As I sat glued to the TV screen watching the “flying tomato” Shaun White soar to another gold medal I realized there are several MarCom “truths” that I learned from spending hours watching the world’s best athletes compete.

• Social Media Rules – As if we needed another reminder of how prevalent and relevant social media is just look at all the Olympians that were Tweeting – several right before they performed. Many of the big stars like Lindsey Vonn Shuan White and Apolo Ohno use social media as a key strategic tool in their very successful multi-million dollar marketing machines. Everybody is doing it and if your company isn’t it will be left behind at the starting gate.
• It’s The Story That Sells – Oh sure we all like to see the figure skaters do their thrilling triple toe loops and salchows (whatever those are) but after  all the competition is finished what are you going to remember most? It’s the personal stories of the performers.  Just think of the Canadian skater who competed after her mother unexpectedly died two days before.  Millions of people around the world watched with lumps in their throats and tears in their eyes as she gutted-out an incredible performance. Are your products telling an interesting story or just one of the many also-ran performers.
• Ultimately – You’ve Got To Perform – Lindsey Vonn came into the Olympics as the “Golden Girl” even before she won her gold medal. Even if she would not have won a medal she would still make millions in endorsements and speaking engagements – for a while. Within a few months her shining star would quickly fade and she would eventually become another ex-Olympic skier. However by winning the gold medal she not only ensured her place in history she added millions of dollars in endorsements and speaking engagements. As professional marketers we can drive sales by strategically and creatively promoting all the wonderful features and benefits of a product. However if the product isn’t as good as we said it was it ultimately it will fade away or fail. Let’s not fool ourselves into thinking that superior marketing will keep an inferior product alive forever.
• Break Away From The Pack – Strategically – Watching Apolo Ohno break away from the pack at the very last moment to win a medal proves that you don’t have to do what everyone else is doing. If you watched the Olympics for any length of time you undoubtedly saw several commercials from General Electric that very effectively promoted a variety of their products in a very personal story-telling manner. They could have easily spent their ad dollars as many other Fortune 500 companies did by buying a couple commercials during the Super Bowl. Instead they probably got a great deal from a traumatized NBC to run several ads many times during the 10 day Olympics and received a much greater ROI. Great strategy smart thinking.

• Don’t Over Promise – It’s great to be confident and to build a multi million dollar campaign around a catchy theme like the Canadian’s “Own The Podium”. However with condolences to my Canadian friends you’ve got to be able to deliver on your promises or you’ll look rather silly. The Canadian team did very well this year (especially in the gold medal standings) but they set the bar a little too high and bragged too much (sounds like the Americans eh?). How often have you designed campaigns that over promise?

Since I’ve run out of sports cliches the final lesson I’ve learned from the Olympics is that hard work perseverance and dedication will win the day. At H+A International we follow those principles and have helped our clients win marketing “gold medals” for more than 25 years.