Over 28 million people tuned into NBCUniversal's airing of the Olympics on August 9, 2024, almost doubling the audience for the comparable Thursday during the Toyko Olympics four years earlier. And that doesn't count the many other networks that had rights to air the Olympics in global markets.
What captivated us? Hooked us for two weeks?
The hero journey stories are what make the Olympics compelling! These stories, and following them to their completion, are what kept you and I glued to our TVs night after night.
They’re stories of triumph, adversity, resilience, hope, joy, grit, determination.
We learned during the Paris Olympics that:
Simone Biles, the greatest gymnast of all time, dealt publicly with mental health struggles over the last four years after having to pull out of the Tokyo Olympics. The GOAT finally got redemption in Paris — to the tune of three golds and one silver.
Sha’Carri Richardson, the fastest woman in the world, was disqualified from the Tokyo Olympics one month before the games. She was expected to win gold there but never got her chance. In Paris, she finally became a gold medalist.
Katie Ledecky, the world’s fastest female swimmer, set out to make Olympic history with a fourth straight gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle swim. She conquered the challenge and became the most decorated American female athlete of the Olympics with 14 total medals.
Suni Lee, Tokyo’s all-around gold medal champion, battled two forms of kidney disease in the last few years, making her appearance at the Paris games uncertain up until the last minute. She helped the US women’s team win gold and she, herself won bronze in the all-around and uneven bars.
Rai Benjamin, the 400-meter hurdler, missed the gold by less than one second in Tokyo. He came to the Paris Olympics with a (gold) chip on his shoulder — and won, beating the same athlete that beat him four years earlier by six-tenths of a second.
Steven Nedoroscik, or should I say Clark Kent, earned a spot on the men’s US gymnastics team for only one job: to compete in his specialist event, the pommel horse. US team coaches made a big bet — that his routine had a score so high that it would increase the overall score of the team enough to lead it to its first medal in 16 years. Their bets paid off. The US team took the podium for bronze.
Yes, the races, meets, games, and matches are exciting, but we’re all rooting for the individual athletes to rise to the occasion, overcome challenges that have stood in their way, and defeat all odds. That’s what we’re really rooting for. That’s what makes us cheer, clap, and cry in our living rooms.
For these very same reasons, hero’s journey stories are also what make brands compelling.
What are hero’s journey stories?
Hero’s journey stories feature a protagonist character or hero who goes on a journey, confronts and overcomes obstacles, and returns home transformed.
When a brand shares the transformative journeys of its customers – like the Olympics share the journeys of its athletes – through all of their downs, moments of despair and uncertainty, to the ups where champions are made, they create emotional investment in their brand that enjoys long-term benefits such as brand trust and loyalty.
Content brands master the hero’s journey
Joseph Campbell, a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College, popularized the hero’s journey in his 1949 book “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.” In it, he outlined 17 stages of the hero’s journey (although it’s not necessary to use all 17) with three acts:
Departure
Initiation
Return
I appreciate StoryBrand’s interpretation of the hero’s journey because it focuses on leveraging stages of the hero’s journey for a brand storytelling application.
In a nutshell, it requires a brand to understand its customers' problems intimately. Upon uncovering your customers' deepest desires and fears, you can convey how your brand can solve your customers’ problems to help them achieve their desired transformative outcomes.
Here’s how it works:
The hero = your customer
Who has a problem: external (something the hero wants to achieve), internal (the struggles that hold him or her back), and philosophical (the higher purpose struggle)
The hero meets a guide (your brand) who understands his or her problems
The guide gives the hero a plan to overcome their problem
And calls the hero to action
You show the hero the success of going with your plan
Or failure if they don’t
The hero goes with your plan and wins!
Simone Biles, Sha’Carri Richardson, Katie Ledecky, Suni Lee, Rai Benjamin, and Steven Nedoroscik didn’t let their prior obstacles or limitations block them from returning to compete in the Paris Olympics. In fact, along the way, they met guides in the form of coaches to help them with a new plan to work through their setbacks of the last four years so they could emerge stronger in the Paris Olympics and conquer the ultimate victory: the gold medal.
Through the hero’s journey lens, can you now see why you cared so much to watch the Olympians compete?
You learned the stories — and all the guts and glory — behind the medals. Those stories got you invested in wanting to see each Olympian achieve their gold medal dreams.
Use the hero’s journey stories of the Olympics as inspiration for building bold and noteworthy content for your brand. Tell the hero’s journey stories of your customers and you’ll be more successful at fostering an emotional connection with your audience. Remember your audience makes all decisions — including attention and buying decisions – with their heart first.
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