World Cup Countdown: How Your Business Can Take Advantage
It’s nearly kick off time for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which starts on June 12th and continues until July 13th. Beyond the thousands lucky enough to be attending the games live in Brazil, an estimated three billion people around the globe will be tuning in on TV or following online. Many of your existing or potential customers are likely to be among them so what is your business doing to capitalise on all that interest? You don’t have to be a big-name sports brand to use the World Cup as a powerful business marketing opportunity. Here are some skillful ideas on how to score most effectively.
1. Kick off with some very special offers. The World Cup only comes around once every four years so get creative with some World Cup-themed special offers. A month-long promotion that runs throughout the tournament makes sense and will keep up the buzz with your customers. You can also feature special offers, discounts or flash sales scheduled to coincide with the tournament’s biggest games or when any of the UK teams are playing. Competitions such as getting customers to predict final match scores or goal timings are another fun idea but don’t make your idea too complicated to manage effectively.
2. Act now while the local teams are still in the game. World Cup fever is at its hottest while the national teams of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are still in with a fighting chance of lifting the cup. A lot of the general interest and excitement will start to die off once these teams get knocked out – especially if they go early – so you’ve no time to waste in launching your marketing campaign! While keeping your fingers and toes crossed that the UK’s teams advance to the later stages, it may be handy to prepare a ‘condolence campaign’ in the event that such high expectations are thwarted.
3. Use all available media to promote your business. Take advantage of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter and add some World Cup-related blogs to your own webpage. Traditional print media such as posters and flyers as well as newsletters, postcards and other direct mail is also a proven and cost-effective tool so advertise your World Cup deals in as many different ways as you can. Printing football-themed business cards is another possibility – they may even become collectible!
4. Don’t score an own goal with your marketing. Take care not to break copyright rules or infringe upon existing patents that could land you with a serious penalty. The FIFA website has a list of all the rules regarding what you can and can’t use but, generally speaking, any protected logos, designs, images or terms belonging to the Brazil 2014 tournament or any national team will be out of bounds.
5. Add some Latin spirit. It’s not just football that Brazil is world-famous for – there’s also celebrated cuisine and cocktails, music and dance so inject some Brazilian spice into your marketing mix. Throw a samba dance party, mix up a caipirinha and get into the carnival mood. You could even get your staff to wear green and yellow outfits for the day or just use Brazilian national flag colours in your shop’s product display.
6. Provide a ‘football-free’ zone. As hard as it may be for some people to believe, not everyone is World Cup crazy. In fact, you may be able to attract a lot of new customers by offering an antidote to all the whistle-blowing football frenzy. If your business is focused on women – for example, in fashion, retail, health or beauty – you should plan a special promotion on key match days, promising an experience of peace and tranquility far away from the football crowds. Restaurants and bars could also take advantage of a football-free campaign, as it will help your business stand out from the competition.
It’s not too late to plan a great World Cup campaign for your business but do it fast! It’s a once-every-four-years opportunity to connect to such a huge potential audience so think outside the penalty box and brainstorm some creative marketing ideas. If your campaign goes viral, you may just feel like you’ve won the World Cup too!