Maybe you were curious to see how the UK would stack up against the awe-inspiring spectacle the Chinese gave the world four years ago? Maybe you like Danny Boyle? Maybe you fancy meeting a royal. Whatever the reason over 42 million people in the US tuned into the opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympics in London.

The UK’s opening ceremony was a valiant attempt but didn’t quite match up to Beijing, at least for me.

The budgets, crowds, viewers, and medal counts are not the only big numbers coming out of these games. NBC reported ad sales for the 2012 Olympics at over 1 billion dollars. No doubt other media, particularly in the UK,  are seeing an increase in sales too.

Where are those numbers and why are governing organizations or companies not touting them?

I suspect it has a little to do with fragmentation and even more to do with marketing. You might want to pick up that torch and run with it too.

photo: Jim Mead