Kelton Global, one of the leading independent marketing insights and strategy consultancies in the country, has released a new consumer insight study into American attitudes towards the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Overall the study finds Americans have a positive attitude to the games despite political and economic turmoil in Brazil and controversies surrounding the Zika virus and doping. In fact, Americans feel that turmoil at home, particularly unrest surrounding the U.S. Presidential election, overshadows problems in Brazil and other countries. The findings are especially relevant for consumer brands, marketing and advertising agencies and media companies that are involved in official Olympic sponsorships or campaigns and tie-ins associated with the games.
“The Olympics are one of the most hotly anticipated marketing events on the planet,” said Danielle Sherman King, Vice President, Communications and Media Practice at Kelton. “The games are up there with the World Cup and the Super Bowl. It’s no surprise that marketers are concerned that strife in the host country will affect consumer engagement in the U.S. This year, however, it appears that anxiety over events at home significantly trump concerns about Rio.”
The Kelton Global Rio Olympics 2016 Survey was conducted between June 13th and June 17th, 2016 among 1,007 nationally representative Americans ages 18 and over, using an e-mail invitation and an online survey. Quotas are set to ensure a reliable representation of the U.S. population 18 and over. Margin of Error = +/- 3.1 Percent. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results.
In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all personas in the universe represented by the sample. The margin of error for any subgroups will be slightly higher.
A Detailed Summary Of The Findings Are Below:
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Despite Turmoil, Most Americans Will Tune in to the Rio Olympics.
Nearly two-thirds (65%) of Americans are excited for the Rio Summer Olympics. (Q13 T3B). Nearly eight in ten (78%) want to catch at least a little bit of the action, with over one-third (35%) wanting to watch as much as they possibly can. (Q14). Americans are most likely to get information on the Olympics through TV coverage (69%), followed by Facebook (34%). About one in ten will look to Twitter (13%), Instagram (12%) or Snapchat (9%). (Q16)
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Safety Concerns in Rio Don’t Compare to Political Problems at Home.
Over one-quarter (26%) of Americans worry a terrorist attack will happen during the Rio Olympics. (Q15) The Zika virus (48%) and concerns over violence in Rio (45%) would stop nearly half of Americans from attending—the top two barriers after cost. (Q20) In fact, three percent of Americans would rather visit North Korea than Rio, this summer. (Q21) However, Americans are more troubled by the political unrest at home. Over six in ten (61%) are more concerned about the U.S. Presidential election than the Olympics in Rio, and over half say this about the possibility of either Trump (53%) or Clinton (52%) becoming president. (Q19)
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Americans Dismiss Doping Charges for Enjoyment of the Games.
Less than one in five (19%) Americans think doping scandals are ruining the Olympics. (Q15) Millennials are a third as likely as non-Millennials (13% vs. 33%) to think doping scandals are ruining the Olympics. Seniors are over 2.6x as likely as any other generation (64% vs. 24%) to feel this way about doping charges. (Q15) Doping charges against athletes (37%) are only as likely to impact viewership as the time delay between events happening and getting aired on TV (36%). (Q17) And less than three in ten (27%) Americans claim they are less likely to watch the Olympics due to doping charges. (Q17) What’s more, doping scandals would encourage one in six (17%) Millennials and over one in ten (12%) men to be more likely to tune in. (Q17)
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Americans Admit their Purchasing Behaviors Will Likely be Affected by Olympic-Themed Ads.
Nearly one in five Americans think they’d be more likely to purchase products or services from companies that advertise on TV during Rio Olympics coverage (19%), use Olympic athletes for commercials or messaging (19%), sponsor the games (18%) or talk about the event in commercials or messaging (18%).
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Olympics Viewership Impacted More by the Athletes Competing than Political Disorder in Brazil.
The involvement of the USA Women’s gymnastics team (51%), the USA Men’s basketball team (45%), Michael Phelps (45%) and professional athletes (44%) will impact about half of viewers. (Q17) Viewership is less likely to be affected by transgender athletes participating without having undergone gender reassignment surgery (33%), government corruption in Brazil (31%) or the impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff (25%). (Q17)What’s more, athletes are more likely to impact viewership positively than negatively. More Americans think they’ll be more likely to watch than less likely to watch because of the USA Women’s gymnastics team competing (40% more likely vs. 11% less likely), Michael Phelps’ return to swimming (33% more likely vs. 11% less likely), the USA Men’s basketball team competing (32% more likely vs. 13% less likely), or the participation of professional athletes (29% more likely vs. 15% less likely). (Q17)
In contrast, political issues are more likely to impact viewership negatively than positively. More Americans think they’ll be less likely to watch than more likely to watch due to government corruption in Brazil (21% less likely vs. 10% more likely), the impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff (15% less likely vs. 10% more likely), or the participation of transgender athletes who haven’t undergone gender reassignment surgery (21% less likely vs. 13% more likely). (Q17)
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Millennials Most Likely to Immerse Themselves in Olympics Coverage.
Millennials are 55% more likely than older generations (61% vs. 39%) to be excited for the Rio Olympics. (Q13) In fact, over eight in ten (82%) Millennials will tune in, compared to 77 percent of non-Millennials. And more Millennials than non-Millennials (41% vs. 33%) will watch as much as they can. (Q14) More Millennials than non-Millennials will talk to friends and family about the Olympics (30% vs. 22%), or host viewing parties (11% vs. 3%). (Q16, Q15) The younger generation also seems to get more out of their viewing experience. Millennials are more than 3x as likely as non-Millennials (25% vs. 8%) to say the Olympics inspires them to get in better shape. (Q15)
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Facebook as Likely as TV to Keep Millennials Informed During Olympic Games.
Millennials are as likely to use TV (57%) as Facebook (50%) to stay up-to-date during the Olympics. About one in five will get information or coverage from Instagram (25%), Twitter (21%) or Snapchat (18%). (Q16) One-third (33%) of Millennials even claim that social media posts revealing the winners of the events will make them more likely to watch. (Q17) Over one-third (33%) of Millennials will access Olympics updates on their smartphone or tablet, compared to less than one-quarter (22%) of older generations. (Q16)
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Strong Opinions around Rio Summer Olympics May Affect Millennial Viewership.
Michael Phelps’ return to swimming (56% vs. 40%), the USA Men’s basketball team competing (55% vs. 40%) will impact the viewership of more Millennials than non-Millennials. (Q17) Compared to older generations, Millennials are both more likely (38% vs. 31%) and less likely (18% vs. 9%) to tune in due to the return of Michael Phelps, and are both more likely (37% vs. 30%) and less likely (18% vs. 11%) to watch the games due to the USA Men’s basketball team. Government corruption in Brazil (42% vs. 26%) and the impeachment of Brazil President Dilma Rousseff (38% vs. 18%) will make about twice the impact on Millennial as non-Millennial viewers. (Q17)Compared to older generations, Millennials are both more likely (19% vs. 6%) and less likely (19% vs. 12%) to watch the games due to the impeachment of the Brazilian president, and both more likely (17% vs. 7%) and less likely (25% vs. 19%) to watch due to government corruption in Brazil. (Q17) Millennials are more likely than their counterparts to watch because of the participation of professional athletes (39% vs. 25%), and the ability of transgender athletes who haven’t undergone gender reassignment surgery to compete (21% vs. 7%). (Q17) In contrast, they’re less likely than non-Millennials to watch the Olympics due to the USA Women’s gymnastics team competing (17% vs. 8%). (Q17)
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Zika and Violence are as Likely as the Cost of Tickets to Stop Millennials from Going to Rio.
Millennials are half as likely as non-Millennials to worry a terrorist attack will happen (28% vs. 42%) at the Rio Summer Olympics. (Q15) And they’re more likely (21% vs. 15%) to think people are worrying too much about the Zika virus. (Q15) However, the Zika virus (54%) and violence (45%) are as likely to stop Millennials from going to Rio this summer as the cost of plane (52%) or event (49%) tickets. (Q20) And more Millennials than non-Millennials would rather visit other dangerous regions, such as North Korea (6% vs. 2%), Iraq (6% vs. 1%), or Syria (5% vs. 1%) than Rio, this summer. (Q21)
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Men are More Passionate about the Olympics, but More Likely to Feel Doping Scandals are Ruining it.
More men than women are looking forward to the Olympics (52% vs. 41%), and plan to watch (82% vs. 75%). (Q13) In fact, two in five (40%) men want to catch as much of the coverage as possible, while just 30 percent of women are adamant. (Q14) Men are more likely than women (9% vs. 3%) to host viewing parties. (Q15) More men than women will turn to websites (34% vs. 27%), Twitter (16% vs. 10%) and Instagram (15% vs. 10%) for coverage and updates. (Q16) Two in five men are more likely to watch the Olympics because of the USA Men’s basketball team (44%) or Michael Phelps (40%) competing, compared to fewer women (21% and 27%). (Q17) One-quarter (25%) of men think doping scandals are ruining the Olympics, compared to fewer (13%) women. (Q15) Over one-third (34%) of men are less likely to watch the games due to doping charges. Just 22 percent of women are less likely to watch for this reason. (Q17)
About Kelton Global
Kelton Global is one of the leading independent marketing insights and strategy consultancies in the country. It specializes in qualitative research, quantitative research, cultural insights, strategy, design and communications. The company works with more than 100 of the Fortune 500 companies and thousands of other well-loved brands from Dollar Shave Club to Harley Davidson. It is one of a very few agencies of its kind bringing together research, insights and strategic marketing services combined with marketing solutions, activation and design. Kelton Global is headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in New York, Chicago and London. http://keltonglobal.com
