It was still dark outside, that in-between hour of night where the chirps of the crickets have gone quiet but sunrise is still hours away. Yet I was wide awake, gazing intently at the glow of my laptop, watching the countdown on screen. In just a few moments, I’d get the chance to buy a few more tickets for the biggest International sporting event in Paris this year. In that part of the world, I imagined there was a room buzzing with activity, people in official uniforms making last-minute preparations — like a mission control room a few minutes before a space launch.
The countdown hit 00:05. My heartbeat picked up. 00:04. I leaned forward. 00:03. I set my fingers on the keys. 00:02. I grinned. 00:01. All systems go. 00:00. The screen transformed.
Bienvenue. Welcome.
I got my tickets. So did millions of other spectators. And my early morning wake-up was worth it: On that day I scored coveted swimming tickets — a must-have for my family of swimmers.
We spent nearly two years prepping for our trip to Paris. That’s a lot of time to build up an event in your mind. But the experience exceeded my expectations.
Our time in France was dedicated to soaking in the games and enjoying the local culture, history, and food. Yet even as I played tourist, I couldn’t turn off the content strategist part of my brain. There was such thoughtful use of content and digital strategy, and so many great examples of visual messaging and storytelling throughout; I had to bring them home to share.
So, if you couldn’t be there in person, here are my top two takeaways from attending the games and how to apply them to your own marketing campaigns.
Lesson 1: The experience starts long before people show up.
At the same time the athletes are putting in thousands of hours to prep for these international games, the staff behind the scenes is pouring in loads of time to successfully host them. While the physical embodiments of that preparation were amazing (more on that below), what you might not see if you didn’t attend the games was the smart and snappy digital experience for ticket-holders.
We marketers talk a big game about the value of customer experience (CX), but we rarely get to execute it to the full extent possible. Not so with the international games in Paris. From the moment I signed up for the ticket lottery in December 2022, I began receiving emails from their committee.
But unlike your typical committee email, these were colorful and fun with a playful tone of voice. Most important for someone traveling with her family out of the country, the emails were practical and helpful, filled with advice that I referred to often. They provided updates, explained which apps to download and why, described upcoming milestones and how to prepare, invited me to additional ticket offers, and — as the games got closer — counted down with interactive activities to build excitement. Then once you downloaded the appropriate apps (a ticket app required for entering the events and a transportation app that showed exactly how to get to each venue, whether you were walking, biking, driving, or taking the metro or bus) those apps provided reminders as your selected events drew closer.
The digital CX was personalized, was intuitive to use, and set my mind at ease. From those first emails in December 2022 until we showed up in Paris on July 26, 2024, the digital experience made me feel like I was in good hands and would have the support I needed when I arrived. Thankfully, the promise paid off in person. There were 47,000 volunteers at the games: stationed all over the country with the express purpose of helping spectators, athletes, and coaches get where they needed to go. So if you needed (or wanted) that extra human reassurance that you were headed the right direction to see an event, there was someone to help.
Apply it to your marketing: For your next campaign or event, put yourself in the shoes of your target customer and list their questions, challenges, hopes, worries, and expectations. Then outline how you can respond to each area and provide much-appreciated support and guidance to make the customer’s experience a good one in every place they’ll interact with you: in person, via email or social, on signs and maps, and in guidebooks and apps.
Lesson 2: The visual “story” is even more important than the written story
As a writer, it pains me to admit it … but images, graphics, and illustrations are meaningful and understandable in a universal way that words aren’t, especially at an international event where most every language on the planet is represented.
I speak French (and I used it every day while on our trip), but there’s something uniquely panic-inducing about being in a foreign country with your children and spouse looking at you to point them in the right direction while literally tens of thousands of tourists scurry by.
Thankfully, the games in and around Paris used a consistent, simple visual “language” and colorway for all signage, information booths, spectator materials, and volunteer uniforms. When I wasn’t certain whether to turn à la gauche or à la droite to find the connector train for a soccer match, I needed only to follow the distinctive pink signs and floor stickers pointing the way through the Gare de Lyon station. My kids picked up on it right away and were helping us navigate in no time. (Get an inside look at how the transportation department coordinated all of this,and watch the video [in French!] for more details.)
Beyond wayfinding, the designers of these international games brought the visual story to life in a variety of ways. Set on a grid inspired by France’s iconic cobblestone streets, the art deco-style geometric shapes spun, twirled, winked, and moved like puzzle pieces on stadium jumbotrons to reveal athletes and events. (Check out the Paris design team’s “The Look of the Games” video here, and read an interview with the games head of design Joachim Roncin.) Elegant line art pictograms served as icons for each athletic event — appearing on signage, commemorative cups, and tickets. And each venue had a simple architectural illustration as well so you knew the building when you spotted it. And of course, the bright red mascots — The Phryges – made occasional appearances along the way.
Apply it to your marketing: You know the power of a strong, consistent visual identity for brands — consider Coca Cola’s signature white cursive on a red background. But there’s more to your brand’s visual power than a logo. Build out all the visual elements of your brand and use those to tell your story in new ways and connect with new audiences.
Get Gold Medal Results Anytime
Yes, hosting the games is a Herculean feat of effort and coordination — it’s essentially the world’s biggest marketing and advertising event/campaign after all. But you don’t need a massive budget — or staff — to bring the best parts of the games to your marketing efforts.
What the Paris games showed me was just how important it is to ground your efforts in a core strategy and then do the foundational things well:
Focus on customer experience. Use personalized digital outreach to guide your audience along the journey
Provide a strong, consistent brand identity and visual story to connect all of your efforts and guide the customer through the experience
Those are things any marketer can do and every marketer should do, for every campaign, whether your budget is $10,000 or $10 million.
Looking to dive into more marketing lessons? Check out our blog about marketing takeaways from the great Iowa State Fair.
By Two Rivers Marketing
By Minda Kuckuck