CHALLENGE
Microtargeting for a macro impact at the Olympic Winter Games.
Targeting business audiences at the Olympic Winter Games could be compared to finding a needle in a haystack. Despite this challenge, Dow recognized a strategic advantage in deploying its customer microtargeting campaign against the backdrop of the most iconic global sporting event. As a Worldwide Olympic Partner and the Official Chemistry Company of the Olympic Games, Dow contributed to helping to drive greater levels of performance and sustainability at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 – from making sporting venues and official event housing energy efficient and comfortable, to creating ideal ice surfaces for competition.
To help move the business needle, Dow wanted to use its Olympic activation as a B2B narrative platform to introduce current customers to Dow’s full breadth of innovative solutions, engage high‐value prospective customers in key markets, and showcase its solutions and R&D expertise.
SOLUTION
Captivating key audiences by revealing the story of the “science behind” the sports.
Dow partnered with G&S as its agency of record to craft a strategic communications plan that would realize greater value from the Olympic sponsorship by helping drive revenue growth, advance technology innovation and adoption, and increase market penetration – all from a global stage crowded with countless other brands and Olympic partners vying for attention.
One of Dow’s objectives was to reach extremely specific audiences: not the mass audiences of the Olympics, but the valuable business audiences in consumer, transportation, infrastructure and sustainability markets who drive revenue and reputational impact. To achieve this targeted engagement, G&S and Dow strategically leveraged the Olympic Games as a vehicle to showcase Dow’s R&D efforts, telling the story of the “science behind the sports” as they unfolded in real time.
- Conducted in-depth discovery sessions with key Dow business units and R&D staff, in addition to a media audit of the Rio 2016 Olympics, to inform campaign strategy.
- Formulated a narrative framework and microtargeting strategy to tell specific stories to key target audiences that drive revenue and reputational value, including media, B2B customers across various business units, athletes and Olympic committees, and sustainability professionals.
- Adopted a fully-integrated, omnichannel approach to storytelling, including infographics, paid and organic digital/social media, online news and experiential engagement.
- Aligned content and timing of organic and paid posts to coincide with key milestones and events during the Olympic Games, increasing visibility of technology and R&D efforts by giving the associated content a “real-time” feel.
A gold-medal performance for the Olympic sponsorship.
We used the platform of the Olympics to excite and entice, targeted specific audience segments that drive value for Dow, and captured their attention amidst a crowded media and social media landscape. G&S also resourcefully researched and targeted journalists covering the events, resulting in a more focused and relevant outreach.
- Drove 188% YoY increase in website traffic to the Consumer Solutions, Transportation and Infrastructure pages, with 216 downloads of Dow infographics, case studies and market-specific web pages indicating interest and engagement from key audiences.
- Engaged valued audiences with the Dow website through market-specific social media content, with over 1,700 total clicks on paid social content and more than half of visitors entering from LinkedIn (30% through packaging page, 22% through transportation page).
- Increased Twitter following more than threefold during the Olympic Winter Games, with a targeted paid campaign accounting for 65% of the new followers, including key media, athletes and sustainability professionals.
- Secured over 100 articles in Tier 1 targeted media, with 85% of total media coverage highlighting information related to Dow technologies or its R&D efforts.
- Achieved a 41% contact form submission rate, demonstrating clear interest in learning more about Dow’s technologies, including 13 qualified company/partner inquiries from desirable customer segments.