mediums, whether it be through TV coverage of events, special cell phone apps, or even through social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook, you have captured their attention and kept it. One of the most important hosting these sort of events is knowing your audience, and this audience is actively involved in new technology and media outlets, so the more outlets you can put this event onto, the better. The Olympic games are a timeless game, and its extremely mind-bloggling that these games could have even made it this far, but it definitely is indicative of the growth of our coverage of it and the amount of people who are able to see these games. If it wasn’t for this growth, I might even go as far as to say that these games wouldn’t be able to exist as they do today.