The Football World Cup is one of the most viewed sporting events worldwide and therefore it has a huge economic impact. As an event that brings together the best players of the world’s favorite sport, it has millions of fans, and this makes it very commercially appealing for advertisers.
How Does all This Affect Retail?
The World Cup is held every four years. And as happens with all exceptional events, this creates more anticipation than it would if, for example, it was held yearly. This means that more people are likely to get emotionally involved and that they are more invested in what happens, in related products and in participating brands.
This is all amplified by television broadcasts and multimedia coverage, both online and offline. In fact, the 2014 Football World Cup final in Brazil had an estimated audience of more than 1 billion people, which virtually no event can match and which represented a 12% increase compared to the 2010 final in South Africa. The figure is even larger if you factor in the viewers of all the matches, which, in the case of this last edition, reached 3.2 billion television viewers around the world. These numbers certainly present a unique opportunity for advertisers, both in broadcasts and right in football stadiums.
There is one other factor that also influences the retail world. The World Cup is usually held in a single country, which changes every time. This increasingly motivates a lot of travel from participating countries to the hosting location. And not only from these, but thousands of football fans travel from many other parts of the world.
Retail Sectors that Can Take Advantage of the World Cup
When it comes time to talk about retail sectors that can benefit from the economic movement caused by the World Cup, the first one that comes to mind is: Sportswear.
Sportswear brands, especially those that sponsor and clothe the various teams and players, have a unique opportunity to boost sales of their products during the World Cup.
Another sector that has classically benefited from the celebration of major sporting events is Food and Drink. Not only because the brands in this sector are very present in static television advertising during the events, but also because the games offer a chance to get together and watch in the company of family and friends and, why not, enjoy eating and drinking at the same time.
And we do not want to forget the market for Technological Products, especially appliances such as televisions. In fact, we saw a classic example in Spain that occurred during the 1982 World Cup that was held there. At that time, many households and hotel establishments in the country still had black and white televisions, and the World Cup was an incentive for a large number of people to decide to exchange their old device for a more modern color television, so as to enjoy the event as much as possible.
HMY Can Help Brands Profit More during the World Cup
If the Football World Cup is such a memorable experience for so many fans and spectators, why shouldn’t commercial spaces offer the same level of experience?
With the opening of the World Cup, brands have an excellent opportunity to create shopping areas that attract football fans and make them feel even more immersed in such a unique and special atmosphere that only happens every four years.
This can be done through microsegmented campaigns with personalized messages, dedicated furniture and POP displays and, of course, through technology, taking shopping to the highest level in terms of a cutting-edge experience.
HMY can provide all these solutions to our clients, in order for them to have a greater impact on consumers and get the most out of a special occasion such as the World Cup.
