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.
