Contest Category: Event PR

Title of the campaign: Olympic Station

Contest category: Event PR

Summary

Latvian Railway, as a partner of the Latvian Olympic Committee, decided to implement a project related to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi with the involvement of the public. The company decided to make the games more broadly available, and during the Olympics, the Rīga Central Train Station was turned into an Olympic Station full of the atmosphere and spirit of the Olympic Games.

At the centre of the event was an enormous (4x3 metre) television screen, and visitors to the station could watch the competition and cheer for Latvian athletes every day from early morning to late in the evening. Other television monitors featured information about athletes and their achievements. People could send video greetings to the athletes, and they could have their picture taken on an improvised awards pedestal.

The aim of the event was to strengthen and improve the reputation of Latvian Railway, also establishing emotional links with the competition.

The Olympic Station was visited by more than 50,000 people a day. The activities were reflected on 18 different media outlets (24 print articles and stories on television and radio).

In the spring of 2014, the Corporate Reputation Study showed that Latvian Railway rose from 36th to 24th place, also being declared as the 3rd best company in terms of public views about “socially responsible enterprises.”

Pre-research/situation

A study conducted by the Latvijas Fakti research company in 2013 found that the people of Latvia expect large state-owned companies to support nationally important events. The study found that Latvian Railway, as one of those companies, was expected to support various sports events, particularly those of national or international significance. A study of the image of Latvian Railway found that the image of the company was fairly stodgy and conservative. The company was seen as old-fashioned, bureaucratic, alienated from the public and a typical state-owned enterprise.

Steps have been taken in recent years to improve Latvian Railway’s reputation in the business environment and the public at large while also ensuring that the company’s image becomes more friendly and accessible.

Challenge

The Olympic Games, particularly the winter games, are usually watched in a cosy atmosphere – at home or with friends at a café, as opposed to a public thoroughfare where it is not possible to sit down comfortably. The risk with the Olympic Station was that people would not make active use of it.

At the same time, however, this was a great opportunity, because the central station is large and has a huge flow of individuals. Latvian Railway was inspired to create Olympic emotions and to allow people to watch live broadcasts from the Olympics and to support Latvia’s athletes at the games. This was because fans usually watch the Olympics on TV, but there is no direct link to the athletes or the Olympics as such.

Objectives

The objective of the Olympic Station was to allow people to feel a sense of presence in terms of the Olympics, to conjure up an Olympic spirit, and to facilitate the active involvement of people in the Olympics right here in Latvia.

The aim of the event was to strengthen and improve the reputation of Latvian Railway at to form emotional links with the company. The target audience was the public at large and, specifically, visitors to the Central Train Station.

The prognosis was that 50,000 people a day would visit the Olympic Station, or 850,000 people over the course of the 17 days of the games. This would establish positive links between Latvian Railway and the Latvian Olympic team and its achievements.

Strategy

The Olympics offer unique content and a sense of competition. They are one of the most emotional events in the world and, clearly, one of the largest and most-watched events. To link Latvian Railway to the Olympic movement and thus establish emotional links among the Olympics, Latvian Railway and the public, it was decided to bring the sports event closer to the people, organising an opportunity to watch the games on big screens at the Central Trail Station, as well as to take part in a series of other activities as part of the Olympic Station.

Implementation

• One week before the opening of the Olympic Station, a news conference was organised at the Latvian Museum of Railway History, with the participation of members of the Olympic team, the president of Latvia, and managers from Latvian Railway. The news conference was meant to announce the Olympic Station, and the Latvian Railway team submitted a video greeting to Latvia’s Olympic team.
• The infrastructure of the Central Train Station was used for the Olympic Station. There is a vast flow of more than 50,000 people a day through the station, and the station has large rooms for projects of this type.
• The visual design of the Olympic Station was produced in partnership with the Latvian Olympic Committee, making use of its visual communications platform – “Mighty Forces from Latvia.”
• The opening of the Olympic Station featured an air hockey competition, with a team from Latvian Railway competing against a team from SIA Lattelecom and against teams of audience members assembled on site for the medals that were available.
• The Olympics were live-streamed on a big (4x3 m) screen from 5:00 AM to midnight every day, with two smaller screens to reflect information about the members of the Latvian Olympic team, their start times at the games, and their achievements there.
• Visitors to the Olympic Station could send video greetings to Latvia’s team in Sochi, as well as to have their picture taken on an improvised Olympic awards pedestal. Those who published their photos on Latvian Railway’s Facebook profile could win one of five original Olympic mascots – the teddy bear Mishka.

Documented results

• There is always a traffic flow at the Central Train Station, but the Olympic Station slowed people down, and particularly when Latvian athletes were competing, there were huge crowds of viewers at the big screen, thus confirming that the Olympic Station was fulfilling its intended functions.
• More than 50,000 people visited the Olympic Station each day.
• Approximately 700 video greetings sent to Latvian Olympic team.
• There were 24 publications in 18 media outlets about the Olympic Station.
• During subsequent months, Latvian Railway rose from 36th to 24th place in terms of corporate reputation, and it was ranked 3rd among socially responsible enterprises (the Corporate Reputation Study 2014, Nords Porter Novelli).
• The main thing was a mass of positive emotions.

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