In 2010, the CEO‑UAB launched a new line of research on social media and the Olympic movement with the research project “Social Media and the Olympic Movement: Analysis of Social Media, Opportunities and Trends”, funded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The project was developed at the CEO‑UAB under the direction of Dr. Emilio Fernández Peña. The research team was composed of Mari Arauz, Angélica Sha and Sandro Garcia.
One of the main objectives of the research was to examine the challenges that social media pose to traditional communication models of sports organizations in the online environment, with particular attention to the presence of the Olympic movement on these platforms and their potential use in promoting Olympic values. To this end, the team produced a map of the main existing social media platforms, an analysis of the presence of various sports initiatives on these networks, as well as initiatives in other fields related to social participation. The study also examined the presence of Olympic movement stakeholders across different social media platforms and the digital strategies of Olympic institutions and sponsors.
The study includes an overview, an analysis and future recommendations for the International Olympic Committee’s strategy regarding social media in particular and social communication media in general. It provides a comprehensive analysis of social media strategies surrounding the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games and the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, implemented by key actors of the Olympic family, together with extensive sociodemographic data on social media and monitoring tools for Facebook and Twitter. At the same time, case studies are presented on social media strategies developed by Olympic athletes, the NBA, FC Barcelona, Coca‑Cola and Starbucks, FIBA, and other sports federations. La investigación se cierra con un estudio en profundidad de nuevas tendencias de comunicación en medios de comunicación social.
The research concludes with an in‑depth study of emerging communication trends in social media. The results of the study provide a diagnosis of the current strategy of the International Olympic Committee, not in isolation, but in relation to its main partners. The recommendations arising from the CEO‑UAB study seek to maintain a balance between what, from our perspective, the IOC’s social media strategy currently is and what it should be. This represents a reflective and critical analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of certain decisions, aiming to offer an external contribution to enhance the effectiveness of the dissemination of Olympism, a responsibility that lies with its parent institution: the International Olympic Committee.
Research results
Social networking and the Olympic Movement: social media analysis, opportunities and trends
Fernández Peña, E., Arauz, M., Sha, A., García, S., & Centre d’Estudis Olímpics. (2011). Social networking and the Olympic Movement : social media analysis, opportunities and trends. Barcelona Centre d’Estudis Olímpics, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
Research Group
- Emilio Fernández Peña, director
- Mari Arauz
- Angelica Sha
- Sandro Garcia
