tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/ambush-marketing-8775/articlesAmbush marketing – The Conversation2015-11-02T13:19:25Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/500892015-11-02T13:19:25Z2015-11-02T13:19:25ZHow Dr Dre picked up the ball and ran with it despite Rugby World Cup’s tight marketing scrum<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/100508/original/image-20151102-16514-sg4z0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C0%2C1020%2C686&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Heads you win.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/slnguyen/4294018523/in/photolist-7xrY78-b8nUfn-b8nTTT-aCR5e2-beXcNP-7vSQGY-b8nTv4-b8nTGF-7u5UHa-7vSQGW-7vSQH7-aCUWfG-8V2wad-8XGvv8-7xrXz2-7xrWYB-b8nUwP-wx2ipB-7xrWmH-aer1UZ-b8nU3k-b8nTCi-b8nTja-b8nTyD-b8nToz-b8nTYt-b8nTrX-aCR5mM-99n5Fz-9V3CAA-ctntXd-eeomAT-eewSHJ-aCUWn1-aucPju-aCUWpb-aDMsPA-98dqBS-o8bNZD-b2obit-bhbiGM-bVocxF-8jsvV3-aAFUuo-o9XFZD-nQrMYm-onNGVk-aMFgbX-94CL63-aMFjPi">Sean Nguyen</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The favourites New Zealand chalked up their second successive Rugby World Cup victory in a competition dominated by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-beautiful-south-how-australia-and-new-zealand-dominated-the-rugby-world-cup-49965">southern hemisphere</a> teams. But who were the winners among the global corporations seeking to stand out in the marketing scrum? The tournament sought to keep its doors closed to the kind of unofficial marketing that leaves official sponsors furious, but an American rapper may have rattled their cages.</p>
<p>The RWC is now firmly established as a top ten world sporting event that can boast a hike in <a href="http://www.novagraaf.com/en/news?newspath=/NewsItems/en/don-t-get-into-a-fight-with-the-rugby-world-cup-2015-organisers">sponsorship revenue of more than 50%)</a>. Huge leaps have been made to <a href="http://www.thedrum.com/news/2015/09/24/italy-sees-largest-rugby-world-cup-interest-spike-outside-top-10-ranked-sides">give the sport global scale</a>.</p>
<p>You could see the practical impact of this as deep-pocketed sponsor Emirates airline’s brand appeared on match officials’ shirts, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-england-cant-lose-from-hosting-the-rugby-world-cup-47788">a first for the tournament</a>, and a move which illustrates a willingness to create new marketing assets. </p>
<h2>Swing lower</h2>
<p>However, despite the largely sold out stadia, the biggest crowds, and the narrowest winning margins (although still some 30 points), TV sponsors were still facing 25% advertising value losses <a href="http://www.thedrum.com/news/2015/10/05/rugby-world-cup-brands-play-down-commercial-losses-england-s-lacklustre-exit">due to England’s early exit.</a></p>
<p>It wasn’t for want of trying. Official sponsor Land Rover, surely the ideal rugby vehicle, ran extensive grass roots game vignettes emphasising its rugged, real and authentic dimensions. As part of the pre-tournament hype, it even floated a bespoke Defender in an oval balloon down the river Thames. </p>
<p>Heineken’s £20m sponsorship propelled it to the top of the <a href="http://www.thedrum.com/news/2015/09/22/heineken-tops-rwc2015-digital-engagement-non-sponsor-guinness-comes-second">competition’s digital engagement rankings</a>, closely followed in second place by non-sponsor and close competitor Guinness with its “made of more” campaign, with Land Rover taking fifth spot. Also in the top ten were non-official sponsors O2, using an evocative approach dubbed <a href="http://www.thedrum.com/news/2015/10/05/rugby-world-cup-brands-play-down-commercial-losses-england-s-lacklustre-exit">“wear the rose - make them giants”</a> that claimed 5m acts of shirt wearing support. </p>
<p>The biggest surprise to most would have been a Dr Dre brand coup as it rode on the coat-tails of a genuine tournament hero with a campaign titled “the game starts here” and starring All Blacks captain Ritchie McCaw. The Beats headphone, speaker and music streaming business which Dr Dre founded is now owned by Apple, but the company <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/jul/31/dr-dre-beats-olympic-brand-police">has form in ambush marketing</a>. It is an alluringly effective strategy for a youth-culture-focused brand no doubt. Using the highly recognisable Kiwi skipper allowed Beats to achieve a stand-out top ten ranking without signing up for an official sponsorship package.</p>
<h2>Giants felled</h2>
<p>England’s long-term telecoms sponsor, O2, got into that top 10 despite having to give up its Twickenham stadium sponsorship for the 44-day-long tournament. It did though <a href="http://news.o2.co.uk/?press-release=o2-gives-rugby-fans-chance-to-earn-one-of-50000-official-england-rugby-shirts">give away 50,000 O2-branded shirts</a>, adding to the 150,000 that are sold each year. You might even have some pity for them as that “wear the rose” campaign featuring oversized cartoons of celebrity players to tap into powerful emotional nationalism, came to a rather sudden halt as England crashed out embarassingly.</p>
<p>O2 might have foreswarn ambush marketing, but it wasn’t left entirely to chance. Bespoke anti-ambushing legislation wasn’t introduced but the RWC organising body England 2015 did pre-purchase the outdoor outlets <a href="http://www.udl.co.uk/docs/default-source/default-document-library/ambush-marketing.pdf?sfvrsn=2">around their venues</a>, effectively establishing a 500m advertising exclusion zone. </p>
<p>The RWC also relied on trade mark protection, rather than what some have criticised as the draconian legislative measures <a href="http://www.onechoix.com/ambush-marketing-what-it-means-for-the-2015-rugby-world-cup-and-euro-2020">used by the Olympic movement</a> at London and for next year in Rio, and in so doing avoiding negative coverage and legal costs. Some hold the view that tighter sponsor rights protection actually makes it more likely that mega sports events will be ambushed; think of the notorious antics of <a href="https://theconversation.com/models-messi-and-wacky-races-the-art-of-ambush-marketing-22622">Paddy Power, Bavaria Beer and Pepsi</a>. Seven out of the ten most shared World Cup adverts were unofficial at FIFA’s 2014 premier football event.</p>
<h2>Bounced out</h2>
<p>And so the main sponsors kept the ambushes at bay, but maybe didn’t eradicate them completely. I noticed hostess teams outside Twickenham handing out megaphones featuring branding from power company SSE, which were confiscated by the stadium security. SSE was a sponsor of UK commercial broadcaster ITV’s coverage of the World Cup, but it was not an official sponsor per se.</p>
<p>Guinness, sponsor of all four home nation teams and yet ousted from the stadium experience by Henieken, sought to harness its credentials with rugby supporters directly at pubs and bars. It tried to get 500,000 people to try Guinness with an omni-channel roadblock media buying strategy aimed at hitting every screen and giving away 10,000 point of sales kits to landlords and owners.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/azDtIqe-zzE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Samsung put itself in the background in a campaign that leant on comedy for impact.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another non-sponsor, Samsung, grabbed attention with its school of rugby campaign featuring comedian Jack Whitehall and former England captains Martin Johnson and Laurence Dallaglio. Their humorous content strategy heavily pared back on the Korean tech brand’s visibility. Blink and you might have missed it. </p>
<h2>Sponsorship form</h2>
<p>Perhaps, after all, the biggest surprise was on the field as <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/sep/19/south-africa-japan-rugby-world-cup-2015-match-report">Japan beat South Africa</a>. Very modest evidence of England 2015 ambush ads probably signals a win for RWC management’s effort to protect exclusive sponsorship rights. Consumers don’t differentiate of course, and in that halo of confusion there was some success in related, but not infringing, marketing from Guinness, Samsung, and O2.</p>
<p>The thing is, they all have serious, long standing pedigrees as official sports sponsors. And in truth the RWC probably won’t be too bothered that some potential sponsors for the game stole a little of their thunder this time around. Bearing that in mind, it was perhaps only Beats by Dr Dre that ruffled the tournament’s carefully orchestrated protectionist feathers. So who will step up to take on the lawyers and stadium bouncers at next year’s Brazilian Olympics?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50089/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Professor Justin O'Brien does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The attempt to hand-off unofficial advertising during the RWC failed.Professor Justin O'Brien, MBA Programme Director, Royal Holloway University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/281752014-06-19T05:03:20Z2014-06-19T05:03:20ZFor Sony and Coke, the real World Cup challenge is the battle for 6 billion eyeballs<p>By now, the names Moy Park, Oi and Yingli are deeply embedded in your brain, right? And, you know what they are, where they are from and what they do, agreed? Or are you struggling with them: perhaps these names are meaningless to you, or maybe you have seen them somewhere but can’t quite remember where.</p>
<p>The very clued up among you will of course be able to identify Moy Park as a European organic food producer, Oi as a Brazilian telecommunications company and Yingli as a Chinese solar panel manufacturer. </p>
<p>More significantly, for the time being at least, these names are to be seen every day on a rotational sign pitchside at the World Cup in Brazil. If you remembered the names without being prompted, then that’s part of the job done for these corporations. Yet even if you needed reminding to recall them, it is still part of the job done.</p>
<p>Moy Park, Oi and Yingli are all sponsors of this summer’s tournament, and each are seeking to take advantage of the watching eyeballs that the world’s biggest sporting event brings with it. When England played Italy in a first-round game, television viewing figures peaked at 15.6m in Britain alone. More than a billion people watched the final of the last World Cup, in South Africa; almost <a href="http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/6758280/least-1-billion-saw-part-2010-world-cup-final">half the world’s population</a> watched some of the tournament.</p>
<p>That’s an awful lot of eyes, for which each of these companies will have paid FIFA somewhere between $10m and $25m per year. In addition to tournament sponsors, FIFA also has deals with a series of global partners, each of which pays between $25m and $50m per year for their World Cup deals. You will know the names of these corporations, McDonald’s, Coca Cola, Sony and so on.</p>
<p>Aside from making our eyeballs ache, what else do such corporations get from their association with the World Cup? Certainly, there are image benefits; after all, the tournament is A Big Deal in every possible sense. In sponsorship, firms often look for what is known as “image transfer”, and the competition’s glamour, drama and excitement make it an obvious fit for the likes of Hyundai.</p>
<p>As if the optical strain was not enough, sponsors are also engaging in additional “activation” spend. To understand activation in relation to World Cup advertising it is best to think of Visa or adidas as having bought a Ferrari with their initial sponsorship deal. But a fast car is pointless without petrol to make it run. In this case, the petrol is the endless competitions, promotions, and television adverts that have been bombarding us for the past few weeks (with still more to come).</p>
<p>Whether or not you have noticed or have been affected by the endless images of Messi and Ronaldo, or favela kids eating burgers while ramped-up on fizzy drinks would make for an interesting discussion. Yet the major sponsors spend massively on activation, with <a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=407462&fileId=S0021849905050312">estimates of total spend</a> ranging from $1 spent on activation for every $1 of contract value, to $2 dollar spent on activation for every $1 of contract value. That’s right, Coke could spend a further $100m trying simply to make their World Cup sponsorship work better for the corporation.</p>
<p>Part of this is corporate hospitality; what better way to entice prospective customers and reward loyal ones than by treating them to a game or two, with champagne and strawberries thrown in for good measure? One estimate highlights the importance of sporting events to the corporate hospitality industry, with around <a href="http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/analysis/marketing-tactics/experiential/putting-the-wow-factor-into-hospitality/4007431.article">85% of total expenditure</a> being focused on them. Nice for the beneficiaries, yet nice too for the sponsors who use the World Cup as a foundation for building their businesses.</p>
<h2>Not your usual tournament</h2>
<p>It all sounds so easy and so straightforward, especially for those corporations that have the money to pay for a World Cup sponsorship deal. But it is not, for so many reasons. To begin with, this is a World Cup like no other, the tournament having already been subject to cynicism, protest, and attack by groups such as Occupy Brazil. Indeed, a recent Coca-Cola sponsored trophy tour event was <a href="http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/10063">targeted by protesters</a>. </p>
<p>This is not good for a sponsor’s image, reputation or engagement with customers. Added to this, ongoing corruption issues at FIFA have cast sponsors in such a bad light that some of them have started making public statements <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jun/08/fifa-sponsors-play-hard-ball-over-world-cup-corruption-allegations">questioning football’s governance standards</a>.</p>
<p>There is also the perpetual problem for sponsors of recognition. Just because people see your name at a World Cup, does it mean they remember the association? And even if they do, does it necessarily mean that people will buy the products these corporations produce? Indeed, how many of you intend to rush out after the World Cup Finals are over and buy yourself some Yingli solar panels?</p>
<p>Ignorance among many customers about which companies are actually official World Cup sponsors, allied to the ever-inflating values of FIFA sponsorship deals (which effectively exclude many corporations from the chance of ever sponsoring the cup) has created the conditions for a further threat to sponsorship: <a href="https://theconversation.com/models-messi-and-wacky-races-the-art-of-ambush-marketing-22622">ambush marketing</a>.</p>
<p>Some of you may already have been the unwitting victim of an ambush; if you have seen the “Beats by Dr Dre” movie epic, laughed at a Paddy Power advertising campaign, or marvelled at Nike’s Pixar-like football cartoon, then you have been in on an ambush. Such activities are intended to distract customer attention away from and undermine the World Cup deals of official sponsors. In doing this Dre, Paddy and Nike threaten the potential return on investments made by Visa, Hyundai, adidas and the rest of the FIFA pack.</p>
<p>When you therefore watch yet another World Cup game, and your eyeballs start spinning as the rotational signage turns, keep in mind that Moy Park, Oi and Yingli don’t want you to forget them. If you can maintain control of at least one eye though, you should take a look at the stock markets. </p>
<p>If the World Cup really is the commercial opportunity that Emirates Airlines, Johnson & Johnson, Budweiser and the rest would have us believe, then we should be seeing the share price of official sponsors moving on an upward trajectory. </p>
<p>But as the ambushers attack and the protesters rise-up, it may be that the sponsors start to question whether eyeballs alone are enough to justify their investment in this year’s World Cup. The battle is therefore not just on the pitch or the streets of Rio, it is happening pitch-side in Brazil too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/28175/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Chadwick does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>By now, the names Moy Park, Oi and Yingli are deeply embedded in your brain, right? And, you know what they are, where they are from and what they do, agreed? Or are you struggling with them: perhaps these…Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sport Business Strategy, Coventry UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/277072014-06-19T04:12:55Z2014-06-19T04:12:55ZBrands are big winners in the ‘first social media World Cup’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51609/original/28wcrt9j-1403147051.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Coca Cola is a major sponsor of the World Cup, but non-sponsors are capitalising on the tournament too.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/daniandgeorge/14289299264">George/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The 2014 <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/world-cup-2014">World Cup</a> has already seen a significant volume of Twitter conversation across a number of (English language) keywords, including <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23joinin&src=typd">#joinin</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23WorldCup&src=tyah">#worldcup</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Brazil2014&src=tyah">#Brazil2014</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23worldcup2014&src=typd">#worldcup2014</a>, as well as the Twitter-marketed international hashtags: </p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Brasil2014&src=typd">#Brasil2014</a> (Spanish)</li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Br%C3%A9sil2014&src=typd">#Brésil2014</a> (French)</li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23wm2014&src=typd">#wm2014</a> (German)</li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Copa2014&src=typd">#Copa2014</a> (Portugese) </li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23mm2014&src=typd">#mm2014</a> (Finnish). </li>
</ul>
<p>And unsurprisingly, riding this wave of hashtags are the brands that look to profit from the tournament – whether they’re official sponsors or not.</p>
<p>With the launch of a new interface designed to promote World Cup discussion, Twitter is actively encouraging users to flag support for their national team and to participate in World Cup discussion through Twitter.</p>
<p>On the opening day of the games Twitter presented a new layout, as well as a step-by-step process encouraging people to tweet their support for their team and change their profile image: </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51356/original/4sfrgrh3-1403001413.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51356/original/4sfrgrh3-1403001413.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51356/original/4sfrgrh3-1403001413.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51356/original/4sfrgrh3-1403001413.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51356/original/4sfrgrh3-1403001413.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51356/original/4sfrgrh3-1403001413.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51356/original/4sfrgrh3-1403001413.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Users are presented with a new interface.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After clicking “Let’s go!” on the page above, users are escorted through a number of personalised set up pages; from selecting their national team and changing their profile picture:</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51355/original/3t7zypcj-1403001394.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51355/original/3t7zypcj-1403001394.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51355/original/3t7zypcj-1403001394.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51355/original/3t7zypcj-1403001394.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51355/original/3t7zypcj-1403001394.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=713&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51355/original/3t7zypcj-1403001394.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=713&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51355/original/3t7zypcj-1403001394.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=713&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">After selecting your team, you are invited to change your profile.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>… through to following favourite players, and even preparing a tweet using the #WorldCup hashtag and the account of your national team:</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51354/original/r27xc2mq-1403001393.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51354/original/r27xc2mq-1403001393.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=262&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51354/original/r27xc2mq-1403001393.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=262&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51354/original/r27xc2mq-1403001393.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=262&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51354/original/r27xc2mq-1403001393.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51354/original/r27xc2mq-1403001393.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51354/original/r27xc2mq-1403001393.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Players of the national team selected are suggested.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51353/original/9gvkkpwx-1403001387.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51353/original/9gvkkpwx-1403001387.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=220&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51353/original/9gvkkpwx-1403001387.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=220&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51353/original/9gvkkpwx-1403001387.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=220&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51353/original/9gvkkpwx-1403001387.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51353/original/9gvkkpwx-1403001387.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51353/original/9gvkkpwx-1403001387.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A pre-formatted tweet.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While these are obvious promotional tools, they have likely contributed to the <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/jefffick/2014/06/12/brazils-neymar-adds-300k-new-twitter-followers-after-dominating-world-cup-opener/">increase in followers</a> for many players, as well as the Twitter activity around the <a href="http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/world-cup-2014-is-already-bigger-on-facebook-twitter-than-oscars-1201220010/">tournament in general</a>. </p>
<p>While the BBC’s <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27778386">Gary Lineker</a> on Tuesday described Brazil 2014 on air as “the first social media world cup”, South Africa 2010 also saw <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/124530948/World-Cup-Research-Search-And-Social-Media-During-The-World-Cup">plenty of social media activity</a>. However the impact of social media on traditional media coverage is <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jun/15/phil-neville-commentary-world-cup-bbc-twitter-england-italy">particularly prominent in the UK</a> at the moment. </p>
<p>Twitter has also been documenting the tournament through its <a href="https://blog.twitter.com">blog</a> and tweets from the <a href="https://twitter.com/TwitterData">TwitterData</a> account. For researchers, replicating such analysis is difficult as World Cup-related tweets frequently exceed the limit of 1% of tweets that be freely accessed through the Twitter API. Despite this, there are a few notable stories from week one.</p>
<h2>Brands seek to capitalise on World Cup audience</h2>
<p>While it’s clear that the World Cup is a brand marketing exercise, the lead up to the tournament demonstrated how the brand is being appropriated for marketing purposes on social media, far beyond the official sponsors. </p>
<p>And while using the World Cup brand in traditional media may see offending companies <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/the-law-page/canadian-olympic-committee-threatens-to-sue-north-face-for-trademark-infringement/article16439709/">hit with a lawsuit</a>, using the social media hashtag appears to be a risk worth taking.</p>
<p>FIFA have not taken trademark infringement lightly either, officially <a href="http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1284242/fifa-issues-world-cup-warning-free-riding-brands">releasing a warning</a> in March stating that</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The contribution of FIFA’s commercial affiliates is vital to the success of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and we therefore ask companies to refrain from attempts to free-ride on the huge public interest generated by the event.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Yet according to <a href="http://www.prweek.com/article/1297965/20th-world-cup-social-media-strategies-brand-war-rooms">Alex Benady</a> from PR Week:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>FIFA, players, the media, the FA and other national associations, and of course brands with no contractual relationship with the World Cup, will all be working their social media networks for all they are worth.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Supporting this, the 20th most popular retweet in the week leading up to the World Cup using English keywords was the following from (unaffiliated) British company Fragrance Direct:</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51359/original/hyjc5rwb-1403001574.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51359/original/hyjc5rwb-1403001574.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=632&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51359/original/hyjc5rwb-1403001574.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=632&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51359/original/hyjc5rwb-1403001574.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=632&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51359/original/hyjc5rwb-1403001574.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51359/original/hyjc5rwb-1403001574.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51359/original/hyjc5rwb-1403001574.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Screenshot: Twitter.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Other brands, sponsors and otherwise are also heavily represented in the most frequent retweets:</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51351/original/vfw9nfvn-1403001340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51351/original/vfw9nfvn-1403001340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51351/original/vfw9nfvn-1403001340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51351/original/vfw9nfvn-1403001340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51351/original/vfw9nfvn-1403001340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=612&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51351/original/vfw9nfvn-1403001340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=612&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51351/original/vfw9nfvn-1403001340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=612&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Top total retweets containing generic World Cup hashtags (brands in green): June 5-12.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The top 25 tweets above contain many brands (including FIFA sponsors such as Adidas, Budweiser and EA Sports, as well as non-sponsors such as Goldman Sachs and Fragrance Direct), able to associate with the World Cup brand on social media on an equal basis. </p>
<p>While the brands may see this as merely interacting with a current event, for those at FIFA and for paying sponsors, this may well appear as <a href="https://theconversation.com/models-messi-and-wacky-races-the-art-of-ambush-marketing-22622">ambush marketing</a>. </p>
<p>Such trends extended into the first week of the tournament, with the top retweets over the first week notably also dominated by big brands and television networks:</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51349/original/87zw8n5r-1403001266.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51349/original/87zw8n5r-1403001266.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51349/original/87zw8n5r-1403001266.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51349/original/87zw8n5r-1403001266.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51349/original/87zw8n5r-1403001266.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51349/original/87zw8n5r-1403001266.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51349/original/87zw8n5r-1403001266.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Brands represented in top total retweets containing match hashtags: June 12-16.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">QUT Social Media Research Group</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Top 10 matches</h2>
<p>With the first round underway, we can also see which matches (and teams) are receiving the most attention on Twitter:</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51350/original/rc6hj5hy-1403001335.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51350/original/rc6hj5hy-1403001335.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=166&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51350/original/rc6hj5hy-1403001335.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=166&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51350/original/rc6hj5hy-1403001335.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=166&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51350/original/rc6hj5hy-1403001335.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=209&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51350/original/rc6hj5hy-1403001335.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=209&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51350/original/rc6hj5hy-1403001335.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=209&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Top 10 most mentioned match hashtags during Round 1 (excludes games of June 16).</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This tells an interesting visual story of not only the top matches but also how the worldwide audience is using Twitter during the World Cup. </p>
<p>While the top match to date is (perhaps predictably) the opener of the tournament – Brazil vs Croatia – the presence of England vs Italy as the second may speak both to the audience participating in the hashtag conversation and the international interest in the game itself. </p>
<p>As the tournament continues, it will be interesting to correlate tweet volume with television audiences worldwide, as those figures become available, and to consider whether the teams with the most historic World Cup success, or FIFA Ranking, are those receiving the most attention this time around, both on Twitter and on television.</p>
<h2>Other stories from around the web</h2>
<p>Elsewhere on the web, analysis of both social media and statistical data around the world cup is gathering steam. Kimono Labs have launched what they claim to be the <a href="http://www.kimonolabs.com/worldcup/docs?utm_source=Kimono%2BUsers&utm_campaign=73371575dc-3rd_mailing&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_05012cd17a-73371575dc-168141773">first open World Cup API</a>, while the Regressing Blog on Deadspin features a round-up of the <a href="http://regressing.deadspin.com/heres-what-the-top-prediction-models-say-about-the-worl-1589841233">top prediction models</a> on the web. </p>
<p>Also of interest this week is the <a href="http://cartodb.com/v/worldcup/brazil-croatia/#/1/-43/49/0">CartoDB visualisation</a> of Twitter activity around the World Cup opening match, and Twitter’s own visualisation of the increase in Neymar’s followers, part of their <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/2014/bravscro-7-worldcup-twitterdata-points-you-need-to-know">extensive coverage of the opener</a> which also includes the <a href="https://twitter.com/Predictaroo">Predictaroo</a>.</p>
<p>We’ll be back after Round 2 with some more from the ground in Europe and Brazil, as well as the latest data from our Twitter Machines, and a look at how TV stations are using Twitter in the early stages.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/27707/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The 2014 World Cup has already seen a significant volume of Twitter conversation across a number of (English language) keywords, including #joinin, #worldcup, #Brazil2014 and #worldcup2014, as well as…Darryl Woodford, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Queensland University of TechnologyKatie Prowd, Research Assistant, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/226222014-01-30T19:08:38Z2014-01-30T19:08:38ZModels, Messi and wacky races: the art of ambush marketing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/40235/original/z8x6dhpd-1391106675.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bavaria beer gets some unofficial airtime.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Martin Rickett/PA</span></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/40235/original/z8x6dhpd-1391106675.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/40235/original/z8x6dhpd-1391106675.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/40235/original/z8x6dhpd-1391106675.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/40235/original/z8x6dhpd-1391106675.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/40235/original/z8x6dhpd-1391106675.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/40235/original/z8x6dhpd-1391106675.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/40235/original/z8x6dhpd-1391106675.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/40235/original/z8x6dhpd-1391106675.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bavaria beer gets some unofficial airtime.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Martin Rickett/PA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On the face of it, there doesn’t seem to be much to link Lionel Messi’s choice of drink with a Black Sea beach resort, a former holiday destination of Russian communist leaders.</p>
<p>And yet over the next six months, both the Argentinian footballer and Sochi, host city of the impending Winter Olympics, are likely to become focal points for one of the world’s fastest emerging commercial battles.</p>
<p>Pepsi recently signed Messi and a host of other top players to its “superstar 2014 football squad” in a bid to attack its closest and bitterest rival, Coca-Cola in the run-up to this summer’s World Cup in Brazil. Coke may be the tournament’s official drink, but Pepsi hopes its superstars will mean football fans will spend June buying blue cans, not red.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/1227538/">What Pepsi is doing</a> is known as ambush marketing. <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tie.20447/abstract">Ambush marketing</a> entails rival corporations and brands deliberately attempting to persuade or mislead consumers into thinking they have some kind of association with a sporting mega-event, without the rival corporations actually paying a fee to the likes of FIFA or the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Sporting mega-events are the classic battlefields, and 2014 is set to be a big year.</p>
<p>Ambush marketing is a relatively new commercial phenomenon that emerged at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, after the IOC changed the way in which it sold sponsorship deals. From cutting lots of deals for relatively small amounts of money, the IOC moved to a model of selling a small number of deals to a select few global corporations for huge sums. Since then many other sports governing bodies have followed the IOC’s lead, with FIFA’s World Cup sponsorships the most obvious case.</p>
<p>In pursuing such a model, the IOC and FIFA have in essence created an exclusive enclave of corporations and brands that, in the IOC’s case, receive legal protections in return for their substantial sponsorship investment in an event.</p>
<p>For brands that miss out on such deals, or those that simply cannot afford it, ambushing is another way to reap some of the benefits of an official sponsorship deal. Sport is increasingly littered with cases of ambushing, some of them very high profile. </p>
<p>In 2010, Dutch beer brand Bavaria smuggled female models, dressed as Denmark fans, into a World Cup game in Cape Town. Midway through the game, the women undressed to reveal Bavaria branded orange dresses. When they were ejected from the stadium and later arrested, the story attracted <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/jun/16/fifa-world-cup-ambush-marketing">international attention</a> – job done for Bavaria.</p>
<p>This wasn’t Bavaria’s first successful World Cup ambush, either. Four years previously the brewer had given out bright orange lederhosen to Dutch supporters. When organisers realised the trousers carried Bavaria’s brand, they ordered everyone to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/jun/19/marketingandpr.worldcup2006">remove their trousers</a> during a match against the Ivory Coast. While Dutch football fans watched the game in their pants, Bavaria beer soaked up the publicity.</p>
<p>But it is bookmakers Paddy Power that has raised the art of ambushing to new heights. Its most notable success came at the London 2012 games, when it creatively <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/news/9427094/London-2012-Olympics-Locog-forced-in-to-u-turn-over-Paddy-Power-ambush-marketing.html">side-stepped ambushing legislation</a> by running posters declaring official sponsorship of “the largest athletic event in London”. The event actually sponsored by Paddy Power? An egg and spoon race held in a French village, also called London.</p>
<h2>Siding with the sponsors</h2>
<p>How sporting mega-events, the organisations that own them (like the IOC and FIFA), and official sponsors respond to the threat posed by Pepsi, Bavaria, Paddy Power and their ilk is a crucial issue.</p>
<p>Sponsorship managers will often preach the mantra that if the connection between brand and consumer is strong enough, then official sponsors need have no worry that consumers will be distracted by the shock tactics of deviant rivals.</p>
<p>But others nevertheless advocate a more assertive – some might even say draconian – response to the threat of ambushing. Sports authorities have unsurprisingly sided with those who pay their bills and as such, all nations hosting Olympic Games, both summer and winter, must pass legislation protecting official sponsors. </p>
<p>This raises all kinds of issues, but most notably that the consumption of products and brands which rival the official sponsors’ is not allowed. </p>
<p>At the last World Cup in Germany, cans of Bavaria beer were confiscated from fans as American brand Budweiser is the tournament’s official beer. During the London 2012 games, food at Olympic venues could only be purchased at McDonald’s outlets, again the official sponsor. Many spectators complained that prices were exorbitantly high and that choice was poor.</p>
<p>In Vancouver, ambushing laws were employed in an even more restrictive way, as anti-Olympic activist Chris Shaw of the University of British Columbia was pursued under the legislation. Eventually Shaw took legal action against the local organisers (a case that he won), but not before he had been <a href="http://www.vancouverobserver.com/politics/commentary/somebodys-watching-you">routinely stopped by the police</a>.</p>
<p>Both Sochi and Brazil have already seen social unrest and disputes over civil liberties. Yet moves to protect official sponsors will fuel the sense of injustice. Not only will ambushers and their marketing activities be firmly dealt with, but anyone seeking to exercise their rights to publicly consume a rival brand or product may find their consumption severely restricted too.</p>
<p>So, if you like Coca-Cola it is going to be a good year for you. But if you choose instead to sip a Pepsi with Messi in Sochi or Brazil, be warned that the experience may be rather less positive.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/22622/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
On the face of it, there doesn’t seem to be much to link Lionel Messi’s choice of drink with a Black Sea beach resort, a former holiday destination of Russian communist leaders. And yet over the next six…Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sport Business Strategy, Coventry UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.