The FIFA World Cup is upon us and of course, from a research point of view, the way brands capitalise on such a huge global event to increase their penetration and improve their image is a fascinating component of the tournament. Of course we expect to see huge companies like Nike and Adidas featuring football stars in advertising to further their association with the sport, but there are plenty of examples of how this can work in far less obvious ways.
This World Cup has been commonly referred to as a genuinely second-screen phenomenon, with Twitter especially creating functions that help to facilitate discussion and sharing on matches as they are played. Brands should seek to capitalise on this and many do so. The bookmaker Paddy Power have a particularly effective social media team who keep their posts relevant and humorous, such as this guide on how to spend the first evening with no game:
The marketing of gambling is a particularly interesting area, given that differentiation between bookmakers really boils down to little other than offering superior odds to competitors. However through effective positioning that resonates with the target consumer (i.e. sports fans), they can carve out a role for themselves and Paddy Power play this game better than most.
Since the World Cup is an event that seems to transcend general sporting interest though, jumping on the World Cup social media bandwagon is not only the jurisdiction of brands that one might commonly link to sport. Following Luis Suarez’ bite on Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini, opticians Specsavers posted an image on their Facebook page which has been widely shared due to the high profile nature of the incident and the amount of discussion around it:
So with this in mind, here is my star five-a-side team of brands who have caught my eye (in no particular order):
1) Nike: The Last Game (great animated mini-movie capturing what so many love about football - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy1rumvo9xc)
2) Panini (sticker collection promoted by the hashtag #gotgotneed which taps effectively into the social aspect of collecting and swapping stickers with friends)
3) Specsavers (Chiellini vs. Cannelloni)
4) Paddy Power (their entire Twitter feed https://twitter.com/paddypower)
5) MasterCard (image below – not directly from them but a strong enough tagline that this poor England fan has appropriated it to show his despair!)
