At the time of writing, England have reached the semi-finals of the 2018 Fifa World Cup. By the time you’re reading this, we could be world champions or lamenting what could have been.
World Cup fever has undoubtedly taken the entire world by storm this year. That was inevitable, but the collective feeling that this has been a brilliant tournament and England’s incredible ascent seems to have made it dominate conversations even more.
As a marketer this can be one of two things: a dream opportunity to latch onto a massive sporting event in order to promote products and services, or a nightmare audience that is far more interested in what’s going on in Russia than they are in your brand.
Personally, I think it’s the former. Here’s why!
You can tap into the national conscience
No matter what happens to England after I’ve finished writing this blog, they’re already national heroes. The way Gareth Southgate has injected proper team spirit, guile and freedom into the team has seemingly affected everyone.
Brexit and economic troubles to one side, there’s a collective sense of optimism about this event. The weather has certainly helped too, but with everyone smiling and happy, marketers can tap into a national conscience that’s primed for engagement.
Happy people buy. They’re more likely to treat themselves. Companies are more likely to decide to invest in the stuff they’ve previously put off. Now is the time to market to them.
The World Cup enables you to get creative
One of the best things about big sporting events like the World Cup is that they enable marketers to get creative and push boundaries a little.
No matter what sector you’re in, you can inject some football-inspired imagery into your marketing material. It’s rare you can do that without it looking out of place during other times of they year, so why not make the most of it now?
People will be tuned to look for and react to football-related imagery at the moment, and that’s a brilliant slice of engagement you’ll want to tap into.
It might inspire sponsorship opportunities
Unless you’re a titan of industry, you’re probably not going to have the chance (or budget) to sponsor an event like the World Cup, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use the tournament to inspire some low-level sponsorships.
Undoubtedly, there’ll be a flurry of excitement about local football once the tournament ends. New teams will likely sprout up and existing clubs will be holding World Cup themed events.
Why not look on your doorstep for football-related sponsorship opportunities? There’ll be more eyes on the beautiful game after this summer, after all.
It enables you to show your human side
Modern marketing campaigns are at their best when they show a human side, but if you work in an industry that is staunchly traditional, that might be tricky to pull off without looking amateurish or as though you’re extracting the Michael.
When an event like the World Cup is on, you can drop that veneer (within reason), and call on the fun and good spirit the tournament has created to show your human side. Have a laugh with some “It’s coming home” tweets, or worship Gareth Southgate with an email campaign. It’s refreshing and likely to garner plenty of engagement.
Wrapping up
The World Cup is just one example of a massive sporting even into which marketers should invest their time, no matter the industry they’re in.
The Olympics, Wimbledon and Rugby World Cup are some other examples of sporting events that grip the nation and which should provide plenty of marketing inspiration for your campaigns. Build them into your schedule!
