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Geopolitics

Why World Cup As Marketing Tool Scores Best In Latin America

Proportionally, the World Cup has more followers in the Latin American marketplace than any other region. It's a unique opportunity to tap into pure emotion of potential consumers.

Andre Silva of Nike-sponsored Portugal National Team in action during World Cup 2018 training
Andre Silva of Nike-sponsored Portugal National Team in action during World Cup 2018 training
Claudia Gioia

MIAMI — Beyond being the world's most popular sport, soccer is essential to any description of Latin American culture. It brings us moments of joy, emotion — and dismay — and it wouldn't be far-fetched to say this passion has helped us weather some of the tough real-life situations our countries have experienced over the years.

The World Cup is acknowledged as a superb opportunity for brands to win over consumers across the planet, but ours is a particularly important region in this regard — proportionally, more people will be watching the games here than in other regions in the world, according to a poll by Global Web Index. Here are some of the marketing trends we can expect through the World Cup, as brands try and maximize visibility riding a wave of mass emotions.

1 - Start early

National team sponsors began well before kickoff this year to fuel expectations around the World Cup. Those brands that understood what each country feels for its team were able to create emotive links with their audiences, especially through stories coming to life online. They included Nike and beer labels in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia. In countries whose national teams did not qualify, the trend was to promote quality time with family and friends watching the games themselves. In Chile, electronics brands positioned their most innovative products around watching the World Cup on the best possible television screen, table or smartphone. Cable operators like DIRECTV offered a better broadcasting experience, HD viewing, exclusive content and multi-screen technologies.

Successful brands within this World Cup are those that have understood the power of user generated content.

2 - A mobile Cup

People are increasingly using mobile technology, social networks and online platforms to access games at times and places of their choosing. Forbes recently found that 98% of sports marketing professionals choose digital spaces like networking sites to channel sponsorship. Increased use of personal devices (73% increase in Internet use) is pushing marketing strategies onto mobile platforms. In 2017, digital users spent twice as much time on their smartphones as they might typically before a computer. Argentina was the country with the most minutes per person spent on mobiles, followed by Mexico and Brazil, according to ComScore. So leading brands will want to exploit the current World Cup momentum to create mobile-compatible content and reach consumers via applications.

3 - Reinventing television

Amid fierce competition for viewer attention, television has had to reinvent itself, boosting program quality and offering brands valuable opportunities to reach consumers through mobile platforms. This World Cup, FIFA announced it would broadcast the games in Ultra-High Definition (UHD) and High Dynamic Range (HDR), which allow viewers to see them in virtual reality, live or with 360 video-on-demand. TV and cable firms will use such technologies to improve customer access to exclusive and HD content that are so much closer to reality. This could boost advertising revenues, benefiting the big channels with broadcasting rights.

4 - Exceptional experiences

Consumers will be at the heart of brand marketing strategies. Fans will live through some unique experiences and these can take them closer to brands and favorite players, but only, as the Brandz Top 100 report shows, if firms have accurate customer profiles and have invested in marketing intelligence.

5 - Consumer story power

Social influencers are important in marketing strategies, but successful brands within this World Cup are those that have understood the power of user generated content. Nike Brazil for example abandoned the traditional approach of presenting an official team shirt at a press event. Instead, it staged a bigger "event" by cloaking the avenues of Sao Paulo in yellow and green, the national colors. This, and a big concert, gave thousands of Brazilians direct visual access to football slogans and allowed them to recount and share the experience on social networks. Strategies based on deep knowledge of what consumers want and expect, are what allow brands to use the power of creativity to offer them real, unique audiovisual experiences that could boost brand loyalty in the context of one of the world's biggest sporting events.

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Society

Shakira, Miley Cyrus And The Double Standards Of Infidelity

Society judges men and women very differently in situations of adultery and cheating, and in divorce settlements. It just takes some high-profile cases to make that clear.

Photo of Bizarrap and Shakira for their song “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53”
Mariana Rolandi

-Analysis-

BUENOS AIRES — When Shakira, the Colombian pop diva, divorced her soccer star husband Gerard Piqué in 2022, she wrote a song to overcome the hurt and humiliation of the separation from Piqué, who had been cheating on her.

The song, which was made in collaboration with Argentine DJ Bizarrap and broke streaming records, was a "healthy way of channeling my emotions," Shakira said. She has described it as a "hymn for many women."

A day after its launch, Miley Cyrus followed suit with her own song on her husband's suspected affairs. Celebrities and influencers must have taken note here in Argentina: Sofía Aldrey, a makeup artist, posted screenshots of messages her former boyfriend had sent other women while they were a couple.

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