Battle of the Brands: Winner Takes World Cup
As the end of the 2010 World Cup drew near, tension among sports fans rose—and you can bet businesses took full advantage. Yet who won the battle of the brands on the web? If you’re automatically assuming FIFA’s sponsors (who, by the way, paid $125 million each to become so), think again. This year’s World Cup digital marketing extravaganza has witnessed a huge surge in “ambush marketing”—strategic advertising in which non-sponsor companies imply affiliation with a specific event so successfully that they hijack attention from the actual sponsors. But how are they getting away with it you ask? Verrrrry sneakily…
Sliding One Past the Goalie
Technically, true ambush marketing involves directly passing oneself or one’s company off as an official sponsor by using an event’s official branding imagery/methods. Successful companies like Pepsi, however, have found a loophole—avoiding any specific reference to or visual image of FIFA, the World Cup, the Jabulani football, or the mascot, the Coca-Cola rival instead opted for equally associative (but not officially prohibited) triggers like African scenery/music, images of the vuvuzela, and settings that evoke World Cup locales. For a perfect example, check out Pepsi’s viral ad featuring star players in the World Cup. The company’s campaign hasn’t quite caught up to official sponsor Coke’s, but this YouTube movie has received approximately the same number of hits as its competitor’s more involved Coke music video featuring World Cup spectators around the world supporting their national teams.
Creating Your Own League
Alternatively, several companies lacking the necessary resources or clout to become official sponsors have decided to capitalize on separate deals with individual teams and players. While Pepsi’s video clearly illustrates success with the former tactic, Carlsberg Beer’s relationship with the English national football team has propelled it far beyond official World Cup beer sponsor Budweiser.
The Best Offense Is… Well, A Good Offense
Perhaps the most widely discussed instance of quasi-ambush marketing can be attributed to Nike. While official sponsor Adidas has only generated around 15% of online World Cup buzz, Nike has attracted 32%—and most of it with a well-timed, fast-paced, humorous social media campaign and viral video entitled “Write the Future.” Thus far the most successful of the World Cup online advertising endeavors, the clip has already garnered 17 million views—both a consequence of the month-long head-start Nike gained on Adidas, and the ad’s high-quality production value.
The Rules of the Game are Changing
So what have we learned from this year’s World Cup marketing evolution?
- While it may protect your TV or local presence, writing a sponsorship check no longer guarantees exclusive digital agency—any business, officially affiliated or not, can tap into almost any audience if they have web savvy
- Subtlety is key—note that not all companies who practiced ambush marketing were successful (see the Bavaria Beer debacle)
- A head start can be equally as important—going viral takes time
- Vuvuzelas will always be annoying, in any format or setting
And, keep in mind—it’s not only the official sponsors and their competitors taking advantage of the worldwide soccer fervor. Completely unaffiliated companies like LEGO are continuing to push the creative envelope (check out this Lego-ized reenactment of Britain vs. US), while smaller businesses have an arsenal of apps, World Cup themed backgrounds, and digital filmmaking programs at their disposal. So get in on the game!
Related posts:
