The winner takes all?

This summer at Týrsday we had the unique opportunity to test this thesis. Of our clients more than 25 athletes, 3 national federations and a number of brands were headed to Rio de Janeiro. Some of them won (gold even), some of them missed the podium. They all worked with our technology and our content approach. We decided to check if winning or losing made a difference in traffic for the websites and engagement on social media. These metrics cover most ambitions of our clients.

The winner takes all? The answer might surprise the average sports fanatic.

Gold

When an ahtlete wins gold, there is a gigantic spike in the page views and visits to their personal website. This growth in engagement is equally impressive on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

No medal

When the athlete makes it to the final, but doesn't win a medal, there is a mega spike in traffic to their personal website as well. Same goes for the social media. 

Same pattern for all athletes

These two athletes both made it to the Olympic Games in Rio. They got different results on the pitch, but hardly any difference in digital fan engagement. Their fans stood by them, win or lose. At Týrsday we saw the same pattern for all the athletes we work with and even the federations we work for. So for brands endorsing athletes or federations, a strategic content approach is more important than the final sportive results.

Learnings

Looking back at the Olympic summer, we at Týrsday saw some cristal clear learnings. For you as an athlete, brand or federation.

1. Engagement is not about winning or losing, but about sharing the adventure;
2. Start with your ambitions, what do you want to achieve;
3. Start early, don't wait to long with engaging your fans;
4. Building relationships is about giving and taking, consider the website and social media as tools to stay in touch with fans, but also as a platform to share your personal story;
5. Always be there, fans want to celebrate victories and to support you in times of defeat. It is important to let your voice be heard in both these times;
6. Let technology work for you, content sharing should be fun and easy, take the easy way;
7. Where is the love? Really, it's about caring about your community, about the adventures you share and commitment to what you do, on and off the pitch.

Learnings for all

Througout this Olympic summer these learnings have proven to work for all our athletes, for the federations we work for and the brand which are our clients. We have put this experience into new concepts for clubs, events and thought leadership. 

Clubs

Events

Thought leadership