Olympics Earn Positive Social Media, McDonald's Slammed As Sponsor

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The Olympics was a huge social conversation starter in the UK during the recent London Games, according to research from Interpublic Group’s Momentum and social media monitoring outfit Radian6.

The word "Olympics" was mentioned more than 26 million times during the games across the social media universe, including platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and numerous other sites, blogs and message boards.

Overall sentiment was favorable -- the firms reported that just over two-thirds (68%) of Olympic-related commentary was positive, while 32% was negative.

Among Olympic sponsors, McDonald’s was the most-talked-about brand with a 24% share of sponsor-related comments. The Momentum-Radian research didn’t break out sentiment for the brands by percentage but noted that McDonald’s received many comments questioning the appropriateness of a fast-food chain as a major sponsor of an athletic event.

The research pointed to a typical McDonald’s-related comment:  “I still don’t see why McDonalds is promoting the Olympics when it’s the worst food for you out there.” An earlier study by MediaCom Sport that covered just the first week of Twitter comments about the games found that the food chain ranked last in sentiment among the 25 brands it covered.

That was due largely to the “perceived contradiction” between fast food and the kind of quality nutrition that an Olympic athlete requires.

According to the Momentum-Radian6 study, British Airways was the second-most-commented on brand in the social sphere, with Coca-Cola rounded out the top three. Coke could hardly be classified as health food, but the brand didn’t appear to draw the ire of social commentators like McDonald’s, per the study. A typical comment about the soft-drink maker: “The Coke ‘Moments of Happiness’ commercials for the Olympics are the best.”

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4 comments on "Olympics Earn Positive Social Media, McDonald's Slammed As Sponsor".

1. Joseph Johnson from iMedia Solutions
   

   commented on: September 3, 2012 at 6:26 p.m.
   This points out the need for brand management. Had McDonald's educated consumers about the calories and content of their food from the beginning they might not be the target of the I know what is best for everyone writers. It will be a long campaign to convince the public that hamburgers bread and potatoes are not bad for you.
2. Kevin Bullard from ILFUSION Creative
   

   commented on: September 4, 2012 at 8:47 a.m.
   Joseph is right - brand management is crucial and whoever paired up Mickie D's with Olympic events should be forced to live on Big Mac's and Happy Meals for 1 year. I once saw ads for Adult Friend Finder on a "christian" dating site. Hilarious.
3. Nicholas Schiavone from Nicholas P. Schiavone, LLC
   

   commented on: September 4, 2012 at 10:39 a.m.
   If "Momentum-Radian research didn’t break out sentiment for the brands by percentage", then how does one conclude that "McDonald's (was) Slammed As (A) Sponsor"? Please explain. Further, are the findings reported only for the UK or for a broader population? Please explain. Reporting of an uncertain nature does not help the subjects of the story or the the story's readers. Thank you.
4. Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited
   

   commented on: September 4, 2012 at 7:17 p.m.
   Kevin, the same corporation that owns adult friend finder owns christian mingle and many other subsets of match making. McDonalds ?What health food vendors can afford to be a major Olympic sponsor ?

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