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Be a Smart Marketer – Reach a Prime World Cup Audience Online |
Something very special is about to occur within the next few weeks. Already, at this moment, millions of fans are waiting in anticipation for World Cup 2006 to be played in Germany, beginning on June 9 th with the first of 64 total matches.
World Cup is a truly global experience with 32 countries that have fought their way to Germany for a chance to the title as the best soccer team in the world. Each country is placed into 1 of 8 groups. Each group will play until it produces 2 winners per group, and then continue elimination in the same manner. The countries within each group were drawn by lottery.
There is no contest when it comes to the media of choice for real time coverage, in depth analysis, and community building – the winner is the Internet.
| What the Internet Brings To Its Audience |
Catering to the language preference of US Hispanics, World Cup 2006 coverage is available in English 1 and Spanish 2 on Terra.com. On our site, avid fans are kept up to date with the latest news, including full profiles of the players named per team (23 men per team). The photo gallery channel contains slideshows of great detail, including the unveiling of the fetching new design of the official soccer ball to be used during the games. All of the teams’ profiles are hyperlinked to their own home page per country. There is a travel guide for the lucky fans that will see the games in person, including a currency converter and local weather information. Daily video will be produced of game interviews on Terra TV 3. Up-to-the-minute game details and live reporting will be generated from Terra’s 10 international correspondents, reporting from Germany. Work time is prime time for World Cup coverage, since the time difference between the US and Germany means that most games will be played during US work hours. The Internet allows for unparalleled access to stats on demand, streams of video coverage, and World Cup history back to 1930 - all of which is just a click away.
Fredy Wiles, Senior Producer for Terra Networks, interviewing Cuauhtémoc Blanco, a famous Mexican soccer player from 'Las Águilas' del América de México.
1. http://www.us.terra.com/shared/worldcup2006/
2. http://www.us.terra.com/copa2006/
3. http://php.terra.com/terratv
| What the Audience Brings To the Internet |
Television, radio, print are one dimensional, in that information is pushed out to its audience with very limited chance of audience participation. The Internet, however, allows for synchronous, two way communication between content and audience. Interactive service platforms such as blogs, fotologs (blogs with photos), chat, and forums empower a connected community to publish their voice online. The Internet audience consumes as well as produces content by visitors joined in a shared moment in time. With consumer generated content, an enormous range of possibilities exist. What will they post? What will be their reaction to questionable referee calls? It could turn into an online match of fans. Will Brazilian fans post more blogs than Mexican fans? Will England object the most to questionable referee calls? During World Cup 2006 like no other, portals are leveraging their interactive community-building services to encourage audience feedback.
US Hispanics, in particular, are a prime audience for this event, as they have a predisposition to seek out Sports content online.
Chart #1:
As seen in Chart #1, average minutes per visitor, % reach and total unique visitor metrics all increased more for US Hispanics online than the overall general market between April 2005 and April 2006 as a percent change.4 For example, average minutes per visitor increased 54.9% for US Hispanics online versus 19.5% for the online general market between April 2005 and April 2006 within the Sports category. 5
Hispanics gravitate towards online Sports content because Sports is a passion of the community. US Hispanics, with ties back to their native countries, experience the World Cup in a different way. National pride and team spirit run high. For example, it is common for Latin American countries to have light working staff or close non-essential businesses during the days that their team is playing in the World Cup. Star players attain all-time hero status, such as Brazil’s Pelé 6 or Argentina’s Maradona. 7
According to Juan Guillermo Tornoe, who tracks Hispanic trends for Wizard of Ads in Austin, TX, there is a universal meaning of the World Cup among Latinos,
"I'm from Guatemala," says Tornoe. "My home team has never made it to the World Cup. But that doesn't mean we're not crazy about it.
"It's a primal thing. It's cultural. And if you are bilingual or Spanish-dominant you will want to hear the games in Spanish. It's in the Latin blood that runs through our veins. The guys at ( U.S. TV networks) do a heck of a job but they lack the emotion, they don't talk at 100 mph and describe every move." 8
Be a Smart Marketer. It’s not too late to jump in on this once every 4 years phenomenon. Take advantage of enhancing your campaign with placement in online World Cup content – a truly global event which encourages citizen journalism and sparks passionate engagement.
Terra wishes all the teams of World Cup 2006 the best of luck!
4. comScore Media Metrix, % Change Media Trend Report, US Hispanic and General Market Service, Sports Category, April 2005 and April 2006
5. comScore Media Metrix, % Change Media Trend Report, US Hispanic and General Market Service, Sports Category, April 2005 and April 2006
6. For more information about Pelé, click on the Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pel%C3%A9
7. For more information about Maradona, click on the Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Maradona%C3%A9
8. Luongo, Michael T. ‘ Marketers Court Hispanic World Cup Market’ May 19 th 2006. <http://forbes.com/>
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