NBC uses e-mail to attract Olympic fans
NBC Universal is hoping e-mail alerts for its NBCOlympics.com site will help engage fans during the Summer Games in Beijing from August 8–24.
“Audiences have been fragmenting for years by the explosion of cable channels, the Internet and other options,” said Hayle Chun, director of digital media at NBC Sports and Olympics, in an e-mail to DMNews. “Our Olympic strategy has evolved so we reach our audience through various means: network, cable, Internet, VOD [video on demand] and wireless, to name a few. We are reassembling the fragmented audience.”
The campaign is targeted at an international audience, including “all Olympics fans,” Chun said. She added, “E-mail alerts are a great way for users to customize their Olympic experience.”
Olympics fans can opt for updates, including news and features at NBCOlympics.com, depending on their interests. Alert content includes medal results, breaking news, athlete updates, schedule and event reminders, headlines for every Olympic sport, videos and slideshow galleries.
“One objective [of the campaign] is to drive people to our broadcasts, but the other is to satisfy the interest and the appetite of the Olympic fan who simply can't get enough,” Chun said.
The network is working with e-mail service provider Lyris to deploy e-mail updates about the Olympics, in real time, directly from the games.
