NBCUniversal networks will commemorate the 100-day countdown to the 2014 Olympics with a promotional roadblock on Oct. 29.
Twenty of the programmer’s services will run a spot celebrating the upcoming Games from Sochi, Russia in the 8 p.m. (ET/PT) hour that night. Earlier that day, NBC Sports Group and NBCU networks will kick off the USOC’s Road to Sochi Tour in Times Square.
The XXII Olympic Winter Games begin Feb. 6 on NBC with competition in three sports: men’s and women’s snowboard slopestyle, which are in the Olympics for the first time and are expected to feature two-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White; women’s freestyle moguls; and the Olympic debut of team figure skating. The following night, Friday, Feb. 7, NBC will provide its traditional coverage of the Opening Ceremony.
The Sochi Games will gain exposure through the NBCUniversal Symphony initiative, which leverages the company’s promotional resources to drive awareness to key events. Since the acquisition of NBCUniversal by Comcast in January 2011, NBCUniversal has 40% more capacity, including 20 broadcast/cable channels and more than 65 websites, to promote the upcoming Winter Games than it had for Vancouver Olympics in 2010.
“The 100-day mark is the moment when our considerable Olympic campaign kicks into another gear,” said John Miller, CMO, NBC Sports Group. “For Sochi, we will use the full force of America’s largest media company to market the biggest Winter Olympics ever, being hosted by the biggest country in the world. As a Symphony priority, it’s invaluable to have so many parts of the company – 20 channels, 65 websites and the full strength of Comcast – playing together with singular focus to make our campaign come to life and make the Sochi Olympics a massive television event.”
Starting on Oct. 29 and leading up to the Olympics, the NBC Peacock “bug” with the Olympic rings will appear on NBC and other NBCU networks, including NBCSN, with more frequency.
Revolution star Giancarlo Esposito has narrated four Olympic spots that speak to the positive qualities of Olympism and the human spirit. They began airing this past weekend and will run numerous times across multiple platforms leading up to the Games.
On a local basis, NBCU will work with its family of over 230 broadcast affiliates to air locally-focused spots leading up to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, as well as air local news coverage and specific promos about local Olympic athletes and events in their regions.
NBCUniversal will air spots that aim to help demonstrate the breadth of digital streaming coverage for the upcoming Sochi Games, and how customers of MVPDs and other distributors of NBCUniversal’s Olympic networks can access that content both in and out of the home on multiple platforms.
Comcast will deploy its digital and cable access to reach its 22 million subscribers by distributing Olympic-related promotional materials, as well as direct mailings, video guides and video-on demand features all related to NBCUs coverage of the Games.
In the final three and a half weeks leading up to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, NBCUniversal will prioritize its Olympic promotional ads across its 18 cable channels. NBCUniversal will air spots to push audiences to the first primetime broadcast on Feb. 6 and the Opening Ceremony on Feb. 7.
From an outdoor media perspective, Olympic promotion will be featured in 14 different out-of-home networks across 18 different outlets. That represents a 50% increase versus the out-of-market delivery for the 2012 London Summer Games, according to the programmer.
Shoppers and commuters will begin seeing NBC Olympic promotional spots via out-of-home marketing, which will be featured in national retail stores, including Costco and Walmart, in-dining networks, New York City taxi cabs, and PATH trains.
