12 Ways to Take Advantage of the World Cup

No matter the country being broadcasted around the world during the 2014 FIFA World Cup, millions are talking online about the outcomes or predictions of each match. For many brands, this is the Christmas in July that only comes around every four years. Showing support for the sport has become a huge part of the summer’s marketing plan for many.

Countless businesses are riding the advertising wave of these soccer games. They are running commercials on tv and online showing their support of the sport. They are purchasing promotional items exclusively for these games. Hashtags and SEO tactics are also being used to take capture the attention of their customers. But for some reason there is still a group not diving into this easy promotional opportunity FIFA has afforded the world.

So what if you are a solopreneur who doesn’t watch soccer or a business in an industry who has no direct connection to sports in general, your brand can still take on the World Cup this summer to win sales. While it may pose a small challenge for B2B businesses to discover ways to show support, B2C businesses should have no problem with taking on the sport head on to win sales. Either way for any industry, you should treat the World Cup as you would any event not directly related to your business to show your brand is aware of what is going on in the world. You should:

• Inform – Provide match times or scores. Share information about the countries playing.


• Integrate Content – Incorporate highlights of matches or fun facts about the teams.


• Remain Conversational – Ask simple questions regarding most talked about moments.

Just because your business may not be related to the sport, does not mean you should stick your head in the sand and ignore it for the next few weeks. You do not have to rebuild your advertising for the World Cup, but you should acknowledge it is going on. Besides, if this is a slow season for your business as you await fall to begin, you could not lose by taking advantage of the games.

Still unsure of how to incorporate the World Cup into your marketing plans over the next 2 weeks? Here are a few ideas for different industries to take advantage of the World Cup:

• Wine bars: Feature wines from the countries playing that day. Offer flights of wine to help drive people to come in before or after the game.


• Fashion retail business (non-sports apparel): Put together outfits in the colors of the teams playing or show what you can wear during watch parties. Offer discounts based on scores or winning teams.


• Restaurants: Feature party to-go boxes for games as well as special seating for people who represent their team through shirts, jerseys or flags. You can also feature beers from countries playing that day.


• Auto repair: Offer access to watch the games at your location while people get their vehicles serviced.


• Mobile phone store: Text-to-win an air card so customers won’t miss watching a match online.


• Greeting card store: Remind people they can purchase sympathy cards for those with friends who cheered on teams who lost.


• Furniture store: Feature furniture which is great for party use.


• Landscaping company: Show country inspired work or plants or even how to create mini soccer fields in the backyard.


• B2B businesses: Show how your staff is getting into the matches by posting images online.

There are many ways to remind soccer fans you have items they may want or need during the next couple of weeks. With over three million tickets purchased for the actual matches and an estimate of over 900 million to watch around the world, your brand would be crazy to not at least dedicate a few posts on social media to the World Cup.

Are you taking advantage of the World Cup? Are you currently doing any of these tips already?

Leave your comments below. They may be used for future posts.

via Business 2 Community http://ift.tt/V9UYmt