London 2012 v. Olympics 2012

Another story from Hitwise that got me thinking was their post on search terms to do with the Olympics. However, being British, I am more interested in how the Beijing Olympics are effecting interest in the London Olympics (i.e., the important Olympics). Therefore I had a look at what Google's Insights for Search could show (nb. Google's Insights for Search does not contravene my current Google Search cold turkey).


red line - olympics 2012
blue line - london 2012

Whilst there has been an understandable rise in interest in the 2012 Olympics, it would seem as though the world isn't associating it with London as much. Whilst 'london' was popular when the city was first awarded the Olympics ('F' on the graph), and when they launched their unpopular logo ('C' on the graph), it has seemingly failed in catching the current wave of Olympic fever. In 2008, only the UK and Ireland are searching for 'london 2012' more than 'olympics 2012'. Time for a brand push Mr Coe?