51% of Brits will be engaging with Olympics

More than half of UK consumers plan on getting involved with, or celebrating, the 2016 Olympics. However, research from Savvy highlights the challenges faced by marketers due to the time difference between Brazil and Britain.

by Helen Leggatt

In their survey of 1,000 household shopping decision makers, retail and shopping marketing agency Savvy found that 51% present an opportunity to marketers during the upcoming Olympics with their desire to get involved with, and celebrate, the international sporting event.

Most said they planned to watch Olympic events on the television, and just 18% said online. Ten percent said they would be using mobile (smartphone) and 9% the radio.

However, it seems that it hadn't occurred to 56% of those consumers that the time difference between Brazil and Britain would cause problems watching the events. The UK is four hours ahead of the South American country. More than half (53%) said that this time difference would mean they were less likely to watch events live. A third (33%) said they would record events that took place at night and watch them later.

This means, says Savvy insight director, Alastair Lockhart, that "marketers will need to be clever in the way that campaigns are carried out - beyond the live events and into the store and online". Furthermore, marketers should consider that a new prime time will likely be established during the Olympics, as consumers shift their usual behavior on digital and traditional channels, such as social media and television, to fall in line with the sporting events.

Additional information from Savvy's research includes that on who will be viewing the Olympics in the UK. Men are slightly more likely to be engaged (56% vs. 47% respectively) and families with children are mostly likely to join in (58% vs. 54%). Those aged between 18-24 were the least interested in the event (41% plan to get involved) compared to 55% of 45-54-year-olds.

"The London Olympics presented exceptional opportunities for retailers - although interest in the 2012 Games did not really gain traction until the games had commenced," said Lockhart. "It will be interesting to see whether interest in Rio receives a similar boost following the opening ceremony. Despite the time difference, high profile athletes and events will attract substantial shopper interest, and retailers need to be ready to react depending the performance of Team GB's competitors."