A couple of weeks ago I went to see NBC Sports Marion Taormin and Lora LeSage speak at a DFW Interactive Marketing Association lunch. While I was disappointed the two couldn't pull back the curtain to let the room know some of the amazing content/marketing integrations planned for the games in a few weeks (understandably so, since they were in a room filled with oversharers that would love to spill the beans on an upcomming Coca Cola or Samsung campaign), I did come away with one great nugget. While talking about the ambitious plan to show every Olympic event live using digital properties to fill in the gaps between their broadcast networks, Ms. Taormin mentioned that NBC considers The Olympics their R&D playground.
It's clear this is true. Just look at all the articles already talking about how the 2012 games will be the most social, digital, etc. All of this is expected given the consumer demmand growth in these areas. But I give NBC a lot of credit for not being satisfied with just riding the wave, instead trying and testing the limits of what is possible. How many companies would take a billion dollar product and use it as a testing ground for new features and benefits in real time? They seem to understand that some of the things they try during these two weeks will be failures. Instead of being petrified into doing 'proven' steps, they are excited to be innovative, knowing the successes that rise to the top will become the standard for broadcasing in the future. By doing this in real time with a global audience, there will be no second guessing what works and what doesn't.
How many companies would take their signature product, and open it up to so many unproven features while it is in the spotlight? How could the companies you work for/with learn from this fearlessness?
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