As the FIFA World Cup kicks off, advertisers are taking full advantage of this worldwide sporting event that unites fans around the world in excitement. Soccer is unifying in its passion, emotion and competitive spirit. Perhaps that is why the campaigns that have launched so far, for official sponsors and non-sponsors alike, all seem to have been developed from the same creative brief.
In the US today, advertisers are moving towards Total Market strategies – using a “singular insight to develop marketing communications that will resonate with a broad (total) market” (per Lee Vann, MediaPost Engage Hispanics). The World Cup seems to be taking this one step further – from Total Market, to Global Market.
Advertisers including Adidas, Coca-Cola, Visa, Budweiser and McDonalds have all developed campaigns centered on the passion of the game of soccer. This singular insight is illustrated through beautifully depicted scenes of soccer players and fans from around the world. Artistic and powerful, it’s likely these spots have broad appeal across consumers in all markets.
We know from research we’ve conducted around events like this (Super Bowl and Olympics), and around using Total Market approaches to reach across cultures in the US, that the strategy that these brands are using for the World Cup can work.
The World Cup is, in fact, similar to buying into the Olympics (and less like the Super Bowl), in that it:
- Brings people together in a positive emotional viewing experience.
- Provides an opportunity to build multiple exposures of a total multimedia campaign over a longer period of time.
However, we do have some concerns based on what we’ve seen so far from this year’s World Cup campaigns:
- With all brands vying over the same positioning, it’s going to be difficult to differentiate, stand apart from the clutter of similar ads, and turn engagement into branded engagement.
- Using a Global Market strategy is difficult to successfully execute. There’s a reason why cultural ad agencies exist – to tap into the mind and unique cultural nuances of individual groups. Using a singular approach across targets can be difficult in itself, but to translate this across nations is truly an art.
In order to make sure the World Cup investment pays off, advertisers should remember the same principles that make for effective advertising in any other environment. The trick will be to harness all of the positive emotions created by the event and translate it onto the brand.
