News of brand activity around the FIFA World Cup has been flooding our inboxes since the first whistle blew, so we thought we’d give you a rundown of some of the top World Cup-related promos, and also see how many football-related puns we can make.
CIBC was quick to get on the ball with a cross-Canada trek by Toronto-based Fuse that includes brand ambassadors and banking staff biggin’-up its sponsorship of CBC’s Soccer Nation. The CIBC team is being whisked across the country in a thematically wrapped RV, attending nine soccer tournaments, and making pit stops at local branches. The bank asked football fans to submit videos to a “Soccer Everywhere” YouTube contest for the chance at three $10,000 prizes. And, of course, it has a slate of TV ads supporting its World Cup broadcast sponsorship.
Speaking of YouTube, it’s the playing field Visa chose to launch a branded online hub for football fanatics to express their enthusiasm. Visa called for video submissions showing fans supporting their favourite team and shouting “GOOOOOAAAAAL” to its Visa Go Fans YouTube channel by TBWAToronto. If visitors keep their eye out for special “Golden Videos” they might win tickets to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Hyundai, an official World Cup sponsor, took a shot at reaching football fans where they gather to watch the game with a media strategy developed by Initiative Plus and a media buy handled by ZenithOptimedia. On top of print executions in the Toronto Star and the Toronto Sun, and OOH and TV spots targeting ethnic markets on TLN and Fairchild TV, the carco went digital with a sponsorship of The Score’s game-tracking mobile app, a microsite with an excuse generator for those looking to get out of work to catch morning games, and a Facebook page that lets diehards create a personalized jersey that they can post to their own profile.
Since it’s ruled offside for any net other than CBC to feature World Cup coverage, Rogers found a way to leverage the tourney without being red carded with the launch of its own football-themed barker channel. It broadcasts team and player profiles, match previews, news, scheduling and tournament updates, while airing promo messages advertising its On Demand services. Viewers can interact with the channel by passing text messages to a live chat zone.
And team Adidas, as usual, is all over the World Cup: on TV, in print, on the net, hell, even in the net (the official Jabulani ball is by Adidas). Montreal-based Sid Lee served up an effort with some spin with a viral vid featuring celebrity punters David Beckham and Snoop Dogg. Embracing the international nature of the tournament, the vid takes place in the Mos Eisley Cantina on Tatooine. Yes, the very same Tatooine where Luke Skywalker was born. The vid promotes Adidas’ Originals line and its association with Lucasfilm and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Ahh, Adidas, Sid Lee and football, the force is strong with those three.
An app beyond stats
Here’s a World Cup app we think scored because it wasn’t your typical info-updating, jersey-displaying, flag-waving app. Developed by Toronto’s Grip Limited for Budweiser, it let people display their team colours by uploading a picture of themselves to the beerco’s Facebook page, then using paintbrush tools, or a pre-designed pattern, to paint their faces in the image of their favourite squad. The photos could be made into profile pics or downloadable cards, and each was added to a mosaic of the chosen team’s flag, letting users see their fellow supporters. One lucky participant is headed to the finals on July 11.
