TeamUSA.org US Olympic Committee 2010 Winter Vancouver Games Case Study

Challenge: To increase registration with TeamUSA.org by offering access to exclusive US Olympic Committee content and information during the Winter 2010 Vancouver games.

The US Olympic Committee relies on fundraising to support American athletes who, unlike those in most other Olympic-participating countries, are not supported with government funds while they train for the games. Timed with a high-level of interest due to the Winter Games in February 2010, Chris Abraham and his team's challenge was to expand potential financial support for Team USA by raising awareness about the USOC’s mission.

Strategy/Tactics: Leverage blogger influence to increase awareness and support for Team USA by implementing a targeted and multi-staged outreach effort.

The team implemented a comprehensive, multi-staged blogger outreach to encourage bloggers to share information about supporting the US Olympic team in Vancouver. Over 4,500 bloggers were contacted during six outreach efforts. The first outreaches included a more general message to a broader set of demographics that would likely be open to the USOC message. The second outreaches, sent at the beginning of and during the Games, were more tightly focused on bloggers who were already covering the Olympics or the sports included in the Winter Games.

Results: Achieved 298 earned media mentions within 8 weeks

Garnered 298 earned media mentions, resulting in an estimated minimum of 5 million impressions. Registrations on the teamusa.org site significantly exceeded USOC’s targets, giving them a substantial new pool to approach with direct outreach in the future.