Angus Keene, head of client partnerships, at Twitter Australia.
After a year that took away one of the nation's favourite pass time, live sports are back for 2021.
And, with the exciting news that Brisbane is the frontrunner for the 2032 Olympics, sporting fever is returning across Australia.
Set to be the year of sports, the Australian Open 2021 reminded us of the deep-rooted emotional affinity that Aussies have with sport and with the Olympics potentially just months away too, it brings with it great opportunities for brands to tap into sports and cultural moments.
The Australian Open was a great testament to this. Brands such as Sportsbet.com.au and ANZ used the opportunity to amplify their messages on Twitter and extend their traditional sponsorship with the Open.
Bondi Sands tapped into the global cultural moment to show its support for sporting stars whilst Vegemite had fun with the moment, creating a quintessentially Aussie interactive campaign.
The likes of Stan and Uber Au also jumped on the cultural moment to reach highly engaged Aussies.
As we lead up to the Olympics, it is a good reminder for brands to think about how they can tap into these cultural moments.
Sports has long been synonymous with Australian culture and this presents the perfect opportunity to leverage an unprecedented audience beyond the track and field.
In our recent study with MAGNA, we found that Aussies want and expect brands to be involved in culture.
It plays a hugely important role in shaping purchase decisions and is almost as important as having a positive brand reputation.
Looking ahead to some of the biggest sporting events in the calendar for 2021 is a prime opportunity for brands to tap into these sporting cultural moments to engage and connect with Aussies.