Why HK sports brands turn to Instagram to share Olympic-related content

Driven by the Olympic craze, the Hong Kong sports industry’s ad spending for the first half of the year has reached HK$170 million, a YOY increase of 41%, according to Admango.  

The report also found that ad spending on sports shoes reached HK$31.9 million from January to June 2024, marking a 3% YOY increase. Meanwhile, Nike, Skechers and lululemon were the top three advertisers with the highest ad spending in the local sports industry.  

Interestingly, social media ranked first in media share-of-voice, accounting for 38%, and mobile ranked second with 29% market share. Among social media ad spending, Instagram accounted for 52% of the market share.  

Ad spending on branded content in the sports industry reached 47% on Instagram, while the share on Facebook was 44%, according to the report.  

Instagram is ideal to share “soft” and spontaneous content 

This can be attributed to the behaviour of each brand’s target audience for each market. According to the OMD Hong Kong's "Youngster Survey Wave 3 2024”, Instagram continues to be the leading social media platform among younsters, with 92% of usage over the past week; follow by Facebook (48%). The average time spent on Instagram is also the highest – 9.9 hours on average per week – and it is six hours more than Facebook (3.9 hours on average per week).

This is coupled by findings of the Global Web Index, which revealed that Instagram is the most popular social media platform amongst Hong Kong sports fans, with 18.4% claiming Instagram to be their favourite social media platform, followed by Facebook at 15.8% and TikTok at 7%.  

Hong Kong sports fans are also 16.6% more likely to claim Instagram is their favourite than the general population. This suggests that sports brands not only find the greatest volume of their audience on Instagram, but it’s also an extremely target-rich platform, according to David Gregory, agency lead, Australia and head of sponsorship strategy APAC, Octagon.  

Furthermore, Instagram tends to attract a younger audience, particularly millennials and Gen Z, who are highly engaged in sports and fitness, said Florence Kong, founder and managing director of We Glow Hong Kong.  

“This demographic is crucial for sports brands looking to build awareness, engagement, and long-term loyalty,” she added. 

She also said the social platform offers various interactive features such as Stories, Reels, and polls, which are effective in engaging followers and creating a community around the brand.  

For sports brands, Instagram is an ideal platform to share both visually engaging and 'soft' content instead of hard selling the newest products, according to Matthew Li, head of brand and marketing, Decathlon Hong Kong. 

Apart from Instagram, Facebook and YouTube are also the go-to platforms where users engage with Olympics-related content, said Li. “With that in mind, we define our channel strategy. It is also important to remember that each social media platform requires a different strategy and form of content to get the best out of its algorithm,” he said.  

Maximising social media spend on Olympic-related content 

During the Olympic games, we’ve seen an influx of brands putting out content featuring athletes on social media.  

For example, Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong swimmer Siobhán Haughey have posted their collaboration on Instagram, showing a Hong Kong skyscraper featuring computer-generated visual creations of Cathay’s latest campaign “Every move counts” and the spirit of Haughey. 

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Octagon’s Gregory said athletes tend to be more comfortable, familiar and happy using Instagram as a channel due to its balance of highly curated, and more authentic and spontaneous content. 

“It’s the athletes, performances and stories that fans fall in love with around the Olympics – and it’s these athletes and personalities that have truly thumb-stopping power,” he said.  

Working with an ambassador can provide instant recognition, a rich story to align with and tell, and incremental reach via their own channels, he added. 

Apart from collaboration with athletes, brands could create and share real-time content on social platforms that capture the spirit and excitement of the Olympics, including live updates, behind-the-scenes footage, and athlete highlights to keep audiences engaged, said We Glow’s Kong.  

“An excellent example is when some brands launched content or promotions immediately after local fencing athlete Vivian Kong won a gold medal in the Olympics. 

User-generated content is also one of the ways to maximise brands’ social spending. “Brands should encourage followers to share and show support for their favourite athletes using branded content, creating a sense of community and increasing brand visibility,” she added. 

Leveraging KOLs could be another good option as they can help build brand awareness and motivate followers to participate, said Nicole Cheng, Insights Director, Omnicom Media Group Hong Kong.

"For sports brands, tapping on athletes, sports fans or individuals related to sports is an obvious option. However, consumers today are always looking for surprises and to capture their attention, sports brands could consider non-sports-related individuals or KOLs who are also able to relate to the brands’ values to create resonance," she said.

On the marketing front, Decathlon’s Li said it is important to understand how the brand links with the event because different brands have different objectives and purposes, which also determines its tone of voice and key message.   

“For Decathlon, we want to convey that sports are for everyone and not just about winning. We want to inspire people to kickstart or improve their sporting journey by celebrating, engaging, and providing helpful content for them,” he added. 

Agility is also key, including “trendjacking” key happenings, he said. “The key is to be proactive and prepare for the different foreseeable outcomes so you don't plan only the content aftermath and ensure an acceptable reaction time to ride on the big spike of buzz.” 

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