Content Trends: How the Olympics Win at the Games and Online
My hot take on the Winter Olympics? People love the process just as much (if not more) than seeing who wins each game.
Every story shared about the human effort it takes to make something incredibly difficult look effortless is a story that people across the globe devour. We want to know how these people—so seemingly like us and yet so capably different—could possibly have gotten to where they are.
And once you start paying attention to search behavior around the Games, that becomes even clearer.
People aren’t only searching for events or scores. They’re searching for athlete outfits, Olympic Village life, what people eat, where they sleep, who stays together, how things actually work.
They want proximity. They want context. They want to understand the work.
That curiosity should feel very familiar to anyone who works in the arts.
SEARCH TRENDS: OLYMPICS
Data source: Google Trends (https://www.google.com/trends). Google Trends is a different data source from Google Ads.
The Parallel I Can’t Stop Thinking About
The thing people admire most about the Olympics isn’t winning.
It’s the discipline. The repetition. The teamwork. The years of training for a moment that passes in seconds.
Arts organizations are built on the exact same foundation. We just don’t always talk about it that way.
Behind every performance or exhibition is:
- Countless hours of preparation
- Deep expertise
- Trust between collaborators
- Precision under pressure
In other words: Olympic-level skill.
Re-Frame Your Thinking
Right now, the Olympics are giving people a shared cultural lens for appreciating craft, process, and excellence. Arts organizations already make incredible behind-the-scenes content: keep doing that! But, for now, consider a new framing.
Positioning behind-the-scenes work as extraordinary—skilled, disciplined, and worthy of admiration—isn’t a departure from best practices. It is best practice, tuned to the moment we’re in.
Try This in Your Next Campaign
If you’re planning show or exhibit campaigns right now—or even thinking about broader brand content—here are a few ways this idea could come to life.
These aren’t prescriptions. They’re prompts.
- “If load-in was an Olympic sport…”
Show the speed, precision, and teamwork it takes to build a set from scratch. - “If handling priceless artifacts was an Olympic sport…”
A behind-the-scenes look at the tools of the trade for a curator touching priceless art without destroying it – a high-stakes event with a high skillset required. - “If quick changes were like speed skating…”
Put a timer on the screen, and film the stage manager’s monitor so folks can see how fast the crew resets the stage in the dark.
Here’s a brilliant example from the parenting community: a “post-bedtime interview”:
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Here’s another example from Disney on Ice, a nod to the internet’s current obsession with flips and ice skating, which their artists perform live on the daily.
These ideas work especially well in:
- Short-form video
- Paid social ads
- Behind-the-scenes Reels or TikToks
- Prospecting campaigns meant to reach new audiences
You have 1.7 seconds (on average) to grab someone’s attention online, and right now, an Olympic hook can help you get someone to stick around long enough to appreciate what we already know is a compelling behind-the-scenes moment of your Olympic-level artists and staff.
