Sports

Some rules in soccer, as in other sports, are based on absolutes: if the ball crosses the touchline it’s out of bounds. The offside rule is different; it’s based on the relative position of players from both teams.  Culture has the same effect on language; it makes the meaning of words relative. There is no better example of this than an event that captures the attention of all Hispanics from different places: the World Cup.

This fully integrated marketing effort, crafted specifically for the World Cup, included TV, digital and social elements, all utilizing the #MeAgarroElGol hashtag. The intent of the campaign was to capture the excitement and thrill of celebrating a goal during the World Cup. Anytime. Anywhere.

If you’ve had sporadic communication with some of your South Florida-based peers and clients since June 12, you’re likely not alone.  By Adam R Jacobson

The 2014 FIFA World Cup is, to date, the most-streamed event ever. Obviously, the fact that technology today is a lot more “stream-friendly” than during World Cup 2010 helps a lot, with a far larger global audience living online with access to higher speeds and better devices. But we should also recognize that this high online streaming rate is not just a matter of better technology, but reflects a need that is being met.

The so called “American Exceptionalism” is still alive and well. The United States continues to live to the beat of its own and unique drumbeat. The belief in the “American Dream” and its meritocracy continues to be strong. Millions of people around the world still desperately want to come to “the land of opportunity,” the country that continuously advocates and supports democracy, freedom and liberty around the world.  By Carlos G Giron

As the 2014 FIFA World Cup lights up screens and social feeds across the U.S., Nielsen Social is compiling a weekly wrap-up of all the action on Twitter to make sure you have a firsthand look at the minutes and matches that are igniting the social stadium.

I am writing to you this week from the U.K. where, as those who have followed the goings-ons of the World Cup will understand, all the national team merchandise is on sale at half price. Get yer Rooney gear cheap!   Anyway, in this third World Cup post I wanted to look at World Cup sponsor recognition research. After 10 years at Coca-Cola and over 3 years at Anheuser Busch-InBev,  I know what it’s like to be an official sponsor. I have negotiated directly with FIFA and so am somewhat familiar with the ins and outs.

Chatting and posting on social—especially on Facebook—has proven to be a common trend during this year’s FIFA World Cup, so it comes as no surprise that social platforms are helping brands extend their reach and get their ads in front of more followers.

Entravision Communications Corporation announced that its television and radio broadcasts of the 2014 FIFA World Cup have generated strong ratings to date across its platform of television, radio and digital properties.

In a joint effort, Richards/Lerma and digital agency Digiworks introduce The Social Cup; a dynamic dashboard where users can see which country garnered the most mentions, the ultimate Dream Team, how many “friendly” messages the referees have received and more.

The World Cup is one of the best, real-time and global brand sponsorship opportunities, but it seems a brand doesn’t need to shell out hefty sponsorship fees to FIFA to get the benefit of it. More than a third of consumers identified MasterCard as a sponsor of the 2014 futbol games, even though MasterCard has not been an official sponsor since 2006.

Week two of the global FIFA World Cup party. So far the event is delivering great entertainment, except when you are Brazil. Brazil’s team is struggling to live up to its unrealistic lofty fan expectations, and there are still daily protests in Brazil against the enormous expense at which this festival comes. The Brazilians love football, but hate FIFA and their own government.

By Gonzalo López Martí @LopezMartiMiami

The World Cup is here. If you’ve been watching the games on Univision like yours truly, you might have been exposed to the barrage of fútbol-related ads. Let’s rate and dissect a few of them.

Methodology? Unaided recall filtered by sixteen long years in the ad business. I just sat through a bunch of games and then proceeded to write what popped in my mind sans rhyme or reason.

Disclaimer: I coined the names of each spot solely for reference purposes. They are NOT the actual names given them by the brands or agencies behind them.

Telemundo introduced a new version of its Deportes Telemundo app for mobile devices as part of a re-launch of its digital sports platforms.

According to ZenithOptimedia’s new Advertising Expenditure Forecasts, the FIFA World Cup will boost global adspend by an estimated US$1.5bn this year. The event will deliver large television audiences and high interest in news media and sport websites, at a time of year when – in the northern hemisphere at least – people normally spend less time consuming media. We expect TV to benefit the most, but World Cup advertisers will spend more of their budgets on internet advertising, with advertisers more active on social media than during any previous sporting event.

I don’t have much time, because the World Cup is on and my home country, The Netherlands, has gotten off to a pretty amazing start. But I also follow England, Belgium, Team USA, Brazil, Japan and Germany (the last one I want to see losing, just like any other Dutchman, only to probably see them win the whole tournament). OK, I will admit I watch the whole thing beginning to end.

How much value is generated from sponsoring the World Cup? Or its superstars, such as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? Here are five metrics that are crucial to finding out.

While Brazil has had some hiccups in its preparations, the economic windfall from hosting the World Cup could be upwards to $65B. The influx of visitors alone will generate over $3B for Brazil. The World Cup is a momentous event and with that comes a stage for introducing innovative concepts and pushing marketing to new heights.

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.  By Lili Gil Valletta, Co-Founder XL Alliance. Media Contributor.

A new graphic using statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau’s International Data Base shows the populations of the 32 participating countries in this year’s FIFA World Cup and past champions. The combined population of this year’s participating countries is 1.9 billion.