Branding & Advertising Lessons from the World Cup 2018

Picture credit: FIFA.com

Football is the most popular sport in the world. It’s easy to understand (except maybe what an offside really is), has a huge segment of casual fans and everyone of all ages and economic background can play; all you need is a ball. This summer in Russia, the World Cup 2018 was the highlight of the year and fan or no fan, everybody was feeling the hype.

With millions of viewers guaranteeing their attention to the screen for a full one hour and a half (plus halftime and extra time), any brand would think advertising and branding in this event is a good idea. The brand value of the World Cup is estimated to be at USD 229 million, making it the third most valuable sports event in the world, after the Superbowl and the Olympics.

From sports brands like Adidas and Nike to electronics brands like Vivo and Hisense, big brands were fighting over the spotlight through partnerships and sponsorships. Regional media partners were also scrambling for exclusive broadcasting rights. In the interest of their valuable sponsors, FIFA had strictly prohibited players and their delegates from showing any brands other than the sponsors throughout the tournament. Most recently, a Swedish player was heavily fined for wearing a pair sock that was not Adidas during a match.

While we may not be able to fork out millions to sponsor and win bids for promotional rights, we can still talk about the World Cup. It’s a great way to engage with customers who are likely to be fans of the game, aside from getting your brand known during this surge of social media shares and Google searches.

So what can we learn about branding and advertising in the World Cup? How do other brands, yours including, can benefit from this seasonal hype of intensified nationalism for a foreign country?

Branding lessons

1. The sheer branding opportunity of the FIFA World Cup.
   Although it was said that FIFA was struggling to find sponsors for this round’s World Cup, sponsorship continues to be the driving factor of the game’s successful marketing. In exchange for paying FIFA, sponsors will get millions of brand awareness from viewers across the world.
   Adidas is an exclusive sponsor of FIFA, winning rights not only to promote their brand in the World Cup, but other international football tournaments under FIFA until 2030. This move is crucial for Adidas to win brand recognition against archrivals Nike and Puma besides positioning Adidas as the best brand for football equipment. The Telstar 18 ball, the star of every World Cup 2018 match, bears their logo in all their glory.
   

   Picture credit: wikipedia.org

2. The positive correlation between brands and football fans.
   A survey on World Cup sponsorship showed that football fans react positively to brands they see in the tournament. Half of the football fans studied are brand conscious, while most of them are loyal to a brand once engaged. This furthers incentivise brands to secure their sponsorship positions. Even in other football tournaments, fans are observed to be loyal to brands partnered with a club or country. In addition to the amount of merchandise these brands sells to fans, it’s no wonder why Adidas keep sponsoring and partnering with not just football clubs, but football stars themselves, with the likes of Mesut Ozil and Fernando Torres being poster boys for the brand.

Advertising lessons

1. Being culturally sensitive & informed in advertising.
   You would think that this is pretty obvious and shouldn’t need to be said, but even large, global brands are sometimes not spared from overlooking inappropriate ads and campaigns.

   During the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Dutch airline KLM had to pull down a post on Twitter after offending the Mexicans through a racist ad. The Twitter post, published after the Dutch team defeated the Mexicans, depicted a sombrero-wearing moustachioed caricature beside an airport departure sign. After receiving many angry tweet replies, KLM had the post immediately taken down and issued an apology, learning that racism is never funny.

   A more recent campaign blunder was stirred by Mastercard through a campaign to donate food for children for every goal scored by Messi or Neymar. It was well-intended but the public did not agree. The campaign appeared short-sighted, opportunistic and even cruel to leave the fate of children in the hands of football millionaires. While some say the campaign had good intentions, it translated poorly to the public and Mastercard cancelled the campaign due to the negative reaction they received.

   Mastercard made a pledge to donate food to 10,000 children with every goal scored by the two Latin American football superstars. It was canceled days after the announcement due to heavy criticism from the public.

   

   Picture credit: thedrum.com

2. How emotional appeal can connect a brand better to the audience</br/>Football season is a time to gather around and put aside differences to watch 22 men kicking a ball around. It’s a significant time for a lot of people, therefore advertising with an emotional pull appeals well.</br/>

   Take the example of Astro, our local broadcaster of this year’s World Cup. Their commercial captures the football fever with humour and relatability. The 2-minute long promo pokes fun at the many ways we get distracted from our daily tasks just so we can watch football. It’s ticklish, but it also showcases what Astro offers its subscribers; an unlimited stream of football matches on multiple devices. </br/>

   Other brands like Nike also advertised their support for the Brazilian team, pulling off the emotions of perseverance, grit and determination and managed to make the audience feel pumped-up to watch a game. Nike is the sponsor of the Brazilian team.

3. The power of social media for brands</br/>Viewers and fans will tweet and share posts about recent matches on social media. Many brands would jump at the opportunity in the hopes of getting some attention in the vast social media universe. You don’t have to be a sports brand to talk about the World Cup on your Facebook or Twitter account (hey, look at us!).</br/>

   Local RTM radio Traxx.fm’s Facebook page managed to get some engagement by sharing some fun trivia about the World Cup and football, which led to better brand recognition. Even we ourselves can’t help but join in the conversation.</br/>

   On the month the World Cup was talked about the most during the knockout rounds, we shared some statistics about brands and football fans, news about the game’s sponsors, and even wrote this article! The conversation has to be relatable to the topic and your brand. While you are talking about football, you want your audience to know of your brand identity, without appearing too hard-selling.

What’s next in Qatar 2022?

The World Cup is a force to be reckoned with, despite its critics. It demonstrated the effect it can have towards a brand and the business, such as what happened after the German team shocked everyone with an early exit. Adidas, the sponsor of Die Mannschaft, saw their stock fell 4 Euros in the preceding days before slowly catching up again. </br/>

How we consume the World Cup will change over the next decade, what with mobile screening and social media sharing. However, the tournament itself is not going anywhere. As the game in Russia ends, Qatar is set to be the next host in 2022, then North America in 2026. One thing for sure, as long as there are football fans, there will be viewership. Thus, there will be sponsors and big brands fighting to grab a seat.