Later this month, the 2024 Olympic Games will open in Paris. For 19 days, millions of people across the world will be in front of their televisions, watching beautiful displays of the human body, mind and spirit. The core of the Olympics are the competitive games – a total of 329 events spanning 32 sports this year full of amazing achievements – enthralling us. But the magic of the Olympics is also greatly enhanced by its unique ceremonial rituals that hold lessons for marketers.

The Olympic Torch Relay

The Olympic Torch is an iconic part of the games. It is always lit at Olympia in Greece, the site of the ancient games. The fire that is used to light the torch is kindled by rays of the sun. An actress who plays the role of high priestess of the Temple of Hera hands over the torch to the first runner of the relay, normally an athlete from Greece. The relay crosses many lands carried by thousands of runners sequentially to eventually arrive at the venue of the Games.

The Torch relay beautifully highlights the heritage of the Olympics. It is a symbol of continuity between the ancient Olympics and the modern games. The flame lighting ceremony brings to our screens romance, history and beauty, which combine to create awe and magic in our minds. The relay also ensures that the Olympics register in our minds months before the games commence.

Lighting of the Olympic cauldron

The lighting of the cauldron during the opening ceremony marks the start of the Olympics. The flame continues to burn bright throughout the Games, until it is extinguished during the closing ceremony. In most cases, the Olympic cauldron is lit by one of the sporting icons of the host country.

Much like the lighting of a ceremonial lamp that marks the start of many events, this Olympic ritual brings to the games the auspicious presence of fire, considered sacred in most cultures. In addition, it has a great visual appeal. Also, a local sporting hero doing the lighting triggers a lot of positive nationalistic emotion.

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The Olympic medal ceremony

At the conclusion of each Olympic event, a formal medal ceremony is conducted to honour the Gold, Silver and Bronze medal winners. After the medals are awarded, the flags of the countries of the three medalists are raised. Thereafter, the national anthem of the Gold Medal winner’s country is played.

This medals ritual represents an emotionally charged moment for the winning athletes – the smiles and tears on the prize winners’ faces are often very moving. The playing of the winning country’s national anthem at this event is a masterstroke – because it typically brings to the fore all our pride in our nation.

These are only three of the many interesting rituals that mark the Olympics. Each ritual adds meaning, grandeur or emotion to the Games. Other powerful rituals include the parade of nations, the release of doves during the opening ceremony, and the closing ceremony.

This reflection on the rituals of the Olympics evokes an interesting thought. How can marketers create special rituals that add to the appeal of their core products? These rituals can be designed to occur at any point in the brand journey – during the online pre-purchase search, purchase in store, post-purchase, usage or even disposal. Ideally, the ritual should evoke a powerful brand emotion in the consumer’s mind.

For instance, the unboxing ritual now associated with consumer products has already become quite popular. Brands have the opportunity to add their own unique layers to this generic ritual. Jewellery or designer garment brands can consider a special handing over ritual at the point of billing in the stores. Toothpaste brands can design a ritual around the first squeezing of a new tube. The possibilities are endless.

In the meanwhile, please do join me in wishing our Indian athletes all the best at the Paris Olympics 2024 !

(Harish Bhat is an avid marketer and bestselling author. He was previously the Brand Custodian at Tata Sons. These are his personal views.)

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