Social Media has become the obvious resource for teams when it comes to being able to get word out about their participation at either the summer or winter Olympic Games.  Last year was claimed to be the first ‘Social Olympics’ with all the major nations using a variety of platforms to engage with fans.

Sochi 2014 is well under way, although some of the facilities don’t look that way at the moment, and Team USA has become the first to launch a campaign ahead of the Games.  Theirs does have a commercial twist as they look to raise funds through fans by getting them to invest is merchandise to help support the team.  According to the campaign microsite;

“The Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games are years in the making for hundreds of Team USA athletes. Support their hard work and dedication today by purchasing your “Go USA” mittens for $14 a pair, then Raise Your Hands for Team USA and watch our Olympic and Paralympic athletes go for the gold in Russia!”

The campaign kicked off with a video being posted on Instagram, just as Team USA held their media launch in park City, Utah, by former Olympic ice skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi.  It’s an interesting initiative and one that has a very clear metric, get people to buy the mittens.  According to Lisa Baird (Team USA) on Twitter there were 373 snapped up in the first 36 hours.  Pretty impressive!

In looking at the hashtag they seem to have one unfortunate snag when it comes to following the online conversation on Twitter.  The tag is also being used by fans around a new song that has come out in the US which is dominating the thread.

On the microsite it looks like more ways in which to become involved will be happening with a ‘chance to join in the conversation’ listed as ‘coming soon’.  With many teams running on limited budgets, their use of digital platforms to raise funds will be interesting to see over the coming months and years.

The other thing they did well as part of their digital approach was during the summit/launch.  Not only did they keep people updated as to what was happening but they ran a series of Google Hangouts with team members and special guests.  They’re making a big effort to involve fans as much as possible ahead of a big year for their athletes in Russia.

Happy October! Are you ready to #RaiseYourHands for #TeamUSA? http://t.co/ad7xIQVviK {Instagram Video}

— U.S. Olympic Team (@TeamUSA) October 1, 2013

For everyone asking about the Go USA mittens… #RaiseYourHands https://t.co/tQo9DmaQBa

— U.S. Olympic Team (@TeamUSA) October 1, 2013

Go behind the scenes w/ #TeamUSA’s newest star! Check out "A Day in the Life of the 'Go USA' Mittens" http://t.co/bujP4wv3XJ #RaiseYourHands

— U.S. Olympic Team (@TeamUSA) October 5, 2013