Pan Am Games a Huge Hit on TV and Social Media

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - July 28, 2015) - Despite the concerns of critics, the Pan Games in Toronto proved to be very popular with Canadians according to a new IPG Mediabrands project looking deeper into the television ratings and social media numbers.

"Before the Pan Am Games began, there was the impression that Canadians weren't interested in the event," says Chris Herlihey, Vice President Research at IPG Mediabrands. "Well, Canadians ended up loving Pan Am 2015! Full credit must go to the Canadian athletes and all the competitors, who thrilled us with so many memorable moments. Viewers were so enthralled that the CBC had to increase its planned coverage."

An infographic is associated with this press release: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/ipg_panaminfographic.pdf.

TV Numbers were Strong

• 22m Canadians watched the Pan Am Games (63% of the population)*
• Viewers were most likely to be families - 32% had kids under 18 at home, 40% aged 35-64, 26% Torontonians
• Viewers were families watching Canada's successes together
• 5.5m watched the Opening Ceremony*
• 20.7m watched event based coverage*
• 6m watched the Closing Ceremony*

"We also gave our thumbs and fingers a work-out sharing and giving social media shout-outs galore. Both the athletes and the Panamania events had us tweeting in the thousands," says Loraine Cordery, Insights Manager at IPG Mediabrands. "Kanye West, however, stole a significant amount of the spotlight by being the most talked about person of these Games."

Who Gives a Tweet?

• 345k tweets about the Pan Am Games
• 60% of tweeters were male, 44% aged 18-34, 61% Torontonians
• Tweeters were very likely to be tweeting live from the event - sharing the buzz
• 42k of tweets were on Opening Ceremony day (July 10^th)
• 280k of tweets were on non-ceremony days. Most tweets were driven by the events themselves and Panamania
• 24k of tweets were on Closing Ceremony day (July 26^th)
• 79.6k Instagram pics tagged with #TO2015 (*global number)

Most talked about people (Gold, Silver, Bronze)

1.	Kanye West	12.7k tweets
2.	Andre De Grasse	4.1k
3.	Pan Am Volunteers	3k

Most talked about events (Gold, Silver, Bronze)

1.	Baseball	10.8k tweets
2.	Rugby	6.7k
3.	Football/Soccer	5.2k

"The most talked about brand on Twitter was the CBC by far and away," adds Cordery. "CBC, and Toronto Star, were continually creating and sharing updates around Pan Am events via Twitter. They were a key resource for people to keep up to date on Team Canada's progress."

Brands on Twitter

1.	CBC	37.8k tweets
2.	Toronto Star	4.9k
3.	CN Tower	4.7k
4.	CIBC	3.5k
5.	Cirque du Soleil	1.4k
6.	Chevrolet	424
7.	Molson Canadian	309
8.	Cisco	253

The research and analysis conducted by IPG Mediabrands was based on Numeris, Sysomos, LeadSift and Toronto2015.org, covering 7^th July to 26^th July 2015. All data (apart from the Instagram stat) is Canadian.

*Source: Numeris (Unconfirmed data July 27^th), watched at least 1+ minute of the Pan Am Games

About IPG Mediabrands

IPG Mediabrands was founded by Interpublic Group (NYSE:IPG) in 2007 to manage all of its global media-related assets. Today that means we manage and invest $37 billion in global media on the behalf of our clients, employ over 7,500 diverse and daring marketing communication specialists worldwide and operate our company businesses in more than 127 countries.

A proven entity in helping clients maximize business results through integrated, intelligence-driven marketing strategies, IPG Mediabrands is committed to driving automated buying, pay-for-performance and digital innovation solutions. In Canada, IPG Mediabrands is represented by UM, Initiative, m2, Reprise, Orion and Cadreon.

To view the infographic associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/ipg_panaminfographic.pdf.