London 2012 Olympics: The Mobile Games

Years ago people used TV and Radio as the primary medium for following the Olympics. Later, the Internet revolutionized the way people followed sporting events. Fast forwarding to today, it is mobile phones that rival every channel of mediconsumption, as people connect across geographic and physical boundaries to communicate in ways that are revolutionizing the planet. With people getting busier every year, mobile is the only channel that can keep them engaged even when they are out and on the move. Marketers and advertisers have caught this trend and have been targeting the mobile ecosystem as an essential platform for marketing their brands. The eMarketer survey shows that 27% of people will watch the 2012 Olympic Games on their smartphones, and 44% said that they would interact with social mediduring the Olympics. Various players across the mobile ecosystem have already announced their plans for mobile presence. Commercial broadcasting networks such as NBC and BBC are delivering mobile apps for Olympics coverage. The apps which are available for Android phones and iPhones, including the tablet versions, deliver information, schedules, and provide live streaming video. BBC Sports Olympics app has already been downloaded more than 500,000 times since its launch. Apart from the apps, the mobile browser version of the news sites are also used to cover the games. Lloyds Banking Group, VISand Samsung have teamed up to provide NFC (Near field Communications) based payment platform for the Olympic Games. As per nfcworld.com, 1,000 Samsung Galaxy S III NFC phones, equipped with Vismobile payments app, are being distributed to "key stakeholders and decision makers" for the London 2012 Olympics, where all points of sale will be equipped to handle contactless payments . Marketers have already launched innovate mobile campaigns this summer for London games The Coca-ColCompany Coca-Colinvites teens around the world to Move to the Beat of London 2012 with award-wining producer Mark Ron-son. This smartphone and tablet app fuses music with Olympic sports to connect young people to London 2012. GE GE, known for having strong set of businesses in infrastructure, finance and media, has developed social interactive map of the Olympic grounds, including photos, blog posts and social feeds. This could be part of mobilized site or app. London 2012 Olympics is predicted to be digital game, with people embracing social medisites such as Twitter and Facebook for updates, and interacting heavily with their smart phones and tablets. The audience will also be more fragmented, with people tuning in to watch only their favorite games. This gives great opportunity for advertisers and marketers to leverage the mobile platforms to deliver targeted messaging.