Okay, I have to admit it, I am now a recovering Olympics junkie. If there were 18 hours of coverage a day, I may not have seen all of it, but I sure got my fair share.

The Olympics for me is far more than the glory of sport.

With multi-millionaire tennis players, cyclists and basketball players competing, it really is more about marketing and brand awareness than it is about anything else. As I mentioned in a tweet the other day “if MacDonalds and Coca Cola did not care about the Olympics. . . would we?”

It is not only about the corporate brands, but the personal ones as well.  Christine Sinclair‘s Bronze Medal in Olympic Soccer will be marketed far more than we will market Canada’s only Gold Medal, Rosie MacLennan in trampoline.     For that matter, Sinclair will be marketed far more than the person who actually scored the winning goal, getting Canada the Bronze Medal in soccer, Diana Matheson.

Is this fair, no not really, it is marketing.   Sinclair was built up as a hero by the media and probably her own consultants, long before she arrived in London.   She was the focus of the Canadian team and she will get the glory of something that was truly a team effort.

However, the biggest winner in terms of Olympic Marketing was not even an official sponsor.  

Nike was everywhere.

It did not matter the sport, or the team, the unmistakable Nike Swoosh was visible throughout the games.  That is brand awareness and marketing at it’s finest.    The word Nike did not have to appear anywhere, the swoosh said it all.

So all of this leads me to the question of greatness.   Who is truly great and why?    Does it take a medal around your neck or a billion dollar advertising budget?  

I say no.  

Greatness is the ability to achieve goals set by you and be comfortable in knowing that success is measured over a lifetime, not in a moment in time.   Let us help define your greatness and Get YOU Noticed!