Will You Tune into the World’s Most Popular Sport Tournament?

This Thursday kicks off the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and I could not be more excited about it.  Though you wouldn’t know it living in Mid-Missouri, soccer or futbol for everyone who isn’t in America, is the world’s most popular sport. Don’t believe me, just look at these statistics from the 2010 World Cup:

According to FIFA (Federation International of Football Association) in the 2010 World Cup:

• ·         909.6 million worldwide television viewers watched at least 1 minute of the Final game between Spain and Netherlands played in Johannesburg, South Africa
• ·         It topped 1 billion viewers if you include online viewers and public places
• ·         64 matches were played by 32 countries in a 1-month span
• ·         Over 3.2 billion worldwide, which was 46.4% of the world’s population watched at least 1 minute of live coverage of those 64 matches
• ·         FIFA earned $2.4 billion in broadcasting deals tied to the tournament

Still don’t think the World Cup is that big of an event? Tell that to Nike, Adidas, Coca-Cola, Budweiser, McDonald’s and Visa all of whom are forking millions over for this month-long event.  Not only do I thoroughly enjoy watching the matches and rooting for the underdog US, but the commercials building up the World Cup are amazingly entertaining.  Some of my all-time favorite commercials are the Nike World Cup commercials.  They are able to grasp the compassion, the heart and the skill of all the world’s best players all in a short story (they’re never you’re traditional 30-second commercial).  U.S. advertisers spent $378 million on marketing products during soccer telecasts last year, a 43% increase from 2010, when the prior games were held, according to a study published by Nielsen on Monday.  This is important because if you’ve ever watched a soccer game, there are no commercial breaks.  Except for halftime, it’s rare to cut away for a commercial break during the continuous 90-minute half.

This is where social media comes into play, as it has exponentially grown from 2010 to 2014.  There were no such things as hashtags back in 2010.  Now, marketers are taking full advantage of trending hashtags during the games.  Companies such as Kia, Volkswagon, Marriott and Johnson & Johnson have already started to get buzz behind their hashtags, hoping these interactions will be trending during the games.  It should be interesting how companies will be advertising and marketing their brand through social media in accordance to the World Cup.

So, I leave you something to think about while watching the countries collide starting this Thursday. Watch for advertisements and how companies are marketing their brand around the world throughout these matches. After all, there is going to be a lot of people watching. GO USA!!