The Olympic Scoop on Snoop
How Snoop Dogg won the Olympics, and became the ultimate case study for brands working with ambassadors
The Paris Olympics gave us a lot- heartwarming stories, awe-inspiring winning moments, aaand controversies. But it’s safe to say the Olympic pop culture Gold goes to the one and only D-O double G.
With NBC streaming the games in the US, recruiting Snoop Dogg as a special NBC correspondent was a masterstroke in marketing.
What’s the scoop on Snoop?
While Snoop built his early fame as a rapper, he’s known for everything from his love for the ahem ahem good stuff, to nursery rhymes for kids a la Doggyland (actually a bop), or crooning Singh is Kingg with Akshay Kumar (grade A fever dream). Anything you can think of- Snoop’s been there, done that, and had the time of his life doing it.
Back in 2021 one such side quest led him to go viral for his commentary on Olympic highlights with Kevin Hart- with his hilarious commentary on dressage.
This lit the spark for his inclusion in the Paris Games as a torchbearer and Olympic Games correspondent for NBC. In his own words,
“I’ll be out there in the field, immersed in events, traversing the city, doing things the Snoop Dogg way,” “mix it up in various ways, bringing my own flavour to the table”
Snoop’s correspondence from the Paris Games has been just that x1000.
What makes Snoop a great brand ambassador?
Rewinding a bit, earlier this year, I had a chance to hear the Solo Stoves team unpack their famous campaign at Cannes Lions. Yep, the one in which Snoop shocked the world by announcing that he was “giving up smoke”.
While there is considerable debate on the campaign, what stood out was Snoop’s effectiveness as a pop-culture shaker-upper.
He could spark global conversations, create cultural impact, and bring his authentic self to the table.
“The more he smoked, the better his lines got!” — Danny Robinson, CEO, The Martin Agency
Add to this the secret ingredients of professionalism and consistency (Snoop stringently refraining from smoking in public even during concerts to keep the surprise intact), for a lip-smacking recipe for campaign success.
Here, there, and everywhere
At the Paris games, Snoop was everywhere. Kicking the games off by carrying the Olympic Torch, he proceeded to deliver hilarious non-technical commentary and become an instant meme- all while being Team USA’s biggest cheerleader. Snoop’s innumerable iconic moments from the games have been the topic of many a listicle.
In every interaction, Snoop seemed to be having the best time while creating a flurry of content that was real, entertaining, and widely shareable. Pocketing a cool $500,000 a day, Snoop showed viewers the fun side of supporting your country at the games, even if you might not know any of the rules.
King of crossovers
With beloved Sesame Street characters such as Elmo and Cookie Monster on the ground, NBC took the opportunity to celebrate Martha Stewart’s 83rd birthday, with Snoop and Cookie Monster and a Birthday (cookie) cake!
Creating a heart-warming crossover moment which promoted Sesame Street’s presence in Paris and Snoop and Martha’s friendship- this targeted a broad audience and was reported by multiple news networks.
Snoop was also heavily featured in the Today Show’s and Colin Jost’s promotions- creating a 360-degree look into NBC’s coverage of the games.
During this period, Snoop’s upcoming gig as a coach in NBC’s The Voice was also promoted extensively on NBC’s social media handles. His promotional appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon- racked up over 20M eyeballs across social media platforms.
Let’s talk numbers
Snoop’s presence and interactions with athletes created several memorable moments, leading to a substantial increase in viewership.
Over 17 days, from 26th July, NBC saw a surge in viewers up to 30M daily viewers across platforms, an 82% increase from the Tokyo Games.
Paris Olympics content also registered 6.55Bn impressions across NBC sports social handles- a 184% increase vs the Tokyo Olympics, and an addition of 4.7M followers across the portfolio.
The network can attribute Snoop Dogg’s avant-garde coverage as a significant factor in making the Olympics more accessible and engaging for a larger audience.
The Olympics were extremely successful for NBC’s streaming app Peacock with nearly 2.8 million new subscribers joining the platform between July 25 and July 31. Cross-promoting other NBC content on social media during the Olympics could be key in creating awareness, and retaining these subscribers.
The Snoop Brand
As a culmination, Snoop’s brand and music saw massive growth, with his streaming and sales numbers going up across platforms- as a result of an all-time global popularity peak. (Source: viberate.com)
Spotify: 17.6% increase in his streams to 345M
Instagram: Instagram follower growth of 1.6M in a month- 2608% MOM increase
Youtube: Snoop’s YouTube channel also saw significant gains, with his videos amassing 79.7 million views in the month following the Olympics
Tiktok: On TikTok, Snoop Dogg gained 500,000 new followers, marking a 400% increase in just one month
What can brands learn from this?
Celebrity endorsements and social content today are watered down by trends and templates. Snoop’s Olympic success reinforces that authentic integrations can create cultural moments, and drive symbiotic growth for both brands!
Summing up brand to-do’s:
- Leverage unexpected partners: Uncover unique insights which link celebrities to your brand. For eg: Snoop, the world’s best-known smoker going smokeless with Solo Stoves’ smokeless fire pits
- Let them do what they do best: Let your ambassador showcase what people know/love them for
- Create strategic buzz: Cross-promote to create noise across channels if you can
And the results will follow!
Before the games, Molly Solomon, NBC’s Olympics president stated- “I’m either going to get a promotion or kicked out,” when asked about Snoop at the Olympics. Well, Molly, it might be time to go get a double promotion!
