Even though the company was not an official Olympic sponsor, Nike was the most engaging brand on social media platforms during the Olympics.
Socialbakers revealed that from the 27 July to 2 August, Nike’s Facebook fan base grew by a whopping 166,718, outdoing its competitor Adidas who was an Olympic sponsor.
Nike also performed well on twitter with over 16,000 tweets associating the brand with the Olympics.
The company’s fan growth was three times more than it receives in a normal week.
"There was a time when primetime slots around major sporting events were essential for maintaining position as a household name; but social media has levelled the playing field," said Jan Rezab, CEO of Socialbakers. "Through its savvy social strategy, Nike demonstrated that you no longer need prime time to create brand buzz."
Nike cleverly used the Olympics to launch a successful social campaign even though it was not an official sponsor.
The company created a strategy that focused on everyday athletes in "London" cities all over the world. Nike launched the campaign in 25 countries alongside the 2012 London Olympics. Locations of the campaign included places like East London, South Africa; London, Ohio and Little London, Jamaica. Some critics said the campaign testing the Olympic rules on "ambush marketing"
"The idea is to simply inspire and energise everyday athletes everywhere and to celebrate their achievements, participate and enjoy the thrill of achieving in sport at their own level," said Nike brand chief Greg Hoffman.
Nike’s slogans which included "Greatness doesn’t only exist in SW19," and "Greatness doesn’t need a stadium," were an immediate success.
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