SCHOOL

OF SPORT, EXERCISE AND HEALTH SCIENCES

WORLD SPONSORS OF THE 2014 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES:
CREATION OF BRAND AWARENESS THROUGH SOCIAL AND VIRAL
MEDIA MARKETING AND ITS INFLUENCE ON CONSUMER
PERCEPTIONS


by Colette Lauren Sisofo, BSc Miami University

Supervised by Dr. Ian Henry


A project submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements for the
degree of Master of Science in Sport Management
Word Count 14,989 Loughborough University


2014

LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY

ABSTRACT

The Modern Olympics is the Worlds largest sporting event with social and viral media
marketing becoming increasingly part of the Olympic experience. The purpose of this paper is
to explore how World Sponsors of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games utilised social and
viral media marketing practises to create brand awareness and how these methods influenced
consumer perceptions. Two World Sponsors, McDonalds and Procter & Gamble, were chosen
to exemplify the dichotomy of a failed versus successful Olympic social and viral media
campaign.
Through a qualitative research design, the study implemented two forms of primary
data collection: netnography and ethnographic interviews. Using netnography the researcher
monitored social media platforms and collected data regarding the social and viral media
techniques exercised by the chosen sponsors to gain brand awareness and how their
consumers reacted to the brands association with the Olympics. Employing Ethnographic
Content Analysis (ECA), the researcher deduced specific themes prevalent throughout the
online communities for each respective company. Interviews were also conducted to gain
further clarity on the themes presented.
The 2014 Winter Olympic Games had controversy surrounding the event. Due to this,
McDonalds Olympic social and viral media campaign gained more negative attention through
these controversies and the sceptical attitude of the consumers towards the companys fit with
the Olympics. Procter & Gamble, on the other hand, created positive attitudes from consumers
by creating an emotional connection through their Olympic social and viral media campaign
focusing on the athletes, their accomplishments, and families thus transferring emphasis from
the company to the humanity of the campaign.
From this research, it is concluded that the main reasons for the success or failure of a
World Sponsors Olympic campaign are the size of the establishment and awareness of a
companys products, the emotional connection created through the campaign with the
audience, fit between the event and sponsor, and the characteristics of a successful viral
advertisement. Due to the instantaneous nature of social and viral media marketing the
investigation establishes the importance of online practises of the World Sponsors of the
Olympics and enhances the Olympic marketing research that will become increasingly
important in future years as more consumers utilise social media platforms.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many people have been influential throughout my studies and in the process of this research.

My dissertation could not be accomplished without the constant love and support of my
family who have always been my biggest fans and continuously inspire me to pursue my
passions and believe in myself. They are an integral part of my success and are to credit for the
person I have become.

Thank you to my boyfriend and best friend, James, for his help and encouragement to
attend to Loughborough University and his family for their support and generosity during my
studies.

I especially want to thank my supervisor, Dr. Ian Henry, for his guidance and

unwavering confidence in my abilities throughout this process. My year was infinitely

enhanced with the knowledge and wisdom shared by the staff of lecturers at Loughborough
University and the fantastic classmates who I learned side by side with and made this
experience unforgettable.

CONTENTS

ABSTRACT2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...3

CONTENTS4

LIST OF FIGURES..6

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION..8
1.1 Olympic context.8
1.2 Research questions.9
1.3 Aim and objectives..9
1.4 Outline of study..10

CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE......11

2.1 Brand awareness...12
2.1.1 Consumer rationalisation and decision-making model13

2.2 Sponsorship......13

2.2.1 Brand association.14

2.2.2 Image creation and transfer........14

2.3 Social media marketing..............16

2.4 Viral marketing......19

2.5 Olympic marketing......21

2.3.1 Case of Facebook: The dominant social-networking site....18

2.4.1 Characteristics of viral advertisements......20

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY......23

3.1 Research design.....23

3.1.1 Quantitative vs. qualitative research.23

3.1.2 Ontology and epistemology.....24

3.2 Data collection.25

3.2.1 Ethnography....25

3.2.2 Netnography.......26

3.2.3 Interviews.....26

3.3 Data analysis....27

3.4 Sample......28

3.5 Limitations....29

3.3.1 Ethnographic Content Analysis (ECA)...27

CHAPTER 4: FINDING AND ANALYSIS....31

4.1 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games context...31

4.1.1 Social and viral media at the Games......31

4.1.2 Controversy affecting the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.........32

4.2 Research selection of 2014 Sochi Olympic World Sponsors..33

4.3 McDonalds: Celebrate with a Bite.......33

4.3.1 Twitter: Social and viral media summary..34

4.3.2 Facebook: Social and viral media summary........35

4.3.3 YouTube: Social and viral media summary...37

4.3.4 Instagram: Social and viral media summary39

4.3.5 Main themes deduced from netnography and interviews..40

4.3.6 Conclusions..42

4.4 Procter & Gamble: Thank You, Mom: Pick Them Back Up43

4.4.1 Twitter: Social and viral media summary..44

4.4.2 Facebook: Social and viral media summary..45

4.4.3 YouTube: Social and viral media summary...50

4.4.4 Instagram: Social and viral media summary51

4.4.5 Main themes deduced from netnography and interviews..54

4.4.6 Conclusions..57

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS58

5.1 Implications of the study.59

5.2 Further research62

REFERENCES63

APPENDIX: Sample Interview.....72

LIST OF FIGURES

CHAPTER 2
Figure 2.1 International Olympic Committee TOP 10 sponsors..12
Figure 2.2 Model of image creation and image transfer in event sponsorship.15
Figure 2.3 Examples of social media17
Figure 2.4 Illustration of popular social media platforms used......18
Figure 2.5 Characteristics of successful viral advertisements..21
Figure 2.6 Evolution of TOP World Sponsors.22

CHAPTER 3
Figure 3.1 Ethnographic Content Analysis..28
Figure 3.2 Sample respondents demographics...29

CHAPTER 4
Figure 4.1 Screenshot of tweets on Twitter utilising #CheersToSochi35
Figure 4.2 Table of McDonalds Facebook Olympic campaign posts as of July 6,
2014.36
Figure 4.3 Example of McDonalds social media post on Facebook from
February 4, 2014.37
Figure 4.4 Table of McDonalds YouTube videos posted by mcdonaldscorp as
of July 6, 201438
Figure 4.5 Screenshot of McDonalds #CheersToSochi McDonalds Olympic
Program YouTube video..38
Figure 4.6 Table of McDonalds Instagram posts as of July 9, 201439
Figure 4.7 Summary of most popular Facebook posts on P&G company page as
of July 8, 201446
Figure 4.8 Summary of most popular Facebook posts on Thank you, Mom by
P&G page as of July 8, 2014..48
Figure 4.9 Example of P&Gs social media post from February 6, 2014.49
Figure 4.10 Summary of P&G YouTube videos posted by ProcterGamble as of
July 7, 201451
Figure 4.11 Summary of P&G Instagram posts as of July 9, 201452
Figure 4.12 Summary of Thank you, Mom Instagram posts as of July 9, 2014..53

Figure 4.13 Example of P&Gs social media post on Instagram from February
18, 2014..53

CHAPTER 5
Figure 5.1 Sentiment around the World Sponsors of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.61



CHAPTER 1

Introduction


The Olympics are the Worlds largest sporting event with Summer and Winter Olympiads
being celebrated every four years (International Olympic Committee, 2013a). Winter sports
gained great popularity in the 1920s causing the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to
inaugurate the first Winter Olympic Games in 1924 (International Olympic Committee, 2013a).
Today, the audience for the Winter Olympic Games continues to increase attracting corporate
sponsors at the National and World level.
Corporations pay an estimated $100 million to become a major Olympic sponsor. On
top of this, they pump massive investment into related marketing campaigns (Harrison, 2014,
para. 7). Corporate sponsors desire an association with the Olympics due to the broad
audience reached through the media, status of the Olympics and the generally positive attitude
towards the Olympic sponsors (Stipp, 1998). With the advancement in modern technology,
sponsors do not need to rely on traditional word-of-mouth marketing or print and television
advertisements alone. Social and viral media marketing have allowed companies to reach
customers in new ways to enhance their campaigns and create increased brand awareness.
This research project will explore how World Sponsors of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic
Games utilise this new technology in their marketing techniques and the influence it has on the
perceptions of consumers.


1.1 Olympic context
The first Ancient Olympic Games were held in 776 B.C. dedicated to the Olympian gods in the
ancient plains of Olympia (Ancient Olympic Games, n.d.a). The Ancient Olympiad continued
for twelve centuries until Emperor Theodosius banned pagan cults in the year 393 A.D.

(Ancient Olympic Games, n.d.a). The word Olympiad designates the four-year period
between each Games occurrence (International Olympic Committee, 2013a). It originally
included the sports of pentathlon, running, jumping, discus throw, wrestling, boxing,
pankration (a primitive form of martial arts), and equestrian events (Ancient Olympic Games,
n.d.b).

The Modern Summer Olympics began in 1896 in Athens, Greece while the Winter

Games were introduced in 1924 in Chamonix, France (International Olympic Committee,

2013a). Both the Summer and Winter Games were held within the same year until 1992
(International Olympic Committee, 2013a). The Winter Olympic Games feature seven sports
practised on snow and ice including biathlon, bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, luge, skating, and
skiing (International Olympic Committee, 2013a).


1.2 Research questions
For this research study, the focus will be on two of the Official World Sponsors for the 2014
Sochi Winter Olympic Games. The brands observed will be McDonalds and Procter & Gamble
to exemplify the dichotomy of a failed versus successful Olympic social and viral media
campaign. The following questions have been developed to direct the research:
R.Q.1: How do the World Sponsors of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games utilise
social and viral media marketing to create brand awareness?
R.Q.2: How does social and viral media marketing influence consumers perceptions of
the World Sponsors of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games?

1.3 Aim and objectives

Aim: This project aims to explore how two World Sponsors of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic
Games, McDonalds and Procter & Gamble, utilise the event to increase brand awareness
through the use of social and viral media marketing and the influence it has on consumers
perceptions.
Objectives:
1. To investigate social and viral media marketing techniques used by the World
Sponsors.

2. To provide an understanding of the influence social and viral media marketing has
on consumers impressions.


1.4 Outline of the study
Chapter One introduces the topic to be explored, background information and the research
area of the study. Also, the research questions, aim and objectives are developed and
presented to help guide the research. Chapter Two will provide an overview of the current
literature including definitions and explanations of key terms and concepts that will be utilised
throughout the analysis. Chapter Three will explain the methods the author will use for
conducting the research as well as the limitations for the study. Chapter Four will present the
findings and provide analyses from the methodologies used including the observations of
social and viral media marketing techniques the sponsors have employed to gain brand
awareness and themes of consumer perceptions generated by these practices through
Ethnographic Content Analysis (ECA) and interviews. Finally, Chapter Five will provide
conclusions and answers to the research questions presented. Implications for practice and
future research recommendations will also be offered.

10



CHAPTER 2

Review of the Literature

This chapter aims to provide an overview of the existing literature regarding current marketing
themes pertinent to the research topic. The author will provide definitions and explanations of
key terminology to offer a fuller interpretation of the research questions as well as the aim and
objectives presented in the previous chapter. It will contribute to a solid foundation for the
analysis of data and conclusions drawn from the study in subsequent chapters.

The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, the Winter Games held prior to Sochi 2014, had a
record potential audience of 3.8 billion people worldwide with approximately 1.8 billion
viewers reached (International Olympic Committee, 2011). For the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic
Games, 464 channels broadcasted the Olympics with over 100,000 hours of coverage
compared to the 240 channels with 57,000 hours for Vancouver 2010 (International Olympic
Committee, 2014). Furthermore, for the first time in Olympic history, digital coverage
exceeded that of traditional television broadcasts with 60,000 hours available on digital
platforms compared to the 42,000 hours available on television alone (International Olympic
Committee, 2014).
However, this coverage was not limited purely to sports action. During Sochi 2014, less
sports action was shown in comparison to the time spent on commercials. According to the
Wall Street Journal, Olympic action accounted for only 24.4% of the coverage shown on an
average night for NBC primetime and late night (Cohen, 2014). Commercials accounted for
approximately twenty-two minutes or 33.1% of NBCs coverage for a particular night with
many breaks in sports action for events such as snowboarding, pairs skating, and slope style
skiing unlike continuous sports events such as ice hockey (Cohen, 2014).

11

Brands endeavour to utilise the broad media exposure to their benefit. Through
development of brand awareness, relationship-building via sponsorship, using new social
media and viral marketing methods and building upon preceding Olympic marketing practises,
The Olympic Partners (TOP) of the Olympic movement look to exhibit their companies in a
particular light and use the largest sporting event to their advantage for exposure. The list of
current TOP sponsors is listed in Figure 2.1 including McDonalds and Procter & Gamble, the
focus of the research. Key terms that will be used within the study will be defined and
explained in detail in the following sections.

Figure 2.1 International Olympic Committee (IOC) TOP 10 sponsors

Source: Mickle, 2014; http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/SB-Blogs/On-The-
Ground/2014/02/SochiSiteTOPprice.aspx


2.1 Brand awareness
Creating brand awareness for a company is one of the crucial aspects of marketing. Advertising
using mass media is a powerful transmitter and reflector of cultural values (Goodman, Duke, &
Sutherland, 2002). By creating brand awareness, the company can link the correct associations

12

to the brand image in the consumers mind, which can elicit a positive feeling in relation to the
product and facilitate a stronger brand connection with the consumer (Keller, 2009). Brand
awareness is important for the consumer to recognise and associate certain meanings with the
product or service in order to purchase it. Brand awareness is the first step in communication
with the consumer and takes precedence in forming brand attitude and intention to buy
(Rossiter & Percy, 1987).

2.1.1 Consumer rationalisation and decision-making model
A product that has some level of brand awareness is more likely to be considered by a
consumer with strength of awareness possibly adding to this significance (Macdonald & Sharp,
1996). Being a known brand effects the evaluation of a product: a consumer may rationalise
that if they have heard of a brand, the company has spent money on advertising due to the
establishment being profitable from consumer purchases because of the products reasonable
quality (Macdonald & Sharp, 1996). There is a typical multi-stage decision-making model that
consumers experience throughout a purchasing decision according to De Bruyn and Lilien
(2008, p. 153):
Stage 1: Awareness: The consumer knows the alternative exists but may not have
either interest in it or sufficient information to understand its possible benefits.
Stage 2: Interest: The consumer is aware, develops some interest, and hence decides
to learn more about the product.
Stage 3: Final Decision: The consumer now has taken an observable action, a purchase
of a good or service or the sustained adoption of an innovation.
Each step in the process is conditional on the previous stage representing a favourable
outcome (De Bruyn & Lilien, 2008).


2.2 Sponsorship
Sponsorship is broadly defined as the provision of resources by an organisation directly to an
event or activity in exchange for a direct association to the event or activity. The providing
organisation can then use this direct association to achieve either their corporate, marketing
or media objectives (Sandler & Shani, 1989, p. 10). Another definition provided by Meenaghan
(1983) is that sponsorship can be regarded as the provision of assistance either financial or
in-kind to an activity by a commercial organisation for the purpose of achieving commercial

13

objectives (p. 9). Sponsorship enables companies to associate with a person or event in order
to connect with the attributes related to them for the achievement of goals set by the company.
Two of the main goals companies possess when sponsoring an event is to increase brand
awareness and to establish, strengthen, or change the brand image (Marshall & Cook, 1992).
Brand image has been defined as perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand
associations held in memory (Keller, 1993, p. 3).

2.2.1 Brand association
Brand associations are developed through multiple sources including use of the product,
informational sources (advertisements, packaging, and word-of-mouth) and associations with
other bodies (Gwinner, 1997). When a brand associates with an event, some of the attributes
linked with the event could become associated with the product (Keller, 1993). Based on the
research by Gwinner and Bennett (2008), those who perceived a fit between the image and the
sponsors of the event, exhibited a significantly better attitude towards the sponsoring brands
than those who perceive less fit enhancing previous research conducted by Koo, Quarterman,
and Flynn (2006).

2.2.2 Image creation and transfer
The basis of transfer between the events image and image of the sponsoring brand is based on
the relationship and similarity between the two (Gwinner, 1997). A table illustrating image
creation and image transfer of event sponsorship can be seen in Figure 2.2. The nature of
similarity can be either functional similarity, occurring when a sponsoring brand is utilised by
the participants, or image related similarity, occurring when the image of the event relates to
the image portrayed by the brand (Gwinner, 1997). Increasing event and sponsor similarity
enhances image transfer by more firmly solidifying the relationship in the consumers mind
(Gwinner, 1997), but could be lessened if there are multiple sponsors with the additional
stimuli each consumer must focus on and recall (Hutchinson & Alba, 1991).
Also, an on-going event should have the benefit of establishing a more significant link
between the event and product because of the repetitive exposure (MacInnis, Mooreman, &
Jaworski, 1991). Perceived fit also impacts purchase intentions through the attitudes towards
the sponsor and is increased by those who identified with the sports at the events because
they are more likely to perceive fit among the sponsoring brands (Gwinner & Bennett, 2008).

14

Figure 2.2 Model of image creation and image transfer in event sponsorship (Gwinner, 1997)

Event Type
Sports related
Music related
Festival/fair related
Fine arts related
Professional
meeting/trade
show related
Event Characteristics
Event size
Professional status
Event history
Event venue
Promotional
appearance
Individual Factors
Number of
meanings
Strength of
meanings
Past history w/

Event
Image

Image Transfer -------

Brand
Image

"

Moderating Variables
Degree of similarity
Level of sponsorship
Event frequency
Product involvement

Many companies use celebrities and/or athletes to endorse their brand. With regard to
celebrity endorsement, consumers viewed more credible and attractive endorsers as more
persuasive (Gwinner, 1997). This point is contradicted by McCracken (1989), who suggests
endorsement effectiveness is constructed by individual meanings consumers may associate
with the celebrity endorser and to the brand. These meanings consist of the consumers
overall evaluation of what the celebrity represents such as social class, gender, age, personality
and lifestyle (McCracken, 1989). Like celebrity endorsements, events are often associated with
particular attributes and attitudes deriving from the type and characteristics of the event and
several individual consumer factors (Gwinner, 1997). Through sponsorship, an events image,
which may be relatively distinct for different consumer groups, may be transferred through
association to the sponsoring product (Gwinner, 1997, p. 148).

15

2.3 Social media marketing

With the advancement of technology and the creation of the Web 2.0, there is an increased
potential for marketers to utilise the Internet for promotion purposes (Thackeray, Neiger,
Hanson, & McKenzie, 2008). Almost all companies are now using social media to advertise
their business and to convey a strong presence and customer relationship (Saravanakumar &
SuganthaLakshmi, 2012). With the original web, only one-way communication was possible,
but todays Web 2.0 allows for sharing, linking, collaborating and inclusion of user-generated
content (Thackeray et al., 2008). Real life examples of the different forms of social media are
illustrated in Figure 2.3. The use of social media encourages the consumer to participate in the
creative process (Thackeray et al., 2008) and can create loyalty to the brand with consumers
investing themselves by engaging in the product (McKenzie, Neiger, & Thackeray, 2009),
generating incremental purchase behaviour and controlling the ability to influence friends of
fans (Lipsman, Mudd, Rich, & Bruich, 2012).
Social media supports the growth of viral marketing as it facilitates and encourages
people to pass along a marketing message (Viral marketing, n.d.). Social media technology
enables marketers to develop interactive web sites that make it virtually effortless for users to
engage in viral marketing by encouraging the user to share feedback, provide comments, rate
products, provide reviews, and download items for sharing with friends (Thackeray et al.,
2008, p. 340). The power of viral marketing is enhanced through social media by increasing
the speed that consumers share experiences and opinions with a larger audience (Thackeray et
al., 2008).
Companies can send tailored messages to consumers that engage different segments
and reflect their special interests and behaviours online (Keller, 2009). Social media allows
companies to communicate with consumers and for consumers to talk with one another
(Mangold & Faulds, 2009). In addition, consumers perceive social media as a trustworthy
source of information as compared to the traditional corporate-sponsored communications
(Foux, 2006).
However, marketers can lose some control over their marketing activity due to the
uncertainty of how the consumers will perceive the online messages and activity (Keller,
2009). Consumers could also place marketing materials, such as videos, in undesirable places
(Keller, 2009). For this reason, using traditional media can produce more control for the
marketing message looking to be expressed.

16

Figure 2.3 Examples of social media (adapted from Mangold & Faulds, 2009)

Social Networking Sites

Facebook, Twitter

Creativity Works Sharing Sites

User-Sponsored Blogs

Video sharing sites: YouTube; Photo

sharing sites: Flickr, Instagram; Music
sharing sites; Content sharing combined
with assistance; General intellectual
property sharing sites
The Unofficial Apple Weblog,; Cnet.com

Company-Sponsored Websites/Blogs Apple.com; P&Gs Vocalpoint

Company-Sponsored Cause/Help
Doves Campaign for Real Beauty;
Sites
click2quit.com
Invitation-Only Social Networks Sites ASmallWorld.net
Business Networking Sites

LinkedIn

Collaborative Sites

Wikipedia

Virtual Worlds

Second Life

Commerce Communities

eBay; Amazon.com; Craigs List

Podcasts

For immediate release: The Hobson and

Holtz Report
Current TV

News Delivery Sites

Educational Materials Sharing

MIT OpenCourseWare; MERLOT

Open Source Software Communities

Mozillas spreadfirefox.com; Linux.org

Social Bookmarking Sites Allowing

Users to Recommend Online News
Stories, Music, Videos, etc.

Digg; del.icio.us; Newsvine; Mixx it; Reddit

Figure 2.4 illustrates a few of the main social media platforms utilised by National and
World Sponsors of the 2014 Winter Olympics including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, which
will be explored in addition to Instagram. These popular social media platforms will provide
insight into how the sponsors used the sites to enhance brand awareness and to gauge
consumer perceptions about the companies through their interactions on the media posted.

17

Figure 2.4 Illustration of popular social media platforms used

Source: Bernardo, 2014; http://thesocialmediamonthly.com/social-media-olympics/

2.3.1 Case of Facebook: The dominant social-networking site
Facebook is the dominant social-networking site with an audience of 160 million US visitors
per month accounting for 90% of all time spent on social networking sites (Lipsman et al.
2012). Facebook users spend more than a quarter of their time on the site interacting on the
Newsfeed and are 40 to 150 times more likely to consume branded content through the
Newsfeed than visiting the Fan Page set-up for the company or product (Lipsman, et al., 2012).
Understanding the importance of the Newsfeed to Facebook users helps advertisers
understand where users are likely to see and process information on the site (Lipsman et al.
2012).
Two potential audiences for branded content can be reached through Facebook
including fans of the brand and friends of fans, which is about thirty-four times larger on
average for the top one hundred brands (Lipsman et al., 2012). Facebook looks to reach these
audiences by creating innovative ways for sharing information about brands with friends
(Lipsman et al., 2012).
According to Lipsman et al. (2012), there are four different channels that brand
impressions can be delivered through:

Page Publishing: Unpaid impressions that appear on a fan page wall and possibly
the Newsfeed of a friend or fan.

Stories About Friends: Unpaid impressions that appear when a friend actively
engages with a brand by liking a brand page. They can appear on the Newsfeed
of friends or fans or on the wall of friends.

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Sponsored Stories: Paid impressions that are actively distributed by a company.

Advertisements with Social: Direct from the advertisers and appear with social
context that is shown to friends of fans.

Facebook users demonstrate their affinity for brands through the use of the like
button to become a fan of a brands page for reasons that include self-expression,
communicating positive associations of the brand to others, staying in contact with the brand,
or receiving deals and/or promotions (Lipsman et al., 2012).


2.4 Viral marketing
Viral marketing is the ultimate word-of-mouth campaign. Viral marketing typically begins with
creating a form of electronic content with the aim of brand building (Ho & Dempsey, 2010).
The goal of viral marketing is to utilise consumer-to-consumer communication versus
business-to-consumer communication to achieve dispersion of information about a product or
service in a more rapid and cost-effective adoption of the market (Krishnamurthy, 2001). This
dispersion can be intentional or unintentional. In intentional communication, the viewer
actively passes the video or information to others. The most common version of intentional
viral marketing occurs when consumers willingly become promoters of a product or service
and spread the word to their friends; they are driven to do so either through explicit incentive
or simply out of a desire to share the product benefits with friends (De Bruyn & Lilien, 2008,
p. 151). In unintentional communication, the consumer is inadvertently promoting a company,
product, or information. An example of unintentional communication is when a consumer
holds a Hotmail account, each email sent contains a message located at the bottom of the
communication stating it is delivered from Hotmail, thereby unintentionally promoting the
company each time an email is sent (De Bruyn & Lilien, 2008).
Through this new technology the way people share information through word-of-
mouth has changed drastically. With the amount of clutter on the Internet, a viral marketing
message must not only stand out, but also give the consumer a reason to share the message
with others (Ho & Dempsey, 2010). Personal conversations and the informal exchange of
information can not only influence decisions of consumers, but also structure expectations,
pre-usage attitudes and post-usage attitudes (De Bruyn & Lilien, 2008). Some research has
suggested that word-of-mouth influence has a greater impact on consumer decisions

19

compared to print advertisements, personal selling, and radio advertisements (Engel,

Kegerreis, & Blackwell, 1969).

Although brand awareness is created and visitors are attracted to a site via viral

campaigns, the campaign does not necessarily have influence at later stages (De Bruyn &
Lilien, 2008). It is suggested that marketers can influence the power of interpersonal networks
to promote a product or service with the assumption that peer-to-peer communication is an
effective way to sway networks, capture recipients attention, trigger interest and eventually
lead to adoption or sales (De Bruyn &Lilien, 2008). However, it is difficult to provide evidence
to substantiate these assumptions or to explain why and how viral advertising works (Diorio,
2011).
Viral marketing involves no face-to-face communication and information is typically
referred to recipients unsolicited, who may therefore not pay attention to what is sent to them
(De Bruyn & Lilien, 2008). For example, people have mailboxes for filtering out email of a
promotional nature to be easily deleted. With companies sending out marketing material, the
information is sorted into this mailbox and may not be seen by the potential consumer and
could be deleted without opening the original message.

2.4.1 Characteristics of viral advertisements
Teixeira discusses characteristics of a successful viral marketing campaign, which has been
segmented into groups as seen in Figure 2.5. According to Teixeira (2012), prominent logos of
the brand make viewers more likely to stop watching the video because people tend to have an
aversion to being persuaded unconsciously. Therefore the brand should be intertwined
throughout the ad and be intrinsically interesting, which can increase viewership by 20%
(Teixeira, 2012).
Viewers involvement also largely depends on the inclusion of two emotions: joy and
surprise, which should happen within the first seconds of the ad to keep viewers interest
(Teixeira, 2012). These emotions should not be kept at a constant level but should comprise of
highs and lows taking the viewer on an emotional roller coaster (Teixeira, 2012). Even
though people may enjoy the ad, it does not necessarily equate to sharing it with others
(Teixeira, 2012). The emotion of shock can interest the viewers but be destructive when
coming to share the ad (Teixeira, 2012). The advertisers will need to target an audience that
will share the ad. The characteristics of the target audience tend to be extroversion and
egocentrism (Texeira, 2012). These consumers are not sharing the video to make others

20

happy, but to show their taste, media savvy, and correctedness [sic] (Teixeira, 2012, p. 27).
Currently, companies are already placing ads on Facebook users pages who frequently post
links or who have many Twitter followers (Teixeira, 2012). The future of viral advertising
includes consumers gaining more control forcing advertisers to adapt to and keep in mind the
value that a video offers and not only how well the video serves the brand (Teixeira, 2012).

Figure 2.5 Characteristics of successful viral advertisements (Teixeira, 2012)

Pronunciation of
Logo

Discreet displays of the logo or brand image can

increase viewership by 20%; The advertisement
must be intrinsically interesting if the product or
service was removed

Emotional
Involvement

Joy and surprise are the two emotions that kept

viewers attention; Emotions should not be kept at a
constant level but have highs and lows

Removing Shock
as an Emotion

Even if people enjoy an ad, if shock is involved, it will

keep viewers attention but will not necessarily lead
to sharing the ad with others

Targeting the
Audience

Typical characteristics of people who tend to share

viral advertisements are extroversion and
egocentrism

2.5 Olympic marketing
Olympic marketing strategies vary greatly from other sporting events because the Olympics do
not have advertisers, but sponsors. Gaining revenue from the Games includes two paths:
athletic endorsement or purchasing broadcasting rights (Lee, 2005). As mentioned in section
2.2, sponsorship may not only require financial assistance but the provision of goods or
services to help in the organisation of the Olympics. The revenue on sponsorship makes up
about 32% of the total Olympic marketing revenues (Lee, 2005, para. 8). The sponsors, in
return, benefit from the association of Olympic ideals and values.

In the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, two-thirds of the funds for the Games

were donated by private benefactors and one-third from private companies (Brown, 2000). At
the beginning of the twentieth century, companies started to formally associate themselves
with the Olympic Movement (Brown, 2000). The 1952 Helsinki Summer Olympic Games

21

marked the first time an attempt had been made to organise an international marketing
programme with establishments from eleven countries providing goods and services for the
Games (Brown, 2000). The number of Olympic partnerships grew to a high of 628 sponsors in
1976 for the Montreal Summer Olympics but raised only $7 million and declared the Games a
financial disaster (Brown, 2000, p. 75). The 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics marked the
crossroads of Olympic sponsorship with its success facilitating the introduction of The Olympic
Program in 1985 and renaming the system to The Olympic Partners in 1995, to reflect the
exclusive number of multinational companies involved in Olympic sponsorship (Brown, 2000).
These companies were offered exclusive worldwide rights within designated product
categories, and they provide financial, technological and service support throughout a
quadrennium [sic] (Brown, 2000, p. 76). Changing the way the IOC associates itself with
companies has substantially increased the revenue attainment of each successive programme
as seen in Figure 2.6.

Figure 2.6 Evolution of TOP World Sponsors (International Olympic Committee, 1999)

TOP I
TOP II
Calgary/ Albertville/
Seoul
Barcelona
Number of


Companies
9
12

Total


Revenue
95
175
(US$
million)

TOP III
Lillehammer/
Atlanta

10

TOP IV
Nagano/
Sydney

11

350

500

The IOC attempts to ensure the World has readily available access to Olympic

information regardless of locale (Lee, 2005). While this was once an optimistic goal, today the
infrastructure and technological improvements have allowed this goal to be achieved,
especially in regards to the infinite capability of the Internet (Lee, 2005).

While the Games have increased its commercial utilisation, sponsors do not always

benefit in their Olympic-related campaigns (Lee, 2005). In the 1994 Lillehammer Winter
Games, 43% of consumers interviewed unsuccessfully identified the Olympic sponsors
confusing Pepsi with Coca-Cola and American Express with Visa (Lee, 2005).

22

CHAPTER 3

Methodology


In this chapter, the research strategy is discussed. The research design will be explained including
the difference between and justification for using a qualitative versus quantitative approach.
Furthermore, the methods of data collection and the data analysis procedure will be presented.
This will be followed by the sample used in the project and concluded with the limitations of the
study regarding reliability and validity.


3.1 Research design
The purpose of this study is to explore the methods of social and viral media marketing used
by the Official World Sponsors and how they utilise the Olympic Games to create brand
awareness. This will be achieved through investigating McDonalds and Procter & Gambles
Olympic social and viral media marketing practises. The study will explore the contrast
between a failed campaign (McDonalds) and successful campaign (Procter & Gamble). It is
also critical to determine the impact of the techniques utilised and therefore consumers
perceptions must be explored. In order to construct and direct the research, a conceptual
framework will help to guide the investigation and will be discussed further.

3.1.1 Quantitative vs. qualitative research
Two fundamental approaches to the research framework exist, quantitative and qualitative.
Quantitative and qualitative research requires different types of input and yield dissimilar
forms of data. According to Aliaga & Gunderson (2000) the definition of quantitative research
is explaining phenomena by collecting numerical data that are analysed using mathematically
based methods (in particular statistics) (as quoted by Muijs, 2011, p. 1). Quantitative research

23

acknowledges the capacity of social phenomena but sections the phenomenon into isolated
variables, which are smaller, equivalent models (Chupik, 2001).
A quantitative outlook would be an appropriate tool of investigation to answer the
research questions proposed or as a method to be used alongside a qualitative method to
support the data found. While quantitative research offers precision and yields statistically
assessed effects, the meaning of these results are open to question whereas qualitative
research is a rich source of data (Chupik, 2001). For this reason, quantitative and qualitative
research can be complementary and provide more extensive results. According to Chupik
(2001), If the two approaches offer complementary views of the social world, this implies that
richness can enhance precision because the in-depth account encompasses more information,
while a focus on precision can lead to a clarification of basic concepts. The thick descriptive
data produced by qualitative research can shape the choice of variables in quantitative
research. Reciprocally, the effects derived from experiments can help reframe the problem and
provide a new focus for an in-depth descriptive study (p. 16-17). Each form of research
shares complementary qualities and, in tandem, can provide enriched insights into precise
conclusions and their meanings.

Due to time constraints, a qualitative method will be adopted for the current research

project. Qualitative researchers are interested in understanding the meaning people have
constructed, that is, how people make sense of their world and the experiences they have in
the world (Merriam, 2009, p. 13). Methods used provide a descriptive narrative of a setting or
event (Parkinson & Drislane, 2002). Qualitative research will provide the context in which the
data will be derived and allow the research to explore different practises applied and how
consumers develop their perceptions of the World Sponsors through methodologies that will
be discussed in the data collection and analysis sections.

3.1.2 Ontology and epistemology
Particular types of research paradigms are associated with the quantitative and qualitative
approaches. Connected with qualitative research, constructivist theories focus on the learner
interacting with their environment on their own or with others (Packer & Goicoechea, 2000).
Under the constructivist paradigm sits the interpretivist ontology. Interpretivists believe that
reality is constructed by social actors and peoples perceptions of it (Wahyuni, 2012, p. 71).
Interpretivists recognise that an individuals reality is subjective with contributions from their

24

backgrounds and experiences, which is shaped within a social context and affects human
perspectives (Wahyuni, 2012).

The epistemological outlook associated with a constructivism is constructionism.

Epistemology is concerned with ways of knowing and learning about the social world and
focuses on questions such as: how can we know about reality and what is the basis of our
knowledge? (Snape & Spencer, 2003, p, 13). Constructionism rejects the notion that objects
force a perception or understanding of themselves upon individuals (Hammersley, 2013).
Constructionism instead states that individuals understandings are active processes of
selection and construction (Hammersley, 2013). Each individual interprets the social world
differently due to specific characteristics that shape their construction of reality.

Utilising these conceptual frameworks as a basis of building knowledge for the impact

of social and viral media marketing of the 2014 Olympic World Sponsors is an appropriate
method because it aims to develop an understanding of how individuals cultivate their
perceptions of the sponsors. Each individual possesses different backgrounds, interests and
attributes which collectively identify who they are. These are characteristics used to identify
and construct each encounter they have with the social world.


3.2 Data collection
The data collection for this research will include two types of primary data. Primary data is
information collected for the first time and thus original in character (Kothari, 2004). Methods
of primary data collection will include netnography and ethnographic interviews. These
methodologies will focus on how brand awareness is created through social and viral media
marketing techniques for the previously stated World Sponsors and how the techniques
influence consumers perceptions of the companies. The methodologies will discussed in the
following sections.

3.2.1 Ethnography
To understand the categories of data collection, ethnography must be explained and
understood to provide a foundation. Ethnography will be used in the form of interviews for the
research and also provides the groundwork for the emerging methodology of netnography,
which will be used as the first type of methodology in the research. Ethnography is an
anthropological method defined as the study of distinctive meanings, practises and artefacts

25

of particular social groups, and to the representations based on such a study (Kozinets, 2002).
The ethnographer looks for information rich descriptions of social behaviour with a
multiplicity of complex conceptual structures, many of them superimposed upon or knotted
into one another, which are at once strange, irregular, and inexplicit and which he [sic] must
contrive somehow first to grasp and then to render (Geertz, 1973, p. 10). Social behaviour
must be developed through understanding of the constructed world of the subjects and the
empathetic understanding of human behaviour (Elliott & Jankel-Elliott, 2003).

3.2.2 Netnography
Netnography, or ethnography on the Internet, is a new qualitative research methodology
that adapts ethnographic research techniques to the study of cultures and communities
emerging through computer-mediated communications (Kozinets, 2002, p. 2). Netnography
utilises information publicly available in online forums to categorise and understand the needs
and influences of online consumer groups (Kozinets, 2002). Many individuals take part in
sources of culture through online networks as a way to gain a sense of community (Kozinets,
2010).
To answer the first research question, netnography will be used to collect information
found on the Internet regarding the chosen sponsors of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games.
This will include monitoring online social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook and
creativity works sharing sites such as YouTube and Instagram. These sites will be observed in
the months succeeding the 2014 Olympics to discover the social and viral media marketing
techniques utilised. With regard to the second research question, using netnography will allow
the author to view the viral and social media marketing practises of the sponsors and explore
how the companies present their products and their association with the Olympic Games. It
will also provide understanding of the opinions of the consumers viewing the marketing
practises by observing comments made on the videos, pictures and social media posts of the
sponsors being monitored.

3.2.3 Interviews
The second method used in this research will be the interview process. The purpose of the
qualitative research interview is to contribute to a body of knowledge that is conceptual and
theoretical and is based on the meanings that life experiences hold for the interviewees
(DiCicco-Bloom & Crabtree, 2006, p. 314). Interviewing subjects will provide insight and aid in

26

the understanding of the symbolism and meanings of consumption behaviour and explores
how this brand-related behaviour integrates with wider social and cultural experience in the
life-world of the consumer (Elliott & Jankel-Elliott, 2003, p. 222).

In order to gain additional clarity from the expressed opinions of consumers on social

media, individual interviews conducted via emailing the selected participants will take place to
provide a more in-depth understanding of their perspectives. Interviews

supplement

the

netnography with enquiring more detailed questions to gain further understanding of the
influence the marketing techniques had on them. The sample of interviewees chosen is
explained in section 3.4 below and a sample email interview can be reviewed in the Appendix
of this study.


3.3 Data analysis
3.3.1 Ethnographic Content Analysis (ECA)
ECA refers to a cohesive method, procedure and technique for finding, identifying, retrieving
and analysing documents for their relevance, significance and meaning (Altheide, 1987;
Altheide, 1996). The emphasis is placed on discovery and description including tracking
particular issues, words, themes and frames over a span of time across varied issues and news
media (Altheide, n.d.). Like all ethnographic research, the meaning of a message is assumed to
be reflected in various modes of information exchange, format, rhythm and style, e.g., aural and
visual styles as well as in the context of the report itself, and other nuances (Altheide, 1987, p.
68). More characteristics of ECA within the research process can be found in Figure 3.1.
ECA will allow for important patterns in themes of the data to be recognised. This will
firstly be performed for the data collected through the netnography process. Themes that are
found to be reoccurring will be the foundation of the interview questions asked to participants
to further investigate and identify other themes that may arise.

27

Figure 3.1 Ethnographic Content Analysis (adapted from Altheide, 1987)

Research Goal
Reflexive Research Design
Emphasis
Progression from Data Collection,
Analysis, Interpretation
Primary Researcher Involvement
Sample
Pre-Structured Categories
Training Required to Collect Data
Type of Data
Data Entry Points
Narrative Description and
Comments
Concepts Emerge During
Research
Data Analysis
Data Presentation

Discovery; Verification
Always
Validity
Reflexive; Circular
All Phases
Purposive and Theoretical
Some
Substantial
Numbers; Narrative
Multiple
Always
Always
Textual; Statistical
Tables and Text

3.4 Sample
Purposive sampling is often used in conjunction with qualitative research. With purposive
sampling, the number of those interviewed is less important than the criteria by which the
individuals have been selected (Wilmot, 2010). The characteristics the participants possess are
used to represent the depth and breadth of the sample population (Wilmot, 2010). Criteria
used to define sampling groups can include demographic characteristics, circumstances,
experiences, attitudes, and phenomena (Ritchie, Lewis, & Elam, 2003).

Those selected for the interview process included members of the Facebook community

who commented on either McDonalds or Procter & Gambles Olympic social media content.
The main criteria for defining the sample group included consumers who commented on the
Olympic social media content and expressed strong opinions, both positive and negative,
regarding ECA identified themes that will be revealed and elaborated on in the Findings and
Analysis chapter and represent the depth and breadth of the issues presented. A selection of
commenters was contacted for an email interview regarding their views and research was
performed in order to gain insight into their backgrounds. Those commenting on a particular
theme tended to identify with being integrated into the issues presented and/or were

28

passionate activists. Figure 3.2 demonstrates the seven separate respondents (three for
McDonalds, four for Procter & Gamble) to the email interview. Their identities have been kept
confidential for anonymity purposes during the study. The researcher notes that those who
expressed negative opinions were more likely to respond to the request for the interview
process than those who expressed positive attitudes.

Figure 3.2 Sample respondents demographics

Respondent

Gender

Age
22

Home
Country
Cyprus

Company
Commented On
McDonalds

Male

Female

71

Germany

McDonalds

C
D
E

Female
Female
Female

49
?
30

Netherlands
?
USA

McDonalds
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble

Male

39

Australia

Procter & Gamble

Female

Procter & Gamble

Background
Part of the gay
community/Gay
rights activist
Greenpeace
supporter/Gay
rights activist
Animal Activist
Animal activist
Animal
activist/Health
concerns
Environmental
activist/Animal
activist
Part of the gay
community/Gay
rights activist

Source: Own Illustration

3.5 Limitations
With qualitative research, results are subjective and not definitive. The qualitative process is
interpretive and can never be a certain match between prediction and results, however,
consistency of the situation will be heightened if a point of reference is common between the
respondent and researcher (Chupik, 2001). Emotional dynamics can make it hard for the
researcher to uncover these hidden reference points (Chupik, 2001).

29

A limitation of ethnography includes being unable to generalise evidence found to other

markets or communities (Kozinets, 2002). This can also be applied to netnography. Using
netnography to gain access to information provided regarding demographics on the website
profiles is not necessarily trustworthy as many do not reflect their true identify or offer the
information. Also, interpretation proposed by the researcher may not reflect reality. For this
reason, it is difficult using netnography to classify individuals by age, gender or background.
Also, the results of the study may not be generalisable to other sponsoring companies of the
Olympics or may only pertain to the unique situation of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
A limitation of using interviews is while it may answer questions, it could cause more
questions to arise and give ambiguous insights rather than conclusive results (Elliott & Jankel-
Elliott, 2003). There may also be more complex reasons for an individual constructing a
particular viewpoint that the participant may not be willing to share. This can depend on how
willing and comfortable the individual is with offering and explaining their perspective to the
researcher.

30

CHAPTER 4


Findings and Analysis


In this chapter, the findings of the research will be presented and analysed. Firstly, the
development of social and viral media marketing at the Olympics will be provided and the context
of controversies surrounding the 2014 Olympics that effected the data collection of this study.
Additionally, an explanation for the choice of World Sponsors will be provided followed by a
thorough description of the social and viral media practises used to gain consumer brand
awareness for the respective companies. Analysis of consumer perceptions will be postulated
utilising Ethnographic Content Analysis (ECA) with conclusions for each company.


4.1 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games context
4.1.1 Social and viral media at the Games
These days nearly every webpage visited on the Internet includes a form of social media
platform connection available to the users of the site. Whether it is a Share on Facebook or
Follow on Twitter button, the World Wide Web has become much narrower and
interconnected.

Only about a decade ago, the Worlds interaction with the Games was much different to

how it has currently developed. Fans from all over the World could only get as close to the
Olympics as being sat in front of their televisions supporting their favourite teams and
athletes. The game has completely changed through social media by allowing fans to have real-
time score updates, pictures, and videos at their fingertips. More personal yet, it encourages
fans to participate and interact with the Olympics, its athletes and the sponsoring companies
by commenting and sharing content posted on social media adding the aspect of viral
marketing. People can have their voice and opinion heard around the World, opening new

31

doors for Olympic marketing to pioneer new frontiers. Every Olympics is now a social media
Olympics (Pfanner, 2012, para. 4). The biggest social media platforms have been present for
the past few Olympics with Facebook being founded in 2004, YouTube in 2005, Twitter in
2006 (Pfanner, 2012) and the newest platform to the social media scene, Instagram, founded
in 2010 (Leonard, 2012).

4.1.2 Controversy affecting the 2014 Winter Olympic Games
The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games had many controversies surrounding the event prior to
and during the Games. For the study, two main controversies that affected the attitude and
perceptions of the online community were the anti-gay law passed in Russia and the killing of
stray dogs in Sochi preceding the Olympics. Context of these situations is provided in order to
better understand the comments and general outlook some consumers held towards the
sponsoring companies and will be discussed further.
The gay rights issue initially arose due to a law signed by the current President of
Russia, Vladimir Putin, discriminating against the gay community. According to the
Washington Post, a law was signed by the Russian President at the end of June 2013
prohibiting the promotion of non-traditional sexual relationships to minors and has been
interpreted as banning outright gay promotion as juveniles may bear witness to them (Lally,
2013). In the Olympic Charter it states the goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of
the harmonious development of humankind and any form of discrimination with regard to a
country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible
with belonging to the Olympic Movement (International Olympic Committee, 2013b, p. 11-
12). With people convinced that Russia had broken this charter, an eruption of gay rights
protests ensued and organisations such as Greenpeace appealed for people to boycott the
Olympics and demanded the sponsors of the Olympic Games to speak out against the political
statement made by Russia.

Another major controversy surrounding the Games was the mass killing of stray dogs in

the city of Sochi. In preparation for the host city to welcome the Games arrival, authorities
hired a private company to hunt and kill thousands of dogs through poison despite previous
promises from the Sochi government that this would not transpire (Pacelle, 2014). However,
this practise was an exercise that was not uncommon to the city but had escalated prior to the
Olympics and faced further scrutiny with the attention of the World on Sochi (Vasilyeva, 2014).
It was because of this issue that multiple organisations, including the Humane Society

32

International, organised the adoption of dogs from Russia in order to save them from
extermination (Lucas, 2014).


4.2 Research selection of 2014 Sochi Olympic World Sponsors
The study involved analysing two World Sponsors of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi,
Russia including McDonalds and Procter & Gamble. The following research aims to offer a
detailed view of the two companies social and viral media practises to acquire brand
awareness during the Olympics as well as how these methods influenced consumer
perceptions of the chosen sponsors. The selection of sponsors intend to provide a comparison
of an unsuccessful marketing campaign failing to foster positive consumer perceptions during
the Games (McDonalds) to a successful campaign that managed to cultivate positive consumer
opinions through their social and viral media methods (Procter & Gamble).


4.3 McDonalds: Celebrate With a Bite
McDonalds is a worldwide fast food brand with more than 30,000 local restaurants serving
food to over 50 million consumers in over 100 countries per day (McDonalds, n.d.b). The
company was first part of the Olympic Games in 1968 when American athletes were so
homesick for American food that McDonalds responded by airlifting hamburgers to Grenoble,
France (When did McDonalds, 2012). They became an Official Sponsor of the Olympics in 1976
(When did McDonalds, 2012) and will continue its partnership with the Olympic movement
through 2020 (McDonalds, n.d.b).

McDonalds, the Official Restaurant of the Olympic Games, built two 24-hour

restaurants in Sochi, one located in the athletes village and the other in the main media centre
(McDonalds unveils, 2013). The company also launched their Champions of Play initiative as
proof of its commitment to childrens well-being by bringing children together from the host
nation and other countries to learn about global cultures and to experience the Olympics first-
hand (McDonalds unveils, 2013). McDonalds also donated a playground to the city of Sochi
designed to meet the needs of children of all abilities, enabling them to play, grow and be
active together (McDonalds unveils, 2013, para. 3).
For Sochi 2014, McDonalds reportedly spent $71,838,618 on their advertisements
ranking fourth on the top company advertisement spend list below Chevrolet, AT&T and Geico

33

in the United States according to iSpot.tv, a real-time television advertising metrics website
(Gesenhues, 2014). iSpot.tv also reported that McDonalds advertisements had the third
highest airings during the 2014 Winter Olympics with 392 airings (Gesenhues, 2014).

4.3.1 Twitter: Social and viral media summary
McDonalds used the social media platform, Twitter, to promote the companys affiliation with
the Olympics and to entice people to interact with the Olympic athletes as well as the company.
The main title of McDonalds Olympic campaign was Celebrate with a Bite and a hashtag was
developed to work in tandem with the advertising appearing as #CheersToSochi. According to
Twitter, the # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics that often become
popular trending subjects and is a way to categorise messages (Using hastags, n.d., para. 1). It
was first generated on Twitter, but can also be used through other social media sites such as
Facebook and Instagram.
#CheersToSochi was originally established for social media users to send their cheers
to their favourite athlete or team as they competed in the Olympics. Examples of Olympians
sponsored by McDonalds and participating in the #CheersToSochi promotion included Lolo
Jones, Shani Davis, Patrick Kane, Louie Vito, Drew Doughty, and Patrick Chan (TOP Sponsor
McDonalds, 2014b). The cheers that fans sent were displayed in the Olympic Village where
the athletes could print and wear their favourites on ribbons and/or respond back to the user.
According to the About McDonalds website, there were more than 5,500 cheers sent to
athletes and over 2,800 messages printed onto ribbons (McDonalds, n.d.a).
Hashtags utilised on Twitter or other social media platforms, are effectively free
advertising for the company with the content gaining momentum with users sharing content
virally with friends and becoming a trending topic. While #CheersToSochi did gain incredible
attention, it was not attributed to fans sharing their excitement with the Olympic athletes.
Instead it was undesirably utilised by activists denouncing the Russian anti-gay rights and
accusing McDonalds for not actively speaking out against the injustice (Gesenhues, 2014).
Figure 4.1 below shows a Twitter search for #CheersToSochi that exemplifies more commonly
how the hashtag was used and virally promoted. The hijacking of the hashtag due to the
affiliation with the 2014 Olympics was one of the main reasons for McDonalds unsuccessful
campaign as will be seen utilising the netnography and ECA of the users comments and
interview statements later in the chapter.

34

Figure 4.1 Screenshot of tweets on Twitter utilising #CheerToSochi

Source: Twitter.com, 2014; https://twitter.com/search?q=%23cheerstosochi&src=typd

4.3.2 Facebook: Social and viral media summary
The social media platform, Facebook, was utilised by McDonalds in posting pictures of their
products and using hashtags, such as #Olympics and #BigMac, to start a buzz about their
products and their affiliation with the Winter Games. Notably #CheersToSochi was missing
from the McDonalds Facebook page. The researcher is unsure if it had not been promoted on
the page or if it had been removed before the study was conducted due to the negative
attention it attracted from gay rights activists. Spotify, the commercial music streaming
service, was also used to connect with McDonalds consumers by having Olympians compose
playlists that consumers could listen and subscribe to. Figure 4.2 illustrates the different types
of posts McDonalds displayed on their Facebook page as of July 6, 2014 and indicates the
description of the message the company produced to their consumers and the attention it
received through likes, comments and shares. The number of likes and shares are a
measure of unique individuals clicking on the media. Individuals may comment multiple times
and therefore it is not a measure of unique individuals interacting with the post but rather of
the conversation generated by it from the online community.

35

Figure 4.2 Table of McDonalds Facebook Olympic campaign posts as of July 6, 2014

Date
Media Type Number Number of Number of
Tagline
Published
of Likes Comments Shares
January
Picture
5,504
362
204
The greatest victories are
29, 2014
celebrated with a bite.
February
Picture;
5,054
418
288
Gold medal favourite.
4, 2014
Hashtags
#BigMac #Olympics
February
Picture
30,342
1,137
364
This Olympic Winter
4, 2014
Games, hold your own
opening ceremony.
February
Post
497
142
4
Ever wonder whats in
12, 2014
utilising
your favourite athletes
Spotify;
headphones? Get in the
Links to
zone with custom
athlete
playlists curated by Shani
Facebook
Davis, Lolo Jones, &
pages
Patrick Kane.
February Picture; Link 57,902
1,854
1,555
Its like being sent off the
19, 2014
to
ice for five delectable
McDonalds
minutes in the indulgence
website
box.
www.mcdonalds.com/mc
cafefrappe
Source: Own Illustration

Figure 4.3 shows an example of the type of content posted in relation to the Olympics

by McDonalds. The picture was posted on the companys official Facebook page on February 4,
2014 and featured the tagline Gold medal favorite. #BigMac #Olympics, as shown in Figure
4.2 above. The picture ranks second in number of likes, comments and shares out of the
Olympic media posted by McDonalds on Facebook for the Olympics based on the table.

36

Figure 4.3 Example of McDonalds social media post on Facebook from February 4, 2014

Source: McDonalds, 2014b; https://www.facebook.com/McDonalds?ref=br_tf

4.3.3 YouTube: Social and viral media summary
McDonalds utilised their YouTube channel, mcdonaldscorp with 20,652 subscribers to
promote the Cheers to Sochi campaign. While by appearance this seems to be an official
corporate page of the company, it has not been verified by YouTube. On the companys
YouTube channel, McDonalds posted three different videos regarding the 2014 Olympics as
Figure 4.4 indicates below along with the unique number of thumbs up and thumbs down,
shares and subscribers driven to the channel from the videos page. The views are not an
indicator of unique individuals watching the video, only the number of times the video has
played. The first video entitled, #CheersToSochi McDonalds Olympic Program, features three

37

Olympic athletes sponsored by McDonalds from Team USA. The video uses athlete
endorsement appeal to promote the use of #CheersToSochi for fans to support them and their
Olympic teammates. Figure 4.5 provides a screenshot showing the ending of this video and the
marketing for use of the hashtag on social media.

Figure 4.4 Table of McDonalds YouTube videos posted by mcdonaldscorp as of July 6, 2014

Date
Published
January 21,
2014

Title of Viral
Video
#CheersToSochi
McDonalds
Olympic Program

Views

January 21,
2014

Cheers to Sochi;
How To Video

5,756

13

15

3,071

February 7, Cheers to Sochi at

2014
2014 Sundance
Film Festival

5,620

Thumbs Thumbs Shares Subscribers

Up
Down
Driven
5
8
3
1

Source: Own Illustration

Figure 4.5 Screenshot of McDonalds #CheersToSochi McDonalds Olympic Program YouTube
video

Source: McDonalds, 2014a;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zvXzxrkj_0&list=PLXAab0yeqWrrtoZOdl6yIwZt7yBFFV7Uu

38

The second video entitled, Cheers to Sochi; How To Video, explains through
illustrations how fans can choose athletes or teams they would like to support and with using
#CheersToSochi, are able to reach them via a specialised display in the Olympic Athletes
Village. The video explained how each athlete was able to search for their personal fan
messages, print off their favourites and wear them on a ribbon for good luck during the
competition. If an athlete selected a message to print off, the individual who sent the message
was notified that it had been used and could possibly receive a communication directly from
the athlete. The video did not seem to spark the online communitys interest with only fifteen
shares and 5,756 views, which as you will see later in this chapter, is low in comparison to
Procter & Gambles YouTube activity.
The final video entitled, Cheers to Sochi at 2014 Sundance Film Festival features
actors and attendees of the festival in Utah sending good luck to predominantly Team USA, but
also other countries. The video shows the attendees writing messages to the Olympic athletes
on a banner displayed at the festival. As the video draws to a close, #CheersToSochi is once
again promoted for people to interact with the company and athletes.

4.3.4 Instagram: Social and viral media summary
McDonalds Instagram account has 216,492 followers as of July 9, 2014, meaning the
consumers who follow the company will receive the photo updates that are available on their
personal user account homepage. During the time of the Olympics, McDonalds posted only one
picture to their account as seen in Figure 4.3. The picture is the same as seen on the companys
Facebook page from February 4, 2014 and featured as an example in Figure 4.2. The picture
gained more likes on Instagram than it did on Facebook meaning there was a more positive
reaction and increased awareness from the online community on Instagram. Nevertheless, the
majority of the 315 comments were of a negative nature. The themes of the comments will be
discussed in the netnography and interview themes section.

Figure 4.6 Table of McDonalds Instagram posts as of July 9, 2014

Date Published
February 3,
2014
Source: Own Illustration

Number of
Likes
6,079

Number of
Comments
315

39

Tagline
Gold medal favorite.
#BigMac #Olympics

4.3.5 Main themes deduced from netnography and interviews

Unfortunately for McDonalds, their attempt to positively promote their affiliation with the
2014 Winter Olympic Games was met with scepticism and high negativity. The general online
community either felt very strongly against the Sochi Olympics due to the controversies
previously mentioned or towards the company itself due to the irony of a fast food chain
sponsoring a major international sporting event. This section will discuss the themes
uncovered by the author through the use of netnography and further interviews regarding the
themes identified.
Utilising the ECA as explained in the methodology chapter, three main themes were
prevalent in the comments concerning McDonalds affiliation with the Olympics impacting
consumer perceptions. These themes included Russias attitude towards the gay community,
the massacring of dogs to control the overpopulation in the city of Sochi, and health concerns
over a fast food company sponsoring an international athletic event.
The first theme pertains to the anti-gay law put into effect by the Russian President.
Participants commented predominantly on the companys Facebook page and by utilising
#CheersToSochi on Twitter. This issue was the main source of negative consumer perceptions
for the Olympics, and in their sponsoring affiliation, McDonalds. Consumers who remarked on
this subject appeared to share a common thread; the individuals were a part of the gay
community themselves or were active supporters of the cause. However, it has been noted in
the research limitations of the difficulty obtaining and verifying personal user information.
Consumers called McDonalds the sponsor of hate and did not understand why the company
was supporting homophobic Games. In Respondent As email interview, they stated that they
typically enjoyed watching the Winter Olympics as it does not just promote sport, but is an
event that protects culture and human rights. The interviewee referenced the Olympic Charter
and how they felt the Russian government undermined this code without punishment from the
IOC. This individuals perception of McDonalds changed completely after feeling dissatisfied
the company still sponsored the 2014 Olympics following this situation and that they would
never purchase from the company again. Many consumers shared the interviewees opinion on
McDonalds feeling that the company should have spoken out against the Games being held in
Russia and stating they would never purchase from a company who does not stand up for basic
human rights. As mentioned previously, the McDonalds hashtag #CheersToSochi, while
gaining significant viral attention, was overtaken by gay rights activists to speak negatively
about the company and promote the gay rights movement. Respondent B stated she was asked

40

by the Greenpeace organisation to comment on the Olympic content on McDonalds Facebook

page. She indicated her main concern was the total disregard of human rights in Sochi and how
sport has become highly politicised and commercial.

The second prevailing theme of consumer comments on McDonalds Olympic social

media posts pertained to the killing of stray dogs in Sochi. As much information as possible
was gathered from the participants profiles allowing for a common thread to be
acknowledged. The consumers who remarked on this subject had a passion for animal
activism. Comments from one such user on the February 4, 2014 picture post included,
Thoroughly disgusted with how Sochi is handling their dog overpopulation. There are other
solutions than poisoning the dogs. What a callous society. I for one will not be watching the
Olympics. This particular comment received eight likes interpreted as a gesture of
agreement and which occurred on many other comments made by different users sharing the
same sentiment. The beginning of the negative comments surrounding this topic also
commenced on February 4, 2014 correlating to approximately when the media introduced this
story. Many consumers wrote they were taking action against McDonalds by boycotting the
company and expected them to speak out against these practises. In Respondent Cs email
interview, she identified that she was involved in various organisations that look to solve the
stray animal problem, including the one in Sochi. She felt that the way the situation was
handled tarnished the reputation of the Olympic community and affiliated companies, which
confirms the presented research.

The third predominant theme of consumer comments was aimed at the health concerns

surrounding McDonalds acting as an Official Sponsor of the Olympics. Commentaries on this

subject were made mainly on Facebook and Instagram with the resounding opinion of the
online community being that McDonalds sponsoring the Olympics was an ironic association
between fast food typically considered unhealthy and the Olympics who feature ultra-healthy
athletes at the peak of physical performance. While a few consumers did comment on how
athletes do burn a high amount of calories whilst training and therefore can eat McDonalds,
they were in the minority and received backlash from other users who believed this was not a
common occurrence for athletes. One consumer stated, No one in the Olympics would ever
step foot in a McDonalds and the majority of participants agreed with this statement.
Consumers were also puzzled by the suggestion from the McDonalds campaign that people
watching the Olympics should celebrate by eating food that is inherently fattening and
unhealthy. One user commented, Nothing like celebrating top notch athleticism and a healthy

41

lifestyle by stuffing our faces with overly processed mechanically separated meat dunked in
boiling fat. Merica!! [sic], providing a general overview of how the majority of commenters felt
about this subject.

It should also be noted that there were many additional comments regarding various

themes apart from the companys involvement with the Olympics including remarks on food
and drink and upset regarding a young woman being fired unfairly from McDonalds.

4.3.6 Conclusions
Regrettably for McDonalds their attempts to win the gold for Olympic social and viral media
marketing backfired. Their affiliation with the Olympic Games attracted more negative
attention than positive with the controversies surrounding the Olympics being held in Sochi,
Russia. While there were messages of positivity towards the company, these were severely
drowned out by the negative comments. Social media gives a platform for those who would
like to casually contact and interact with the company whether it is positive or negative.
However, it seems that those who were unhappy were more likely to speak out against the
company.
The viral and social media practises of McDonalds seemed very limited but could
speculatively be caused by the criticism the company received from continuing to support the
Games. McDonalds social media marketing strategy involved the utilisation of celebrity and
athlete endorsements. The literature has informed the study that celebrity endorsements can
influence the way individuals perceive the sponsor. However, this study has shown no obvious
effect from the usage of celebrity and athletic endorsements conflicting with previous studies.
The product-focused Olympic campaign failed to connect with their consumers and left them
open to harsh condemnation. The consumers perceived lack of fit between McDonalds and
the Olympic Games supporting the research presented in the literature review by Gwinner and
Bennett (2008) and Koo, Quarterman, and Flynn (2006). Referring to Figure 2.2 of the model
of image creation and transfer in event sponsorship by Gwinner (2007), the degree of
similarity in the moderating variables is the key issue to the consumers. Regarding the issues
of gay rights and the killing of stray dogs, the event image of this model is tainted and is
therefore transferred to the brand image of McDonalds by sponsorship association. The media
related to the Olympics posted on the companys Facebook page seemed to host an online
protest against McDonalds failure to speak out against the anti-gay law in Russia giving rise to
the voices of its consumers. These issues coupled with consumers failing to see the connection

42

between fast food and an international sporting event, McDonalds stumbled over the finish
line. Many consumers mentioned boycotting McDonalds because of their affiliation with the
2014 Olympics thus proving that sponsorship does not always improve consumer perceptions.


4.4 Procter & Gamble: Thank You, Mom: Pick Them Back Up
Procter & Gamble is the Official Worldwide partner in the personal care and household
products category for the Olympics (Procter and Gamble joins, 2010) and is the largest
multinational consumer goods company in the World serving approximately 4.8 billion people
with brands that include Tide, Pantene, Gillette, and Duracell (Procter & Gamble, n.d.). Procter
& Gamble began as local sponsors of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada
and claimed the sponsorship boosted sales by $100 million or 65 million (Mackay, 2011).
After their success as a local sponsor, they extended their partnership with the Olympics and
became a Worldwide TOP sponsor in a $100 million ten-year deal that began in July 2010
(Mackay, 2011). Procter & Gamble state that their relationship with the Olympics is more than
a sponsorship. They use the partnership to improve more lives, more completely around the
World with a focus on making life better for athletes, mums and their families (Procter and
Gamble joins, 2010, para. 4).

Procter & Gambles Thank you, Mom: Pick Them Back Up campaign was released in

October 2013 and featured twenty-eight athletes, as seen through the eyes of their mothers
(Procter and Gamble joins, 2010). As a part of the companys commitment to mothers, the
establishment created the P&G Family Home based in Olympic Park in Sochi during the
duration of the Games (Procter & Gamble debuts, 2014). The home served all Olympic athletes,
their mothers and families by providing the comforts of home including using the Pantene,
Gillette, and CoverGirl products to provide grooming services and Pampers to provide baby
changing services (Procter & Gamble debuts, 2014). Procter & Gamble also sent mothers of
Olympians from over twenty countries to watch their children compete (Procter & Gamble
debuts, 2014).
Comparing the amount spent on Olympic advertising between McDonalds and Procter
& Gamble is difficult because Procter & Gamble did not feature on the iSpot.tv list of the top ten
brands ranked by advertisement spending. The lowest amount featured on this list is
$43,993,199 by the United States Olympic Team sponsor, TD Ameritrade, and so must be less
than this figure (Gesenhues, 2014). However, Procter & Gamble were the digital winners of the

43

Games for views on YouTube and social actions on social media platforms such as Facebook,
Twitter and YouTube (Gesenhues, 2014).

4.4.1 Twitter: Social and viral media summary
Procter & Gamble utilised Twitter to promote the companys affiliation with the 2014 Winter
Olympics and created three main hashtags in order to create a buzz around their brand that
would increase brand awareness and positively influence consumer perceptions. The three
hashtags generated included #BecauseofMom, #ThankYouMom, and #PGFamily. Three central
users exercised #BecauseofMom: the P&G company, Olympic athletes and sporting
organisations, and the average Twitter user. The company used the hashtag to post pictures of
the Olympic athletes and their mothers, some of which included Procter & Gamble product
logos with the athletes as an advertisement. Predominantly athletes and sporting
organisations used the hashtag to share the Procter & Gamble commercials located on
YouTube and to generally promote company products. Many athletes also included sentiments
of their own mothers using #BecauseofMom.

Procter & Gamble operates two official Twitter accounts, one for the general P&G

company with approximately 84,600 followers and the other for their Thank you, Mom by
P&G campaign with approximately 46,500 followers. The second hashtag, #ThankYouMom,
was primarily utilised by the Thank you, Mom by P&G Twitter account, Procter & Gamble
sponsored Olympic athletes and average Twitter users. This hashtag was not used to endorse
Procter & Gamble products but truly focused the athletes relationships with their mothers.
The Thank you, Mom by P&G Twitter account used the hashtag to post pictures of the
athletes and their mothers while at the Olympics. The athletes used #ThankYouMom in order
to post personal sentiments about their mothers. Average Twitter users also used the hashtag
to share feelings about their own mothers but most seemed unrelated to the Procter & Gamble
company.

The last hashtag developed by Procter & Gamble to produce a buzz around their

company was #PGFamily. It was used by the official Procter & Gamble company Twitter
account, the official Thank You, Mom by P&G Twitter account, Olympic athletes sponsored by
the company and the average Twitter user. The majority of official company Twitter account
posts consisted of pictures relating to the brand such as products and scenes from the 2014
Winter Olympics at the P&G Family Home in Sochi with Procter & Gamble logos prevalent.
When the sponsored Olympic athletes utilised this hashtag, it was to express feelings about

44

their family and more commonly used as a promotion relating to their affiliation with the
brand. The official Thank you, Mom by P&G Twitter account used #PGFamily to post pictures
of the Sochi athletes. Also, average Twitter users used the hashtag, although through further
investigation it appears that the abbreviation, PG, often stood for something other than
Procter & Gamble and was unrelated to the company.

4.4.2 Facebook: Social and viral media summary
Procter & Gamble utilised the social and viral media aspect of Facebook to their advantage
with twenty-three posts on Procter & Gambles main company Facebook page and seventy-
three posts on the companys Thank you, Mom by P&G Facebook page. Figures 4.7 and 4.8
refer to the separate Facebook pages and due to the volume of media, represent a selection of
the most popular posts related to the 2014 Sochi Games based on interactions including most
likes, comments and shares as of July 8, 2014. As mentioned previously, the number of
likes and shares are unique to individuals clicking on the media, but the comments may
have the same individual remarking on the media multiple times and is therefore not a
measure of unique entities interacting with the post. It should be noted that the official
Facebook page for the P&G company has 5,050,907 likes while the Thank you, Mom by P&G
Facebook page has 866,814 likes. Those Facebook users who click the like button on the
page will receive updates from the brand when the company posts new media to their page to
their individual account homepage on Facebook.

45

Figure 4.7 Summary of most popular Facebook posts on P&G company page as of July 8, 2014

Date
Media Type Number of
Published
Likes

November
27, 2013

Picture;
Links to
P&G product
Facebook
pages

361

Number
of
Comment
s
16

January 7,
2014

Links to
YouTube for
P&G
commercial;
Hashtag

308

40

151

February
6, 2014

Links to
P&G news
webpage

260

51

36

February
7, 2014

Links to
YouTube for
P&G
commercial;
Hashtag

184

58

32

February
8, 2014

Changing
P&G
company
page
Facebook
cover photo

281

46

22

46

Number of
Shares

Tagline

24

Before the world saw

them as Olympians,
Mom saw their
potential. with
Pantene North
America, Duracell,
and Tide
Join us in saying
Thank You to all the
Moms who helped us
overcome obstacles
& achieve our
dreams!
#BecauseofMom
Were excited to
bring you the very
first photos of the
P&G Family Home in
Sochi, which opened
its doors to Moms
and athletes today!
In honor of todays
Opening Ceremony:
Before the world
saw them as
Olympians, Mom saw
their potential.
Thank you, Mom by
P&G #Sochi2014
#ThankYouMom
The P&G Family
Home: Shining a
winning light on the
Moms, athletes and
their families in
Sochi!

February
18, 2014

February
19, 2014

February
24, 2014

February
25, 2014

Shared
picture from
Thank you,
Mom by
P&G
Facebook
page; Links
to athletes
Facebook
pages;
Hashtag
Links to
YouTube for
P&G
commercial;
Links to
Thank you,
Mom by
P&G
Facebook
page;
Hashtag
Links to
P&G news
webpage;
Hashtags

257

80

Congratulations to
#TeamUSA ice
dancers, Meryl Davis
and Charlie White, on
their world record
Gold medal
performance!

76

88

24

You believed I could

accomplish anything.
And now so do I.
~Thank you, Mom by
P&G.
#BecauseofMom

104

253

12

Photo
album;
Links to
Thank you,
Mom by
P&G
Facebook
page;
Hashtags

179

444

510,000 linens. 1,600

salon treatments. 1
home away from
home. Heres a
unique look at the
P&G Family Home-
by the numbers.
#PGFamily
#Sochi2014
P&G Family Home:
THANK YOU for
celebrating Moms,
Athletes, & their
families from around
the world with
Thank you, Mom by
P&G!
#BeacuseofMom
#ThankYouMom
#PGFamily

Source: Own Illustration

47

Figure 4.8 Summary of most popular Facebook posts on Thank you, Mom by P&G page as of July
8, 2014

Date
Media Type Number of Number of Number of
Tagline
Published
Likes
Comments Shares
December
Links to
5,638
134
1,333
Mikaela Shiffrin-
1, 2013
video on
Raising an
Facebook
Olympian: Do
page
you tell your
children that
practise makes
perfect? If so,
this story will hit
home!
January 6,
Links to
52,180
1,884
10,808
For teaching us
2014
YouTube for
that falling only
P&G
makes us
commercial
stronger. Thank
you, Mom.
Watch & share!
February
Links to
138,074
4,191
99
P&G is
6, 2014
YouTube for
celebrating The
P&G
Opening
commercial
Ceremony by
honoring Moms!
Share to say
Thank you,
Mom!
February
Links to
11,629
217
554
Congratulations
18, 2014
video on
Meryl Davis and
Facebook
Charlie White:
page
Way to go Meryl
Davis & Charlie
White on your
spectacular gold
medal
performance!!
February
Links to
32,760
393
346
The worlds
19, 2014 YouTube for
toughest moms,
P&G
raise the worlds
commercial
toughest kids.
Thank you, Mom.
48

February
22, 2014

Links to
YouTube for
P&G Raising
an Olympian
video; Links
to athletes
Facebook
page;
Hashtag
Source: Own Illustration

15,154

150

512

Congrats to
Mikaela Shiffrin
for getting GOLD
in #Sochi2014!
See who helped
get her there!

As Figures 4.7 and 4.8 showcases, Procter & Gamble utilised numerous forms of media

in order to create consumer brand awareness by exploiting their Olympic campaign. While
particular media placed focus on Procter & Gamble products, the primary focus remained on
the athletes, their achievements at the Games and the relationship between the athletes with
their mothers and families. Photos and videos were posted with the key hashtags, as
mentioned earlier, in order create a buzz around the brand on Facebook, which carried
through multiple social media platforms. The main source of shares came from the videos
posted particularly on the Thank you, Mom by P&G Facebook page as seen in Figure 4.9.
Through viral marketing, users of social media became willing advertisers of the Procter &
Gamble company simply by clicking on a button and spreading the campaign by posting on
their own Facebook page or the pages of friends.

Figure 4.9 Example of P&Gs social media post from February 6, 2014

Source: Thank you, Mom by P&G, 2014; https://www.facebook.com/thankyoumom

49

4.4.3 YouTube: Social and viral media summary

Procter & Gamble released numerous videos in relation to the Olympics on YouTube with
approximately thirty-three videos posted targeted at audiences in the United States, Canada,
United Kingdom, France, and Poland. The most popular videos were the commercials
published in relation to their Thank you, Mom: Pick Them Back Up campaign. Figure 4.10
illustrates the videos posted and a summary of the views, thumbs up and thumbs down,
shares and subscribers driven.

The first video entitled Pick Them Back Up was the main commercial that also aired

on television. As Figure 4.10 shows below, as of July 7, 2014 there were over 19 million views
on YouTube alone. This figure is not a strong indicator of how many people uniquely have
watched the video, only the number of times it has played. The thumbs up and thumbs
down features allow the author to begin formulating the general attitude towards the video.
In this case, the overwhelming majority liked the video. The subscribers driven figure
signifies how many people have subscribed to Procter & Gambles YouTube channel from the
video page. Subscribing to a channel allows videos uploaded by Procter & Gamble to appear on
the users personal account homepage. The figure shows that 1,894 people who viewed the
video were enticed to subscribe to the companys YouTube channel and receive updates of
their latest videos.

The video follows four mothers from different parts of the World and their journey of

raising an Olympic athlete. The young children start out learning to walk but falling down with
their mothers there to pick them up. It portrays the nurturing and support the children needed
from their mothers as they faced the tough aspects of their respective sports of ice hockey,
snowboarding, figure skating, and skiing. Eventually the children are grown and competing in
the Olympics. Each are successful in their event and exchange glances or embraces with their
mother to suggest they are thanking them for their support over the years. The final written
message of the commercial states, For teaching us that falling only makes us stronger. Thank
you, Mom. The hashtag, #BecauseOfMom, is displayed at the bottom of the page while logos of
Procter & Gamble products are shown briefly. The final scene shows the P&G logo with Proud
sponsor of Moms written underneath.

The second and third videos entitled Pick Them Back Up - Snowboarding and Pick

Them Back Up - Ice Skating are both excerpts from the original video but include extended
footage of each child in their corresponding sport. The videos have significantly fewer views
than the first video but is still a high quantity with 20,768 and 22,601 respectively. Fewer

50

people clicked on the thumbs up and thumbs down features, shared the video and
subscribed to the channel than the first video but these figures are in proportion based on the
number of views received.

Figure 4.10 Summary of P&G YouTube videos posted by ProcterGamble as of July 7, 2014

Date
Title of Viral
Views
Published
Video
January 5,
Pick Them
19,318,554
2014
Back Up
January 5,
Pick Them
20,768
2014
Back Up-
Snowboarding
January 5,
Pick Them
22,601
2014
Back Up- Ice
Skating
Source: Own Illustration

Thumbs
Up
41,348

Thumbs Shares Subscribers

Down
Driven
2,167
43,804
1,894

55

97

95

88

4.4.4 Instagram: Social and viral media summary
Procter & Gamble have two Instagram accounts; one for the company and one for the Thank
you, Mom campaign. The companys Instagram account has 4,295 followers and the Thank
you, Mom Instagram account has 4,938 followers as of July 9, 2014. Notably the amount of
followers on the Thank you, Mom account is higher than the company account speaking to
the success and attitude of consumers to this campaign. During the Olympics, Procter &
Gamble posted a total of twenty-six pictures on the company account including one short video
exhibiting the P&G Family Home being built and seventy-eight on the Thank you, Mom
account, which included three short videos of athletes. Because of the volume of media, Figures
4.11 and 4.12 illustrate the most popular pictures posted to Instagram based on interaction
including most likes and number of comments.

Many of the pictures on the company and Thank you, Mom Instagram accounts were

also uploaded to the P&G and Thank you, Mom by P&G Facebook pages. The Procter & Gamble
company account posted images of the P&G Family Home, the athletes and families utilising
the products inside of the home and the success of the athletes with the logos of the Procter &
Gamble products they represent with a quote from their mothers. The Thank you, Mom
account features a more in-depth look at the athletes and their families within the P&G Family

51

Home. While logos of P&G products are present in the majority of the pictures on this account,
they are subtle or in the background and focus on the athletes and families.

Figure 4.11 Summary of P&G Instagram posts as of July 9, 2014

Date Published
February 6,
2014

Number Number of
of Likes Comments
68
4

February 6,
2014

82

February 18,
2014

101

February 22,
2014

41

Tagline
Inside the P&G Family Home in Sochi where
Pantene, @COVERGIRL, Olay and Wella will
pamper families in the P&G Salon with hair
styling, makeovers, manicures and
moisturizing treatments. #thankyoumom
Bear sculptures give a warm welcome into
the P&G Family Home in Sochi, our home
away from home for the moms and families
of Olympians in Sochi. The Family Home
opened today, where P&G and our brands
have begun providing everyday services
including hair styling, makeovers, manicures,
moisturizing treatments, hot towel shaves,
facial massages and much more.
Congratulations to U.S. ice dancers Meryl
Davis & Charlie White on their world record
GOLD medal performance! #PGFamily
#Sochi2014 #ThankYouMom
#proctergamble #touchinglives
#improvinglife #passthepuffs
Congratulations to #Braun athlete, J.R. Celski
& #TeamUSA on winning SILVER in the
Mens 5000M relay! #PGFamily
#ThankYouMom #Sochi2014
#proctergamble #touchinglives
#improvinglife

Source: Own Illustration

52

Figure 4.12 Summary of Thank you, Mom Instagram posts as of July 9, 2014

Date Published
February 15,
2014

Number Number of
of Likes Comments
361
5

February 17,
2014

373

February 18,
2014

438

February 27,
2014

381

Tagline
Its all smiles for
@NickGoepper & his proud
mom after winning Bronze!
@MerylDavis &
@CharlieaWhite after
another beautiful
performance in
#Sochi2014
Congrats to US ice dancer
@MerylDavis &
@CharlieaDavis on their
world record Gold medal
performance!
Look who came to the
#PGFamily home to
celebrate a Freestyle
Sweep! Getty images

Source: Own Illustration

Figure 4.13 Example of P&Gs social media post on Instagram from February 18, 2014

Source: Instagram.com, 2014; http://instagram.com/proctergamble

53

Figure 4.13 is an example of an Instagram image posted by the company account. It was
the most popular Instagram post from this account with 101 likes and featured a
congratulatory message to ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White as shown in Figure 4.11.

4.4.5 Main themes deduced from netnography and interviews
Unlike the McDonalds campaign, Procter & Gamble generated an overall positive outlook
through their affiliation with the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games and their Thank you,
Mom: Pick Them Back Up campaign. Most comments in direct relation to the Olympics were
made on the Thank you, Mom by P&G Facebook page, Thank you, Mom Instagram account,
YouTube videos uploaded by the company and through the use of the hashtags.
On the P&G company Facebook page, the majority of comments on the media posted in
direct relation to the 2014 Olympics were unrelated negative comments regarding
environmental concerns about the companys practise of using palm oil in their products.
When analysing the interactions on Olympic posts, there were a relatively high number of
likes and shares in terms of content from November 27, 2013 through February 8, 2014 as
seen in Figure 4.7. Liking and sharing this content would suggest a positive attitude
towards the company and the 2014 Olympic affiliation. Conversely, user comments during this
time were dominated by posts of videos and news articles, primarily from Greenpeace, about
Procter & Gambles environmental impact. This increased drastically beginning February 18,
2014 when nearly all comments made on posts in relation to the Olympics were about
consumers environmental apprehensions of the company and escalated through February 25,
2014. The comments were in clear protest of the company and were unrelated to their
Olympic affiliation. Respondent D stated that they were unaware Procter & Gamble sponsored
the Olympics and that the principal reason for their negative comments was aimed at the
company itself. This protest overpowered the posts on the P&G company Facebook page and
speculatively pushed others away who may have otherwise commented, liked, or shared
the media.

Once again the author used ECA to pinpoint themes of consumer perceptions in relation

to Procter & Gambles company relationship with the 2014 Olympics. Four major themes were
prevalent in the comments made including the appreciation of mothers, missing father figures
in the campaign, lack of diversity of the mothers shown and the killing of stray dogs in Sochi.
The first theme, the appreciation of mothers, invoked a highly positive reaction from
the online community and was dominant through use of the designated hashtags and remarks

54

made on media shared through the Thank you, Mom by P&G Facebook page. Through the use
of their campaign, Procter & Gamble managed to foster positive opinions towards the company
and their affiliation with the 2014 Winter Olympics by utilising consumer emotions to gain a
connection to the company. Notably the commenters were largely women and could explain
the strong emotional relationship with having experienced or ability to experience
motherhood in their lifetime. This notion is highlighted in the following comment one
Facebook user made on the Thank you, Mom by P&G Facebook page: My children aren't in the
Olympics and they may not have a hold [sic] medal but they are all super stars and the very
best. You all make this mom proud for you are pure gold. Many consumers expressed how the
campaign instilled nostalgia and flooded them with emotion. One consumer stated, This
commercial brought tears to my eyes! Thank you P&G for highlighting that hard work pays
off. The general support for women seemed to resonate with the online community and
suggested that it would inform future purchasing choices illustrated in this comment made: I
have to tell you from the bottom of our hearts at Play For Her, how much we appreciate your
support of women's athletics. I buy only Proctor and Gamble products when applicable. You
guys rock.
While the overall tone was positive, themes of negativity presented themselves in the
comments. The first negative theme was that of missing fathers from the campaign Thank you,
Mom: Pick Them Back Up. Consumers remarking on this issue were puzzled as to why fathers
were missing from the campaign. For many, it did not seem to affect their perspective of
Procter & Gamble or the companys Olympic affiliation; rather it was a suggestion to the
company to include fathers in the appreciation of raising a child. These consumers appeared to
enjoy the campaign but would prefer the company to acknowledge both family figures as
demonstrated in this comment, What about the Dads? They are to thank just as much as the
Moms. It's sad how society seems to always leave them out of praises when it comes to how
well the child turned out. Well Thank You Dads, you did a great job helping your Olympian
become who they are today! Other consumers took great offense to the absence of fathers in
the campaign, which impacted their perception of Procter & Gamble. For some, this error was
severe enough to affect the future purchase decisions for products of the company. This is
reflected in Respondent Gs statement that she commented because she wanted Procter &
Gamble to know they were losing a customer for not supporting the gay community she was a
part of. Also, she stated that Procter & Gamble were hypocritical for not supporting the
athletes who needed them most. Other users claimed the issue would affect their future

55

consumer choices because they found the campaign to be sexist and stereotypical of women.
Both men and women commented on how they perceived the premise of the campaign to be
founded on an antiquated outlook of gender roles suggesting that the mother stays home to
raise the children while the father works. One commenter stated that as a father himself, he
does the household grocery shopping but no longer purchases Procter & Gamble products
because of the discrimination, which was a sentiment shared by other consumers.
The third theme was the lack of diversity of mothers exhibited in Procter & Gambles
Thank you, Mom: Pick Them Back Up campaign. Consumers made remarks about the lack of
ethnic diversity, sexual preferences and disabled mothers. An example of a comment made on
this topic is, I love these commercials, but why are all the moms white, heterosexual, and non-
disabled? While this issue seemed to be isolated to the campaign, it did have a connection
with the anti-gay rights issues occurring in Russia. Some of the online community felt that the
company could have made a strong statement against the anti-gay law of the host country by
featuring a lesbian couple in the campaign as this comment exhibits: LOVE all you MOMs
commercials! have you thought about one showcasing an athlete with two moms? now, THAT
would be statement especially in this Olympics [sic]. For some consumers, the lack of action
by the company to stand up for gay rights affected their perceptions concerning the company
sponsoring the 2014 Winter Olympics stating, But not lesbian moms in Russia who are at risk
of having their children taken by Putin's thugs. BAD choice sponsoring the anti-gay Olympics.
Only a few users commenting on the subject stated that due to this concern, they would be
boycotting the Olympics and Procter & Gamble products. While this issue did affect the way a
small group of consumers perceived the company, the majority still held a positive outlook
towards Procter & Gamble regardless of the issue but would like to see the inclusion of
diversity in the mothers chosen for future campaigns.
The final reoccurring theme for Procter & Gambles Olympic campaign included
negative comments about the company testing their products on animals. In Respondent Fs
email interview, it was stated that they avoid Procter & Gamble products due to the
environmentally unsustainable and profit-by-any-means nature of the company. They also
stated that although Procter & Gamble is associated with the Olympics, which is typically
thought of in a positive manner, it would not improve their opinion of the company. This also
seemed to have a direct correlation with the issues surrounding the Olympics regarding the
mass killings of stray dogs in Sochi. Respondent E added that she felt validated in hating the
company further with the dog situation, an outlook shared by a consumer commenter on the

56

Thank you, Mom by P&G Facebook page saying, P&G still abuses animals in product testing.
Unfortunate relationship for the athletes. Boycott. Participants claimed that because Procter &
Gamble test on animals, that this is why they would not speak out against the way Russia was
handling the situation. As one commenter stated, I as well as my family and friends will now
boycott P&G knowing that they are linked to the mass killings of innocent animals in Russia for
the Olympics. This topic had a more negative connotation with many consumers stating that
the situation changed their perception of the company and influenced their future consumer
choices.

4.4.6 Conclusions
Procter & Gamble had a major presence in the Olympic social and viral media environment
between their specialised hashtags on Twitter, Facebook pages, YouTube videos and Instagram
pictures. The success of the Thank you, Mom: Pick Them Back Up campaign allowed them to
cross the marketing finish line exponentially ahead of McDonalds.
As Keller (2009) stated, it is key for companies to create brand awareness linking the
correct associations to the brand image in the consumers minds enabling a stronger
connection. By using the emotional association consumers have with their mothers, it allowed
participants to feel a connection to the campaign and fostered positive consumer perceptions
about Procter & Gamble. Because of the emotional aspect of the social and viral media
marketing connecting with the consumers, the impacts of controversies surrounding the
Olympics were minimised. Focus was placed primarily on the athletes, their achievements and
families, which shifted emphasis from issues surrounding the company and the Olympics and
allowed consumers to connect with the humanity of the campaign. This quality is what
McDonalds failed to achieve.

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CHAPTER 5


Conclusions


This chapter will provide a summary of results from the investigation conducted and will discuss
conclusions extracted from the study and provide answers to the original research questions
established by achieving the aims and objectives. Suggestions for further research will also be
offered.


The conclusions of this study answer the research questions formulated for the investigation:

R.Q.1: How do the World Sponsors of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games utilise viral
and social media marketing to create brand awareness?
R.Q.2: How does viral and social media marketing influence consumers perceptions of
the World Sponsors of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games?

Utilising a qualitative research design, the exploration aimed to examine how two
World Sponsors of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games, McDonalds and Procter & Gamble,
exploited the event to increase brand awareness through the use of social and viral media
marketing and the impact it had on consumers perceptions. To complete the first research
objective of investigating how the two companies applied social and viral media marketing to
gain brand awareness, the researcher implemented netnography to accumulate information on
various methods used on multiple social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook,
YouTube and Instagram. The second objective included formulating an understanding of the
influence social and viral media marketing has on consumer perceptions and was achieved
once again through utilising netnography to collect data and ECA to evaluate social and viral

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media interactions of consumers and understand the opinions developed by the companies
online practises. Interviews with online commenters assisted the researcher to gain clarity and
verify the themes presented from ECA.


5.1 Implications of the study
McDonalds acted as an example of a World Sponsor of the 2014 Winter Olympics whose social
and viral media campaign failed to attract positive attention and consumer perceptions
principally due to the negative controversies surrounding the Olympics and speculatively
limiting McDonalds online Olympic marketing campaign. While McDonalds attempted to
engage consumers with the hashtag #CheersToSochi, it was hijacked by gay rights protesters
who used it to negatively comment about the company and promote boycotting the Olympics
because of Russias anti-gay stance. The killing of stray dogs in order to control the
overpopulation in Sochi also cast a shadow over the companys Olympic campaign with many
comments on social media from animal activists disappointed in how the sponsor failed to
speak out against the practises. Other participants felt that McDonalds sponsoring the Games
as an unhealthy fast food company was a contradiction to the healthy lifestyle promoted by the
athletes.

The researcher postulates one reason for this disconnection of consumers with

McDonalds based on the study is the companys global recognition thus exposing the
establishment to a broader audience in comparison to Procter & Gamble and could be a
prevailing cause as to why there were more negative comments on the company. Also,
McDonalds Olympic social and viral media marketing focused purely on their products.
Pictures featured on the Facebook or Instagram pages were items sold by the company or
people enjoying their products. For this reason, focus was solely placed on the company and
not on the athletes, their accomplishments, or the Olympic ideals. With consumers being
sceptical on the validity of McDonalds sponsoring an international sporting event and the fit
between the two, their online activities pushed consumers further away instead of building a
closer relationship to positively influence their perceptions as the literature suggested.

Procter & Gamble, in contrast, acted as an example of a successful World Sponsor by

utilising their Olympic social and viral media campaign to detract attention from the Olympic
controversies and placing focus on building consumer relationships. The company employed
the various social media platforms to their benefit with the creation of multiple hashtags that

59

included #BecauseofMom, #ThankYouMom, and #PGFamily, a Facebook and Instagram page

dedicated to the campaign posting pictures and videos of athletes and their families, and
uploading commercials on YouTube that gained an elevated amount of viral media attention
from consumers. The overwhelming attitude of those commenting on the media was positive
and included personal messages to their mothers with emotional feelings towards the
companys campaign. This is further validated by the high amount of likes and shares the
company experienced on their Olympic media posts, which functions as an indication of
positive attitudes.

The researcher offers that compared to McDonalds, a well-known global brand, Procter

& Gamble has a smaller audience predominantly targeted at women with many consumers
unaware what products are owned by the company. This could have shielded the
establishment from full exposure to criticism that McDonalds comparatively received. This
supports the research presented in the literature review that the strength of brand awareness
affects the consumer decision-making model. However, in the case of this study McDonalds,
who has higher brand awareness than Procter & Gamble, is left open to higher levels of
criticism. The researcher considers the primary reason for the success of Procter & Gambles
Olympic campaign was based on the rapport built between the company and the consumer
through the advertisements focusing on the mother-child relationship and the athletes and
their accomplishments. This allowed consumers to have an emotional connection with the
brand and the company effectively bypassed the controversies that surrounded the Olympics
that had such a negative impact on the McDonalds Olympic campaign. Many pictures had
subtle Procter & Gamble product logos in the background or were not present at all. The
commercials posted on the companys YouTube channel only included the Procter & Gamble
logo and a few glimpses of Procter & Gamble products at the end of the commercial and
allowed the main focus to be on the sentimental connection between mother and child.

The reasons for success or failure of each companys campaign can be attributed to

Texerias (2012) characteristics of successful viral advertisements illustrated in Figure 2.6 in

the review of the literature. The first characteristic is the pronunciation of the logo. A discreet
location of the logo can increase viewership by 20% and must be intrinsically interesting if the
product was removed (Texeira, 2012). For McDonalds, their campaign was based entirely on
the product and emblazoned the McDonalds logo over each advertisement used in social and
viral media promotions. Procter & Gamble, as mentioned, were not as prominent in the use of
their logos. Placement was carefully considered to keep the logos understated and

60

commercials did not introduce the brand name until the end. The second characteristic
encompassed emotional involvement with viral advertisements including joy and surprise to
keep participants attention. With McDonalds there was a lack of emotional association to
their audience but Procter & Gamble exploited emotion including scenes of hardship and joy
that athletes endure with the support of their mothers guiding the viewers on an emotional
rollercoaster. The third characteristic was removing shock as emotion (Texeira, 2012), which
both companies accomplished in their respective campaigns. The final characteristic contained
targeting the audience who is extroverted and egocentric to share the media (Texeria, 2012).
This last characteristic is difficult to judge based on peoples online profiles but for both
companies, those who commented, liked, or shared the media are presumed to be
passionate about the subject on which they were discussing.

Figure 5.1 depicts the sentiment regarding the World Sponsors of the 2014 Olympic

Games based on the attitudes of consumers on various social media platforms. As shown,
McDonalds received the highest percentage of negative attitudes of the World Sponsors with
54% while Procter & Gamble received the fourth highest positive attitudes behind Panasonic,
Visa, and Omega with 92% thus reflecting the results of the research performed and expanding
the interpretation of the graphs exhibited below as to why consumers experienced these
perceptions.

Figure 5.1 Sentiment around the World Sponsors of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games

Source: Brusselmans, 2014; https://engagor.com/blog/social-media-winter-olympics-visa-hits-
1st-place-in-the-twittersphere-as-official-sponsor-infographic/

The results of this study add to Olympic marketing research and explored an additional

realm of social and viral media marketing that previously had little information available but

61

will become increasingly important in the future to the World Sponsors and the Olympic
Games. Worldwide communication is now instantaneous with the use of social media
platforms making marketing easier than ever before and adding the element of viral strategies
to multiply the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. There are both positive and negative
aspects in that a sponsors campaign can gain vast negativity quickly if the company or the
Olympics is surrounded with controversy supplementing Kellers (2009) research that
marketers can lose control over marketing activity and uncertainty of how consumers will
perceive these campaigns. With the appropriate social and viral media strategies prepared,
consumers opinions can be attracted to the positive qualities of the company and event
resulting in rapid popularity as demonstrated from this research.


5.2 Further research
In future years, social and viral media marketing will become progressively important to the
Olympics and the World Sponsors as the population expands their understanding and usage of
these platforms to communicate opinions and share media with their network. This aspect will
allow for a broad spectrum of further investigation on this topic to be explored.

Firstly, because a qualitative research design was taken for this study, it would be

interesting to analyse the situation from a quantitative perspective for the 2014 Olympics and
beyond for both Winter and Summer Games to offer a fuller understanding of the impacts
social and viral media have on consumers. The first approach could be reviewing the total
revenue generated for the Olympics by the World Sponsors exclusively through their social
and viral media methods. Alternatively, future studies could concentrate on how online
techniques effected company revenue by evaluating the purchases consumers made based on
their perceptions of the social and viral media Olympic campaigns put forth by the sponsoring
companies. These quantitative methods used in tandem with qualitative research could assist
sponsors in the future to improve and strengthen their online media practises. Another study
could investigate how the attributes of a sponsors social and viral media activity may affect
the IOCs selection of future World Sponsors. The consumers are being given the opportunity
to declare their opinions in an immediate and spontaneous manner and have a major impact
on how people perceive the companies and the Olympics as seen in this study.

62

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stray-dogs_n_4716984.html

Viral marketing. (n.d.). In American Marketing Association dictionary online. Retrieved from
https://www.ama.org/resources/Pages/Dictionary.aspx?dLetter=V

Wahyuni, D. (2012). The research design maze: Understanding paradigms, cases, methods and
methodologies. Journal of Applied Management Accounting Research, 10(1), 69-50.

When did McDonalds become an Olympic sponsor?. (2012, May). Retrieved July 7, 2014, from
http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/whatmakesmcdonalds/questions/sport/olympi
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Wilmot, A. (2010). Designing sampling strategies for qualitative social research: with
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APPENDIX: SAMPLE INTERVIEW

Respondent G

1. For how long have you been using social media websites?



Ive been on Facebook for 8 years, Twitter for 5, and Instagram this year.

1 (a). Would you classify yourself as an advanced, intermediate, or a basic user of
social media? Please explain why you have described yourself this way.

Intermediate. I know how hashtags work, and know that posting negative
feedback publically usually gets you the assistance you require.


2. Which social media platforms do you use frequently? Please list. (Ex. Facebook,
YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, etc.)

Currently Instagram and Facebook the most, but trying to remember to use Twitter
more often. Thought about YouTube, but havent made any videos yet.

2 (a). How often do you watch commercials of companies on YouTube? If so, have
you ever shared these commercials through social media?

Rarely, only when they show up in my newsfeed or from UpWorthy. I have
shared commercials with feminism/equality/body image themes on my
Facebook.

2 (b). Have you seen the Thank You, Mom commercials Procter & Gamble used
to promote their affiliation with the Olympics during the 2014 Sochi Winter
Games? If so, what were your perceptions of the commercials?

Yes. Lately, they really annoyed me. Mothers are fantastic, but so are fathers; half
the demographic of parents taking their children to early morning sports,
bandaging their cuts and encouraging them to try again was not represented. I
also would have loved to see two Moms together.

2 (c). Have you seen the Celebrate with a Bite commercials McDonalds used to
promote their affiliation with the Olympics during the 2014 Sochi Winter Games?
If so, what were your perceptions of the commercials?

Had to look it up to see it. It represented a decent range of racial variety and had
athletes of both sexes, so it doesnt bother me as much as the P&G Mom
commercial. But given the nature of the political situation in Russia, I feel that
gay
athletes
would
have
appreciated
to
see
some

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representation/acknowledgement. All of the people watching the Olympics on

the TV in the commercial seemed to be in hetero-pairings; something could have
easily been done differently.

3. How often do you like and/or share content posted by companies, such as Procter
& Gamble, on Facebook?


Never anymore. I might have in the past.


4. How often do you comment on social media content uploaded by companies?


If it shows up in my news feed, I comment.

4 (a). When and why do you feel compelled to comment on this content?


I want my opinion to be heard and possibly make other people think as well.

4 (b). For what reasons did you comment on the P&G content regarding the 2014
Winter Olympic Games in Sochi?

I wanted P&G to know that they were losing a customer because I felt like my
community was not being supported by them.


5. What is your interest level in sports? Would you classify yourself as highly interested,
moderately interested, or not interested? Please explain why you have described
yourself this way.


I am moderately interested in sports, but usually only the Olympics.

5 (a). What types of sports are you interested in? Please list all sports you enjoy
watching, participating in, or following.


Hockey, curling, figure skating, speed skating, downhill skiing, baseball

5 (b). What is your interest level in winter sports? Highly interested, moderately
interested, or not interested?


I have higher interest in winter sports.


6. Do you enjoy watching the Winter Olympics typically? If so, would you classify
yourself as highly interested, moderately interested, or not interested? Please explain
why you have described yourself this way.


Moderately interested. I make sure to see the big events.

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5. What are your views about the company Procter & Gamble and its association with
the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games? What about your perceptions of McDonalds and
their association with the 2014 Winter Olympics? (Please be specific which company
you are referring to in your answer.)


I wish all companies had taken a stand against the anti-gay laws in Russia.

5 (a). How do the sponsor companies (McDonalds, P&G) affiliation with the 2014
Sochi Winter Olympics affect your perception of the company and potential
purchasing of their product in the future?

The companies seem hypocritical to me now, because they call themselves
sponsors but do not support the athletes who need them most.

5 (b). What were/are your major concerns with these World Sponsors and their
affiliation with the 2014 Winter Olympics?

That they did not take a stand to show support for the athletes who would be
living in fear because of their orientation at the Olympics.

5 (c). Have your views towards these companies changed in regards to their
connection with the 2014 Winter Olympics? If so, when and why did they change?


They changed as time went on and the games got closer to starting and no
statements were released.

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