Athlete influencers compete for likes as well as medals in Paris
As the 2024 Paris Olympics approach, many athletes are not just hitting their final practice sessions, but also prepping their social media content rollout plans. These influencer endeavors are for more than just a taste of internet fame, it’s a main source of income for many athletes who aren’t raking in Nike and Coca-Cola sponsorship money. The Olympics started off as an endeavor for amateur athletes, which means athletes don’t get paid match fees or receive appearance money for representing their countries. Medaling US athletes are rewarded between $15,000-$37,500, a small sum when considering the years of training put in to get there.
Takeaways
We’ve seen the recent shift in the NCAA where college athletes can now earn money off their name, image and likeness which has skyrocketed the popularity of sports like women’s basketball. It’s encouraging to see that Olympic athletes in less mainstream sports can benefit monetarily from their superhuman athletic endeavors.
As the Olympics are historically extremely gated when it comes to marketing (Rule 40 of the Olympic Charter), the uprise of athletes as social influencers breaks down that barrier. Brands with smaller budgets can identify athletes with mid-range followings (100K-500k) and create ways to jump into the global cultural moment through a third-party voice. Other major sports moments for brands to consider jumping into include the Super Bowl, NCAA March Madness, F1 Grand Prix races and the 2026 World Cup.
As always, a strong influencer partnership needs to be rooted in an authentic crossover and brands should give influencers as much freedom as possible to share their thoughts in a natural way. One thing is for sure though, more than ever before, brands of all sizes now have an opportunity to connect their brands with major moments without a hefty price tag.
Written by: Grace Sedgewick
CrowdStrike outage cripples global IT systems
Few industries were spared when a wide-reaching IT outage stranded travelers and took down critical infrastructure across healthcare, financial services, and other fields. The interruption was notably not the result of a cyberattack or security breach, but instead a bug contained in a seemingly routine update pushed by security company CrowdStrike, which saw its stock price plummet in the incident’s immediate wake. The flaw in the update to its Falcon software left many users dealing with “the blue screen of death,” and sparked concern around our collective reliance on critical systems that can go dark this abruptly.
Takeaways
It’s easy to forget just how much the world relies on airtight IT, but last Friday’s CrowdStrike outage was as stark of a reminder as we’ve ever seen. Companies will continue to invest in digital tools and systems in their efforts to innovate (or even just stay modern), but it’s fair to say that the vendor selection process may become a bit more judicious. Interruptions like Friday’s have massive reputational ripple effects. A disgruntled traveler may be more inclined to blame their airline for a miserable journey home than a security vendor that they’ve never heard of.
This also underscores the need for a highly involved approach to AI implementation for IT and security companies that deem it as a fit for their operations. Technical fields like these have little margin for error, and current AI models’ proclivity to “hallucinate” should give pause to CIOs and CISOs looking to upend existing workflows. Incidents like these can have disastrous financial consequences that make small gains in efficiency seem like a drop in the ocean.
Written by: Joe Birdsall
After years of uncertainty, Google says it won’t be ‘deprecating third-party cookies’ in Chrome
This past week, Google announced that it will not be phasing out third-party cookies in Chrome, reneging on the company’s previously announced plans. Google is instead planning to introduce a new experience that will give users more choices in web browsing sessions when it comes to privacy.
In preparation for what was to be the deprecation of cookies by one of the most pervasive web browsers, marketers have been testing a variety of different tracking methodologies in environments such Google’s “Privacy Sandbox.” While Google is planning to continue its investment in cookie alternatives to balance advertising solutions and user privacy, time will tell if marketers and advertisers continue with Google for the journey.
Takeaways
There’s been plenty of handwringing over the past few years over cookie deprecation. Every marketing conference in recent memory has had at least one panel dedicated to the subject (if not several). And for good reason – the digital media landscape has been relying on cookie tracking for a long time. While imperfect, it’s a technology that’s known and recognized by marketers to understand and reach audiences.
It’s perhaps of no surprise that while cookie deprecation has been years in the making, marketers have consistently taken a “we’ll think about it next year” approach – the simple reason being that no straightforward alternative was available. The only consistent advice from experts has been “be ready for when it happens” and “keep on testing”, cold comfort for those looking for a tried-and-true solution that was easy to understand and implement.
While Google’s announcement this week was probably met with a collective sigh of relief from marketers everywhere, it’s critical that marketers continue to consider alternatives. While the knee-jerk reaction might be to go back to the warm embrace of the security blanket that smells of freshly-baked tracking cookies – continued government scrutiny and regulatory considerations suggest that the end date for cookies, while stalled, is still imminent. There’s also the unknown of Google’s plan to provide users with a “new experience”; depending on the impact, traditional tracking methodologies might become obsolete through sheer lack of reach.
Though marketers might be uncomfortable with the lack of a silver bullet alternative to cookies, the future looks like it might be a patchwork of solutions. Diversifying the ways in which audiences are tracked and targeted is going to be the key to success, versus a world where one specific solution is overly relied upon.
Written by: Johnson Lee
Medical apparel brand FIG pays tribute to Team USA medical team in Olympic campaign
FIG’s recent “anatomy of a champion” campaign pays tribute to the USA medical team ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris. The medical clothing brand shifts the spotlight to the healthcare professionals who work behind the scenes instead of solely on the athletes’ achievements and typical glamour of Olympic competition.
Takeaways
The campaign offers a unique perspective in marketing by emphasizing the crucial role medical professionals have in athlete success, while also promoting a clothing line. FIGS slogan “IT TAKES HEART TO BUILD BODIES THAT BREAK RECORDS” celebrates the dedication of medical professionals around the world and establishes itself a brand that values achievement in both athletics and healthcare.
In the campaign, medical professionals are seen in the FIGS line contributing to some of the greatest athletes in history. This gives a deeper appreciation for medical clothing and shows how the attire is designed to meet the intense demands of medical settings. The ad targets an audience interested in quality, and functional clothing with a meaningful narrative. This crossing between performance-driven design and inspirational storytelling highlights the campaign’s ability to unite communities with shared passions. Both of these elements work together to enhance the brand image and set a tone for how other brands can effectively captivate and inspire audiences.
Written by: Karsen Cochran
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