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Mobile slated to play strong part in 2012 Olympic engagement, viewership

From streaming, sponsorships and targeted advertising, experts agree that mobile will play an increased role in how consumers watch and engage with the Olympics this year. Here is a quick look at numbers, campaigns and event-specific campaigns that marketers are using.

?It looks like most of the mobile options are all about getting deeper into storylines on the athletes and events,? said Alex Campbell, co-founder/chief innovation officer at Vibes Media, Chicago.

?This is a great use of mobile ? especially on a tablet,? he said. ?While I?m sure there will still be feel-good stories during the primetime broadcast, now I can actually research athletes and events on my own while watching that particular athlete compete live on my TV.? 

Stream on mobile
This year marks the first year that NBCUniversal ? the only network in the United States with rights to the Olympic Games ? will stream all content to sports fans online. The company is using a mobile site, Web site and event-specific application in its mobile efforts.

In order to stream the games via mobile, consumers must be a cable subscriber to CNBC and MSNBC. Users can then sign up for the Live Extra streaming program at http://www.nbcolympics.com/liveextra/ with their TV subscriber username and password.

NBC is using a smartphone and tablet app as a complement to the Live Extra program that users can download for free on both Android and iOS devices.

Besides streaming, NBC is also using mobile as a platform to let users keep up-to-date with coverage via a themed app and mobile site. Similar to the live streaming app, the NBC Olympics app is available for Android and iOS smartphones and tablets.

The mobile site is accessible at http://www.nbcolympics.com/.

NBC has also partnered with Shazam to let users unlock additional content such as event results, schedules and polls.

Although both the content and live streaming aspects are great ways for NBC to keep consumers glued to Olympic coverage, the live streaming component in particular is where NBC shines this year.

Mobile streaming is a huge initiative and points to the growing need for networks to broadcast live content to as consumers undoubtedly view content across multiple screens.

This also opens up numerous opportunities for marketers to target consumers across new screens, especially tablets, per Mr. Campbell.

"Marketers need to remember that tablets are interactive and should focus on making users? viewing experience better through a tablet than it could be on TV. The tablet has more of a lean-forward mentality to the games as opposed to the lean-back nature of TV," Mr. Campbell said.

"By using the combination of mobile phone and tablet, NBC can help viewers tune in when an event is happening live," he said.

Pay on mobile
Mobile payments are also slated to make a bigger splash this year.

Visa and Samsung have partnered on a contactless payment pilot program in London to let consumers buy through Visa?s payWave app. More than 3,000 contactless terminals will be available around venues where consumers can wave their mobile devices in front of a reader (see story).

With consumers using their mobile devices more to buy goods and services, the Olympics are an ideal venue for Visa to test mobile payments.

By the numbers
A new study commissioned from Velti found that 40 percent of consumers who will follow the Olympics this year will use two or more devices to do so.

Of the mobile users, 63 percent will use an app to keep tabs on the game. Forty-five percent of smartphone users and 50 percent of consumers with a tablet will watch videos and replays on their devices, per Velti.

Additionally, findings compiled from Float Mobile show the quick growth of mobile from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

In particular, the company?s research highlights the growth of the iOS and Android operating systems over the past four years. In 2008, Android claimed .5 percent of the mobile market share ? today, the number is approximately 56 percent. Similarly, iOS currently has a market share of around 23 percent compared to an eight percent market share in 2008.

This year 82 London Underground stations will be equipped with Wi-Fi for the games, showing the appetite from consumers to access information such as news while on the go.

?For fans, the proliferation of mobile means more engagement with the event and the event?s participants. Through apps, advertisements and other content, mobile extends the interaction between the event and the fan, even after the event is over,? said Chad Udell, managing director of Float Mobile Learning, Morton, IL.

Partner on mobile
This year, brands are stepping up their mobile efforts to connect with sports fans.

Most notably, Coca-Cola has rolled out a massive multichannel mobile campaign that includes SMS, mobile Web and apps to connect with tech-savvy teens.

The My Beatmaker app lets users create their own music by using a mobile device?s built-in motion detector. Other mobile components include in-store QR codes, augmented reality on packaging and a text messaging program to keep in-the-know about the event (see story).

Other brands such as JCPenney are also taking advantage of mobile in a different way to drive sales and in-store traffic.

On June 25, JCPenney sent out a SMS message to opted-in users to promote an in-store promotion. Consumers who shopped in-store on June 26 received a free T-shirt.

JCPenney has used similar event-specific promotions in drive consumers in-store in the past. The SMS message is a great example of how brands can take advantage of mobile in a multichannel approach around events such as the Olympics.

Watchmaker Omega also recently rolled out an iPad app as part of a broader marketing campaign aimed at connecting with consumers at the Olympics. In addition to learning about Olympic history, consumers can also find bricks-and-mortar locations or visit Omega?s mobile site via the app (see story).

Connected consumers
Some marketers are also using the Olympic games to target attendees with mobile advertisements.

Using geo-location to target groups of consumers by specific venues and events could be particularly strong for marketers this year, according to Ryan Golden, CEO of Moasis Global, Palm Beach, FL.

As geo-based advertising continues to grow, more marketers are testing the technology and given that the group of consumers at the Olympics have a shared interest in the event, it is an opportunity for marketers to test targeted campaigns.

?At the world?s largest sporting venue, people try to score tickets to the events that are linear to their lifestyle or interest. For marketers, the ability to communicate to these consumers at the location that involves their interest becomes a powerful opportunity for brands of all sizes,? Mr. Golden said.

?For the Olympics in London, I suspect the geo-location marketing you?ll see will revolve largely around large brands targeting everyone with the same messages,? he said. ?However, as this technology catches on and marketers recognize the value in hyperlocal, hyper-targeted ads, everyone will want it.?

?By the time the next Olympics rolls around in the winter of 2014, I predict marketers will not consider anything less than hyper-targeted for their mobile ads.?

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York