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Social Media Soars for Ralph Lauren and Star Athletes, While Nike Faces a 790K Follower Drop
Paris 2024 fervor has calmed and LA 2028 is already on the horizon. This year’s Olympics saw multiple debut athletes, world record-breaking, nations’ first-ever medals, and controversy.
Athletes, partners, and brands shared these highlights and on-the-ground scenes on social media, so fans back home could stay updated, interact, and support their country. Tiara White says it best in the Business Insider article, New data shows the Olympic athletes breaking out on social media, from gymnast Rebeca Andrade to rugby player Ilona Maher:
“Social media is playing a bigger role than ever in the Olympics this year, as audiences turn to apps like TikTok and Instagram for coverage, and athletes become influencers to leverage their biggest moments.”
Tiara White – Business Insider
Before Paris 2024 kicked off, Metricool analyzed athlete and brand social media growth and brand partnership announcements, a key indicator of who to watch in this year’s Games. This data featured US Gymnasts and Swimmers, Paris 2024 partners and sponsors, and more.
Paris 2024 Branding Moments and Athlete Buzz
Many breakout athletes’ social media pages took off, sharing monumental moments, experiences, and emotions – connecting to supporters at home and worldwide. Paris 2024’s Rule 40 policies created stricter advertising rules, letting Olympians control the narrative of their stories.
Meanwhile, brands showed their support through social media marketing campaigns, onsite activations, and athlete sponsorships. However, with Rule 40 in place, most athlete partnerships were announced beforehand or after the Games. This allowed athletes to show off their personalities and speak out against inevitable controversies online, stirring buzz and fan backing. This level of coverage offered exclusive insights into the lives of Paris 2024 athletes.
Amidst Jordan Chiles’ Olympic medal controversy, Jordan spoke out about the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s ruling. After almost losing her bronze medal, Chiles took a social media break and shortly came out with this statement on Instagram and X:
This shows athletes’ connection with online communities and the platforms they feel obligated to speak out. Again, Instagram and X seem to be the leading platforms for athlete communication.
Sports clothing companies like Nike, Adidas, Athleta, and Lululemon used athlete brand partnerships to market their products during the Games. Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS followed a similar approach, with athletes announcing partnerships and showcasing the Team USA line.
Fenty Beauty and Ralph Lauren inserted their brand slightly differently, creating activations in the Games. Fenty Beauty offered free makeup touch-ups for athletes, and Ralph Lauren crafted Team USA opening ceremony uniforms and hosted athletes for a kickoff dinner.
Of course, competition also comes with loss and defeat – for both brands and athletes. Rulings that spark controversy and favorite athletes that don’t win gold. Marketing campaigns that fail and athletes that choose to avoid social media.
As social media played a significant role in this year’s Games, uncovering athlete’s and brand strategies can guide social media managers and marketers to new social media heights.
Brand and Athlete Social Media Data Analysis
Metricool’s competitor analysis feature tracked 15 “breakout” Olympic athletes and 12 major brands on Instagram and X to conclude how Paris 2024 social media posts and campaigns affected accounts’ following, engagement, and virality.
This data was analyzed over the Games period, July 26 – August 15, tracking accounts’ following changes, number of published content, total interactions, interaction changes, engagement rates, top-performing posts, and top-performing Reels. We also monitored any brand/athlete partnerships that emerged during this period.
Instagram proved to be the main promotion platform for Paris 2024, where breakout athletes saw the most growth. On Instagram, we saw the following follower increases and engagement rates, in order:
- Rebeca Andrade gained 9.13 million followers, a 333% increase. Her engagement rate was 24.85%.
- Simone Biles gained 5.12 million followers, a 68% increase. Her engagement rate was 20.01%.
- Ilona Maher gained 2.73 million followers, a 277% increase. Her engagement rate stood at 10.24%.
- Sunisa Lee gained 1.46 million followers, a 96% increase. Her engagement rate was 30.94%.
- Jordan Chiles gained 946,000 followers, a 161% increase. Her engagement rate was 22.35%.
- Noah Lyles gained 748,000 followers, a 94% increase. His engagement rate was 10.29%.
- Stephen Nedoroscik gained 422,600 followers, a 2414% increase. His engagement rate was 65.11%.
- Katie Ledecky gained 262,751 followers with a 23.13% engagement rate.
- Torri Huske gained 76,100 followers, a 225.4% increase. Her engagement was 32.88%.
- Trinity Rodman gained 103,755 followers despite posting once during the Games period, reaching a 26.94% engagement rate.
- Gretchen Walsh gained 50,266 followers with a 38.23% engagement rate.
- Lee Kiefer gained 36,329 followers with a 19.04% engagement rate.
- Nada Hafez gained 21,683 followers with a 68.33% engagement rate.
On the brand side, we monitored Nike, Adidas, Sephora, Ralph Lauren, Fenty Beauty, SKIMS, Lululemon, Coca-Cola, Corona, Athleta, and Celsius. Before the Paris 2024 kickoff, these brands asserted themselves in the Games, whether official partners or not.
Ralph Lauren soared in growth, gaining 49,430 followers to reach 15.83 million followers. Top posts in the period all revolved around Paris 2024, featuring athletes like Katie Ledecky and Simone Biles, while bringing in celebrities like Kendall Jenner and Tom Cruise. Collaborating on posts with sub-brand, Polo Ralph Lauren, the brand leveraged both accounts, using the “Polo Bear” to sport Team USA outfits.
Nike on the other hand, was heavily criticized for their “Winning Isn’t for Everyone” campaign, resulting in a loss of 790,213 followers. Forbes also covers this marketing downfall, adding the company has experienced significant revenue decreases. One of the reasons this campaign didn’t work was the lack of appreciation for all Olympic athletes – win or loss. However, likes and comments increased across the board, whether positive or negative.
Adidas saw the highest follower increase, 55,058, reaching 29.23 million, with top-performing posts collaborating with gold medalists Rebeca Andrade, Noah Lyles, Anthony Edwards, amongst others. Adidas took a less controversial marketing approach, with campaign #YouGotThis, giving prominence to the hard work and accomplishments of all athletes. However, many users have commented on their disapproval of the company after learning about their association with Israeli manufacturer, Delta Galil.
SKIMS and FentyBeauty took shapewear and beauty to the next level, not only partnering with athletes like Sunisa Lee and Caeleb Dressel but inserting themselves on the ground in Paris; these brands saw similar follower increases on Instagram, 24,427 and 23,685 respectively.
TikTok was also an important platform, giving fans a modern taste of the Olympics. Athletes like Simone Biles (5.3M followers), Ilona Maher (2.3M followers), Tara David-Woodhall (767.5K followers), and Henrik Christensen (a.k.a The Muffin Man, 506.5k followers) shed light to the silly, goofy side of the Olympics, once again
X (Twitter) was not a key player in this year’s Games, with many athletes not posting or activating their X accounts. It seems that this platform has become a secondary network, reiterating campaigns and posts that appear on Instagram, for example. However, breakout athletes still saw significant growth, such as:
- Simone Biles gained 377,687 followers, a 22.4% increase.
- Noah Lyles gained 99,885 followers, a 106.1% increase.
- Ilona Maher gained 65,583 followers, a 1,376% increase.
- Stephen Nedoroscik gained 43,972 followers, a 1294% increase.
- Sunisa Lee gained 35,470 followers, a 19.8% increase.
Athletes Rebeca Andrade, Nada Hafez, and Kim Ye-Ji did not have active X accounts, while Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske only reposted other user’s tweets.
Looking Forward to LA 2028
Ralph Lauren’s final reels covering Paris 2024 exemplify the longevity of Olympic campaigns. While giving a tribute to the biggest moments of Paris 2024, the brand has also already started LA 2028 promotions, once again featuring the Polo Bear. The creativity behind Ralph Lauren’s campaign not only allowed fans to follow along this year’s Games, but put LA 2028 on the radar, and Ralph Lauren in the main frame.
As brands and athletes prepare for the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles, it will be important for marketers to analyze the triumphs and failures of this year’s Games. It’s clear that Olympic marketing goes beyond the Games, and politics, controversies, and world issues will always be a factor to consider.
Now the countdown for LA 2028 starts, and as Ralph Lauren has already shown, it’s not too early to start promoting.