International Olympics Commission // Tokyo – Be The Flame
We won the creative pitch to undertake a huge global engagement campaign for the IOC, using the Tokyo Olympics as a springboard. Millions of people across the globe are glued to the Olympics while it’s on but, along with the closing ceremony they close their mind to it as an organisation. They’re simply not aware of the initiatives and support they offer all year, every year.
We devised something that brought the spirit of the Olympics to everyone – not just for the few weeks they’re on, but for the four years in between.
BE THE FLAME is a call to arms – a rallying cry to come together, make new friends, build a community, participate and celebrate. To make history, together.
The launch would be big. Instant recognition and hugely PR-able – Ellen presents a short film we create about Usain Bolt, talking about what makes an Olympian, highlighting that all of us carry the Olympic spirit. We utilise her huge following to amplify the whole campaign from the off, as she extols the virtues of getting involved – she’s then the first person in the world to download the app to demonstrate how easy it is to get involved. From that point, it’s lit.
We’re giving everyone the power to keep the flame burning brighter than ever – and spread the core values of the Olympic, far and wide.
It’s the Olympics – there’s such a following, millions get involved. By scanning a QR code on any of the touch points, they light their flame. Or, socially, they can pass the flame on to their friends, just as the real torch is passed from person to person on its long journey.
Your own flame is scannable, so whether it’s mates, family, colleagues, or your Uber driver, it’s easy to spread the Olympic Spirit and ignite flames for others – share it far and wide. Tapping into the mentality of a challenger brand, we build hype and use a referral marketing strategy, where people end up trying to track down a flame to scan so they don’t miss out.
As soon as your flame is lit, the aim is to keep it burning bright. The easiest way is by consuming and sharing Olympic content on your social platforms. The app is linked to Apple Health, Google Fit, Samsung Health, etc. so your physical activity fuels the flame. If the flame starts to cool it triggers a push notifications, driving traffic to motivational films and tips to keep you moving. All of the stats create a global leaderboard, targets, and trigger points with incentives to win prizes along the way.
We have key partners involved from the off, who sponsor challenges people can join through the app. The reward, beyond keeping your flame lit, is rooted in you embodying the flame, the Olympic spirit. You’re helping the challenge to succeed by scoring points – everyone across the world working together to reach the target – then the sponsor does something good for this global community. Each sponsor’s reward is linked to their product, giving a sense they’re involved for a reason.
The second phase, as the campaign develops and gains more and more momentum, brings more partners on board. We keep a constant eye on relevant partnerships to amplify the movement, create incentives to keep the flame burning bright and to deliver rewards.