NEW YORK, Aug. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Results from the Dow Jones Insight-Olympics Media Pulse show that with the Beijing Olympic Games at a close, the British athletes have shown the world what to expect for London 2012 as they concluded their most successful Games yet with 19 gold, 13 silver and 15 bronze medals for a total of 47 medals.
Michael Phelps left his mark at Beijing by living up to the hype preceding his performance. By eclipsing the previous record for the most gold medals during a single Olympics, U.S. swimmer Phelps exceeded expectations with eight gold medals; and according to Dow Jones Insight, he was the most-mentioned athlete among those being tracked in both traditional (print and online) and social (blogs and boards) media sources.
Of 55,051 total mentions in traditional media sources between August 11 and August 25, Phelps had 19,626, or 36 percent of the selected top athletes tracked. His percentage of social media mentions was even larger. Of the 46,285 total mentions of top athletes during the same time period, Phelps had 28,787, or 62 percent.
And The Rest of The Pack ...
In second behind Phelps in both traditional and social media sources was Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who won three gold medals. Bolt had 13,349 mentions, or 24 percent, in traditional media and 5,441 mentions, for a more modest 12 percent, in social media.
In traditional media sources, the rest of the pack measured up as follows:
-- French swimmer Alain Bernard was third in traditional media sources, with 3,552 mentions, or 7 percent. Bernard was part of one of the most exciting and memorable finishes in the swimming competition when he was overtaken by the U.S.'s Jason Lezak on the anchor leg of the men's 4 x 100 freestyle relay. Bernard was followed by U.S. gymnast Nastia Liukin, who won the women's all-around gold medal, with 3,202 mentions, for 6 percent.
-- Liukin's teammate, Shawn Johnson, had 2,658 mentions, or 5 percent. British cyclist Chris Hoy, who won three gold medals in track cycling, had 2,664 mentions, or 5 percent and British swimmer Rebecca Adlington, who won two gold medals, had 2,572 mentions, or 5 percent.
-- U.S. sprinter Tyson Gay, who was expected to challenge for the gold in the men's 100 meters, had 2,508 mentions, or 5 percent. Gay was still bothered by an injury he suffered in the U.S. Olympic Trials, and failed to make the final of the race. Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang, who also had a disappointing Olympics when he was forced to withdraw from his event due to injury, had 2,498 mentions, or 5 percent.
-- Newcomers to the list were U.S. beach volleyball player Misty May-Treanor, who along with her partner Kerri Walsh, won a second consecutive gold medal and rounded out the top 10 athletes with 2,422 mentions, or 4 percent.
In social media sources, Johnson was third behind Phelps and Bolt, with 3,108 mentions, or 7 percent. Liukin followed with 2,464 mentions, or 5 percent. May-Treanor and U.S. swimmer Dara Torres, who won two silver medals at the age of 41, each had 3 percent of the total mentions. Basketball player Yao Ming, who is a superstar in his native China as well as in the U.S., had 957 mentions, or 2 percent. Liu Xiang, Bernard and Gay rounded out the top 10 with 2 percent of mentions each.
Coca-Cola and Visa Earn Coverage through Advertising
Coverage of the Games' 12 global sponsors is closing just as it began, with McDonald's, Coca-Cola and Visa leading the way. Between August 11 and August 25, McDonald's had 673 of the top 10 companies' 3,566 mentions, or 19 percent, in traditional media sources analyzed by Dow Jones Insight. Visa and Coca-Cola were close behind, with 18 percent of mentions each. Coverage of McDonald's was centered on the company's physical presence in Beijing, while Visa and Coca-Cola garnered coverage due to their ads. Mentions of Visa focused on the company's "Go World" ad campaign and its sponsorship of Michael Phelps.
In social media sources analyzed by Dow Jones, Coca-Cola took the top spot, with 735 of 2,973 total mentions, for 25 percent while McDonald's was close behind with 656 mentions, for 22 percent. Visa followed in third, with 491 mentions, for 17 percent. Coca-Cola received positive reviews for its commercial featuring a montage of gold medal ceremonies for Olympians and Special Olympians.
Coverage of Omega nearly doubled compared to the previous two-week period analyzed by Dow Jones Insight, from 5 percent to 9 percent for the period of August 11-25. Omega got a boost in coverage due to its position as the "official timekeeper" of the games.
The British Athletes to Watch for 2012
With eyes on London, among the top U.K. athletes being tracked by Dow Jones Insight, track cyclist Chris Hoy garnered the most coverage in traditional and social media sources within the U.K. during the period of August 11 to August 25. Hoy, who won three gold medals, received 1,525 of the 5,542 total mentions in U.K. sources, for 28 percent. Swimmer Rebecca Adlington, who won gold medals in the women's 400- and 800-meter freestyle races, had 1,272 mentions, for 23 percent.
In English-language sources based outside of the U.K., swimmer Adlington topped Hoy, leading the coverage across all media with 1,716 of 5,963 total mentions, for 29 percent. Hoy, whose sport doesn't have the popular global appeal that swimming does, fell to second among Britons with 1,563 mentions, for 26 percent.
For all media sources, Christine Ohuruogu came in third with coverage surrounding her gold medal in the women's 400 meters. She had 605 mentions, for 11 percent for U.K. media and 756 mentions, for 13 percent for media outside her home country.
Top Ten U.K. Athletes (U.K. Media) 1. Chris Hoy 2. Rebecca Adlington 3. Christine Ohuruogu 4. Ben Ainslie 5. Victoria Pendleton 6. Paula Radcliffe 7. Gail Emms 8. Nathan Robertson 9. Craig Pickering 10. Jo Pavey Top Ten U.K. Athletes (Outside U.K. Media) 1. Rebecca Adlington 2. Chris Hoy 3. Christine Ohuruogu 4. Victoria Pendleton 5. Paula Radcliffe 6. Ben Ainslie 7. Gail Emms 8. Craig Pickering 9. Nathan Robertson 10. Helen Tucker
The Dow Jones Insight-Olympics Media Pulse provides a high-level view of a competitive media landscape and demonstrates how athletes, sponsors and issues are covered in the media and how that coverage changes over time. Dow Jones Insight combines proven research methodologies, trusted content and advanced text-mining and visualization tools to deliver strategic qualitative and quantitative media measurement metrics. Organizations use the analysis to nurture their reputation, demonstrate the effectiveness of their communications strategies and achieve business objectives. The platform processes nearly a million articles, Web pages, blogs and message board posts per day.
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