5 Reasons Every Marketer Should Care about the FIFA World Cup [INSIGHT]

By Lili Gil Valletta, Co-Founder XL Alliance. Media Contributor.
 
This week men, women and people of all ages from every corner of the world will gather around a TV set to join the passion of the World Cup and catch a hint of the spirit of Brazil. No other sport has the power to ignite the love for country and passion as soccer does during World Cup season, particularly for Hispanics. From an iconic Latin American destination to official music and entertainment featuring an all-star roster of Latino talent including Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez, Claudia Leitte and Shakira, this year’s championship is more infused with Latino flavor than ever before.
 
In 2010, it is estimated that 1 billion people tuned into the final game between Spain and the Netherlands in Johannesburg; compare that to the 115 million people who tuned into the matchup between the Seahawks and Broncos.
 
But in a country where football seems to matter more than fútbol, why should marketers and brands care?
 
1.      Population and Country Representation

At 53 million strong, Hispanics are not only the fastest growing consumer segment but also represent a significant share of fans that plan to tune into the World Cup. According to Pew, 46 percent of Hispanics are looking forward to the World Cup, while only 15 percent of non-Hispanic whites are. That is an estimated total of at least 24.3 million Hispanics who are likely take part in this summer’s sport phenomenon. 

Also, the lineup brings a concentration of Latin flavor. The first six consecutive matches of the tournament feature the teams of Latin nations (Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Chile, Colombia and Uruguay),  followed by three more on Sunday, June 15th (Ecuador, Honduras and the first game of power-house Argentina). There will be no doubt that the kick-off of the world’s biggest cultural event will resonate with U.S. Latino households from coast to coast. In fact, all the countries of Hispanic/ Latino descent who are set to fight for the title in the World Cup account for 36 million people in the U.S. as outlined on the chart below.

2.      The Univision Factor
 
An investment in Spanish-language television is a strategic advantage for any marketer with or without official rights. In 2010, Univision attracted more than TWICE the number of viewers than ESPN for the opening match of the World Cup, and went on to set new Spanish-language ratings records (at the time) throughout the tournament – with tune-in audiences reaching up to 8.7 million viewers despite the large time difference to South Africa.
 
Four years later and with an expanded multimedia platform and unparalleled audience growth, Univision will once again set new audience records with its coverage of La Copa Mundial – as there is now an even bigger Hispanic population in the United States, and they have already propelled Univision to clear wins in summer ratings (as seen last July when the network was #1 overall in 18-34 and 18-49 viewers  regardless of language).  It is also evident that young, soccer loving Latinos are having bigger domestic ratings impact now, as UniMás’ broadcast of the most recent MLS Cup Final out-delivered ESPN in total viewers – marking the first time a Spanish-language broadcast of the MLS final beat the English broadcast.
 
Beyond capturing the hearts of Latinos in Spanish and celebrating the passion with an iconic “GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL,” Univision’s impressive breadth and depth in coverage makes it the leading source for everything fútbol, regardless of language. Univision’s broad coverage is set to attract many non-Spanish speaking fans that are limited to only 10 matches to be broadcasted on ABC, while Univision will broadcast 56 matches of 64.
 
3.      Beyond a Sponsorship

After broadcasting rights, sponsorships represent the highest source of revenue for FIFA. FIFA is expected to generate $4 billion in revenue for the upcoming tournament, with $1.4 billion coming from sponsorship revenue from 22 companies ($2.6 billion will be generated by TV rights to the matches). Since the 2006 World Cup, sponsorship revenue increased 33 percent for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and is expected to increase another 10 percent for the 2014 edition.

Six top-tier partners — Adidas, Coca-Cola, Emirates, Hyundai, Sony, Visa — pay a combined $177.125 million annually, for a total of $708.5 million over four years. Eight second-tier sponsors — Budweiser, Castrol, Continental, Johnson & Johnson, McDonald’s, Moy Park, Oi, Yingli — collectively pay $524 million. About $120 million has been earned from Brazilian ‘national sponsors,’ according to the 2011-13 financial reports.

But, what if you are not a blue chip giant with millions to spare? That is when marketing savvy kicks in.

Many brands like JC Penney, Volkswagen, Verizon and GLAD have infused their television spots with the spirit of fútbol, soccer chants or playful parallels to the GOOOOAL! JC Penney’s spot, closing with the tagline “cuanto te sienta bien lo sientes” (when it looks good on you, you feel it) portrays a very powerful spirit of women as super fans, who are strong, engaged, empowered and passionate. This is certainly a very unique insight many times missed by most marketers, given that women are as involved in the sport-fanatica as their male counterparts.

Also, YouTube has become the people’s network to broadcast brilliant videos filled with emotion and star power. While Adidas is an official FIFA sponsor, Nike’s “Winner Stays On” has surpassed its reach digitally with an action packed video. The Nike  “Winner Stays On” video has been viewed 65 million times, and the Adidas  “Introducing the Battle Pack” video has been seen more than eight million times through Wednesday.

At the local and retail levels, brands big and small are cleverly leveraging the green and yellow of the FIFA logo and soccer-related messaging, events and merchandising to ride the wave without breaking the bank.

4.                  The Power of Digital
 
There are 33.5 million Hispanics online, and the social and highly engaged community is notorious for over-indexing in almost every stat around online video consumption, sharing, creating and mobile usage.

These behaviors give marketers fertile ground to maximize an ever more engaged and highly connected fan base during this year’s event. In May, Google released a jaw-dropping report which confirms soccer as the most popular sport in the planet. Soccer has more interest on Google Search than the Super Bowl, the Olympics and the Tour de France combined (worldwide search trends data).

In 2010, about 18 percent of searches for games, players and teams during the World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands were done on a mobile device. In 2014, 63 percent of searches during a late-round Champions League match were done on a mobile device—a  precursor of what Google expects to find during the World Cup.

“Compared to last year, we have seen a 233 percent growth in soccer-related searches on Google in the United States,” Brad Johnsmeyer, the company’s Insights manager, said in a telephone interview.

Whether with an app, a drinking game or simply hosting country-specific Twitter parties; digital is a fertile ground for mass reach and engagement that is also cost effective.
 
5.      Globalization and Scalability
 
There is no better stage than the World Cup to showcase your brand’s spirit and offering to a world of consumers. This is particularly important for global companies that are able to leverage the multimillion dollar investment to build worldwide equity. This is particularly true for companies like Coca- Cola, Adidas, Hyundai, Adidas, Budweiser and Johnson & Johnson, whose global distribution and presence allow for scalability.  For some, like Budweiser, the event has given them a platform to lobby for increase trial.

Analytic Partners reports that on its eighth consecutive World Cup, Budweiser has been able to secure pouring rights for all World Cup venues, and will likely score points off the field due to their role in getting the Brazilian government to temporarily lift the ban of alcohol sales at stadiums.  Driving trial at matches being attended by fans from around the world may help break down the barriers American beers have faced – often being criticized as ‘watered down’ versions of ‘real’ beer.

In line with Pitbull’s official song, the 2014 FIFA World Cup celebrates that “We are One”, regardless of country or race, we all speak the language of soccer this summer, and those brands that speak it increase their odds at winning la copa!
 
Lili Gil Valletta is an award-winning entrepreneur, media contributor and cofounder of XL Alliance, a multicultural cross-channel marketing firm. She is also a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and board member of the Harvard Women’s Leadership Board. You can follow Lili on twitter @liligil <http://www.twitter.com/liligil>  and visit her channel at Youtube.com/liligil. For more insights and trends about Hispanic marketing please subscribe to HispanicAd.com.