Solidifying Canadian pride through sports

Sports brings people together. It moves and inspires people in ways that can sometimes be hard to explain. The sacrifice can never be put into words or understood unless you’ve personally gone through it yourself. But yet, regardless of your participation or not, sports can bring a nation together. It can bring us to our knees and can instil a sense of pride.

The raw talent, incredible dedication and sheer passion of watching someone give it their all is a great indicator that sport is much more than the result at the end of a race or a game, it tells the story of the incredible team behind-the-scenes that helps a team or individual propel to greatness.

Canadian Olympic Committee

The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) is an “independent and predominantly privately funded, the Canadian Olympic Committee delivers resources that Canada’s elite athletes need to perform at their best and give their everything every day. The backbone of Canada’s Olympic movement, the Canadian Olympic Committee works with National Sport Federations to prepare the Team for the Olympic, Youth Olympic and Pan American Games. By sharing our athletes’ stories, we inspire all Canadians through the power of sport: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.”

Employee Involvement

As identified above, the COC seemingly acts as a database of information. The receive updates or results from athletic organizations that their athletes are a part of and share their journey on their multiple social media accounts, in addition to their website content. It is a great example of who the COC publicly advocates and supports their members (’employees’) no matter what the result.

.@milosraonic into the fourth round at #Wimbledon with a straight-set victory on Saturday: https://t.co/V7YjHsxDo6 pic.twitter.com/Nd4mlmPwNv

— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) July 8, 2017

Supply Chain Management

Next, they frequently have contests or social posts that involve many of their partners, suppliers, and supporters. For example, leading up Canada Day they did a Molson Canadian beer fridge contest. As a communication tactic, they used their Instagram channel to let their followers know and encouraged them to enter. Not only does it showcase a strong bond between two businesses that align themselves with similar Canadian values, but it tugged on the Canadian stereotype which we can all laugh at – Canadians, red and beer…. how more Canadian can you get?!

A post shared by Canadian Olympic Team (@teamcanada) on May 24, 2017 at 2:02pm PDT

Without fan support, the success of big sponsorships would not be possible for the COC, let alone any company for that matter. It is important to build a sense of pride around products and a brand that let people feel like they are making a difference.

Customer Service

Lastly, the COC knows their audience. Each time their social media team shares information online, they incorporate both official Canadian languages. It shows their followers that they care and are not going to take any shortcuts. They even respond to questions in the language that their customer uses – that’s dedication.

It’s that kind of enterprise, and all encompassing social media strategy that empowers and ignites a passion and movement within our country. When you showcase many different aspects of an organization, it helps level the playing field (pun intended) as you’re not favoriting one company, product or team over another. If your strategy is planned out properly, you are able to be proactive in messaging to questions, create strong visuals and make sure that all sponsors or companies, associated with your brand, are equally shared.

Lessons for Others

• Don’t be afraid to test out new trends. When attracting new followers or a younger demographic, jump on board. Use applications such as Boomerang, Snapchat, or Hyperlapse. These all make for great social content that is real-time and really cool to watch.
• Be authentic. Too much-stagged imagery will turn people away. Have a strategy behind what you are posting, but use content that your followers, suppliers or employees are sharing. They are your biggest brand ambassadors, embrace it.

If you have concerns as to the accuracy of anything posted on this site, please send your concerns to Peter Carr, Program Director, Social Media for Business Performance.

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