FIFA World Cup 2014: The pinnacle of sports marketing

64 matches, 32 teams, 12 stadia, 500 officials, 10,500 media, $13 billion in cost, 3.2 billion viewers and one trophy.

Yes, we are talking about the FIFA World Cup 2014. Brazil is all set to host the most popular sporting show on earth with its charismatic showmen set to conquer hearts.

Apart from the back-heels and top-corners, this World Cup will also be remembered for its illustrious marketing. Marketers will be spending $1.6 billion on sponsorship fees and about three times that on marketing campaigns around the world. This will be the summer of multimillion dollar returns.

So, when Adidas says that its football sales will rise to a record of more than 2 billion Euros next year, they are not day-dreaming. Let’s look at some of the most interesting marketing campaigns that have already started to make a mark:

Adidas’ Brazuca and Samba Adizero F50 collection

On December 3, 2013 Adidas launched the official ball for the FIFA World Cup 2014. It is called “Brazuca”, allegedly ‘the most social ball ever’. Over a million Brazilians voted Brazuca as the name for the official ball and more than 75,000 followers tweeted with #brazuca within 24 hours of unveiling the ball.

Now the Brazuca will travel throughout the world depicting the love for the game at each destination. One of the most interesting ways in which Adidas chose to market the ball was to give-away the Brazuca balls to every new born Brazilian on a particular day to ensure that every Brazilian is born with a football at his/her feet.

Adidas recently introduced its Samba Adizero F50 collection which is “Inspired by the colours and carnival celebration of host country Brazil.” And it certainly doesn’t hurt when you have guys like Lionel Messi, Gareth Bale, Oscar, Xavi and Jozy Altidore endorsing your product. Adidas is No. 1 in global football gear but it has miles to go before it can dislodge Nike from the position of leading global sports goods manufacturer. And Adidas is placing heavy bets on Brazil 2014.

It is also planning to revive their #Allin campaign with new adage #AllinOrNothing. If everything goes according to plan, Adidas can reach within touching distance of its competitor. After all, Impossible is Nothing.

Nike’s “Dare to be Brasilian” Campaign

Nike is not very famous for sponsoring major sports events like the Olympics and World Cups. However, it is very well known for hijacking events from its official partners with the help of its marketing excellence. Once again it has come up with a very creative marketing campaign which goes by the name of “Dare to be Brasilian”.

Davide Grasso, chief marketing officer at Nike, says the advert celebrates the team’s “unique style of play” as players who improvise, dare and modify their technique. In the video, Brazilian stars like Neymar, David Luiz, Thiago Silva, Paulinho and Bernard are seen showcasing their skills and mesmerizing the crowd with their unique “Brazilian” style. It closes with the statement – ‘No one plays like us.’

Nike has certainly struck a nerve with this campaign. With the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba, Mario Balotelli, Wesley Sneijder and Mario Gotze (the list is very large) ready to sport the Nike gear, the American giant is certain of a luxurious march ahead of this World Cup.

Samsung’s #WinnerTakesEarth Campaign

Since October 21, various strange symbols along with #WinnerTakesEarth started appearing in iconic places like New York City’s Times Square, London’s Hackney Marshes and Rio de Janeiro’s Sugarloaf Mountain. Moreover, the presence of certain men with mysterious robes and strange carvings on their bodies intensified the mystery.

On November 11, Samsung revealed that all this was a part of its marketing campaign “GALAXY 11″.

The concept is to form a team of 11 best footballers from earth who will save the earth from aliens through the power of football. So far, Argentine forward Lionel Messi, Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas, English striker Wayne Rooney, American forward Landon Donovan and Brazilian midfielder Oscar have been roped in.

“Football is one of the most popular sports in the world and Samsung admires the power of football as a unifying force to rally and connect a global community of passionate fans,” said Young Hee Lee, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing, IT & Mobile Division at Samsung Electronics.

“Through this one-of-a-kind campaign, Samsung wants to combine fans’ universal love for football and GALAXY devices. We hope that this campaign stimulates our fans’ imagination and inspires engagement,” he added.

So, with this kind of global marketing campaign, the bull’s eye for Samsung is definitely the World Cup. Hope Sam sings it right this time.

With six months to go for the carnival to begin, the consumers and viewers are in for an advertising treat. Expect your favourite stars to do anything from selling credit cards to spraying deodorants. So, keep your eyes and ears open because it’s time to roar “Juntos num só ritmo”.