Here Are The Best Practices for Boosting Campaign Performance During the World Cup

The World Cup is one of the most anticipated and watched sporting events of the year. And this year, it’s taking place smack dab in the middle of the busiest marketing season– commencing right before Black Friday with the finals happening only a week before Christmas. With so many viewers who are actively engaged and ready to shop, it presents a golden opportunity for mobile marketers.?

But the question is, how do you create a winning marketing campaign that capitalizes on the World Cup and other sporting events in the future?

In this article, we’ll give you some actionable tips to implement when you’re creating your marketing plans for the event. We’ll also take a look at how marketers can incorporate their World Cup campaign with seasonal marketing events such as Black Friday and Christmas.?

Black Friday, Cyber Monday, The World Cup, and Christmas: What to Expect

The timing for the upcoming World Cup puts it right between Black Friday and Christmas, which is the first time this has happened in history. With the tournament taking place in the middle of the desert, some officials were worried it might be too hot for players and fans if it took place during the usual months of June and July. With that in mind, they pushed it back to the end of November and gave us our very first Winter World Cup.

This presents unique challenges for marketers this time around. First, it’s expected that World Cup spending will eat into Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas sales– with nearly 80% of consumers saying they will cut back on Christmas spending this year. However, the good news is that people love their Football, so they’re still likely to spend when it comes to celebrating their favorite sport, players, and teams.

On the other hand, it’s still a golden opportunity for mobile marketers to broaden their reach, increase app installs, deepen customer loyalty, and more. The key is capitalizing on this massive global audience by connecting with fans where they are, immersing them in the ups and downs of the tournament, and making sure they can find products, info, and entertainment with just a few taps on the screen.

Best Practices for Creating Winning Marketing Campaign During the upcoming World Cup and Beyond

An In-Store and Proximity Approach to Strengthen Your Mobile Marketing

Online isn’t the only place you need to think about promoting your app– doing so in-person and in physical locations can be immensely effective in getting people to download and use your app. Since the World Cup is taking place in the middle of the holiday season, this presents a unique chance for you to reach out to customers who’re looking for good deals and places to shop.

There are a few ways you can increase app traffic and get more installs plus engagement. One way is to simply add app cards alongside purchase receipts and into the package when an item is delivered.

Another option is to create discounts and special deals that can only be used exclusively from the app. You can make these timed-exclusive, meaning these special World Cup deals can only be accessed during the event.

Finally, you can have QR codes displayed throughout your store that encourage people to download the app so they don’t miss out on the special promotions.??

Take Advantage of Well-Timed Push Notifications

There will be great moments during the World Cup that drum up excitement for fans. This is a great opportunity to send push notifications to capitalize on these pivotal moments. For example, we know there will be an initial kick-off for the very first game. You can use this moment to “kick-off” special deals such as free shipping during the tournament and send a push notification to fans’ phones to get the word out.

For this strategy to win, it needs to be well-planned, well-timed, relevant, and presents something that adds value to the user. Whether it’s your home team winning, making a goal, missing a penalty shot, or anything similar, it’s the perfect chance to connect with fans where they are emotional. If your team wins, celebrate with them by giving a great discount. Or if your team loses, try to ease the pain by handing out a special code for a free item on their next purchase.

Don’t Forget to Promote!

Regardless of what deals or events you have planned, you need to make sure people are aware you’re doing them. Spread the word by using your mailing list and making posts on social media to keep it fresh in people’s minds. You can even look into social media groups that focus on your niche and industry to promote there too– just keep in mind that some groups don’t allow this so check with admins first.

Consistent posting and reminders will get you the most bang for your buck and help with creating a successful campaign.

Here Are Some Mobile Marketing Ideas for upcoming World Cup

It can be difficult figuring out the best way to integrate the World Cup with your brand and marketing campaign. The good news is it only takes a little thinking outside the box and any business or organization can hop on the hype train and create an effective marketing strategy.

But don’t worry– we’ve got a few ideas you can use yourself or at the very least get your mind going so you can see what the possibilities are.

Develop Limited-Time Football-Themed Services, Products, or Apps

First, we must mention you don’t want to create anything that infringes on trademarks. However, this doesn’t mean you can create products and services that go well with the theme. If you’re an eCommerce shop that sells apparel, for instance, you can create sport-themed shirts or hats that say “?Viva México, güey!” or something similar.

Here are some real-world examples so you can see how other companies succeeded in the past. For World Cup 2018 in Russia, the VOO (which provides internet, TV, and telecommunications throughout Belgium) created an interactive calendar for the entirety of the tournament. Every day of the event, they provided users with a contest, quiz, poll, or other interactive activity which kept customers coming back each day to check out the app.

During the same year, the French Radio Classique developed a quiz to test listeners' knowledge of the various teams’ national anthem. Anyone who participated got the chance to win a week-long vacation for themself and 3 others.

And here’s one more– Dr. Oetker, a Belgian pizza company, created a predictions campaign where participants gave their score predictions before each game. Everyone who joined won a free pizza or coupon, while one lucky winner who guessed the score exact (or close enough) won a brand new TV.

There are multiple ways to get into the football spirit, and this goes hand-in-hand with our Use Creativity best practice listed above. The goal is to create something that resonates with the fans, gives them a chance to enjoy the games outside of playtime, and putting it in front of them.

Offer Discounts Based on Outcomes

This is another popular choice, especially among restaurants and bars. However, it can be applied across many industries. The simplest example is providing a discount or free items whenever your home country wins a match. You can expand upon this by giving promotions and discounts based on in-game events such as the number of goals scored or the number of flags thrown.

Another idea encouraging social media engagement by providing prizes for customers and users who like, share, and comment on posts. There are also loyalty programs that you can enhance during the tournament. For example, you can give bonus points or larger discounts to people who shop using your app or consistently log in throughout the tournament.

Combine Black Friday, the World Cup, and Christmas Using Digital Calendars

As we’ve mentioned, this World Cup is like no other given the time it’s happening– so why not roll your Black Friday (& Cyber Monday), World Cup, and Christmas marketing campaign into one event? With people spending more time at home watching the games, it’s likely online retail and apps will see increased engagement and opportunity to pull in leads, get new users, and make more sales.?Rolling all three of these campaigns into one lets you create a cohesive marketing plan that can feed off each other.

One effective way of doing this is to create a digital advent calendar, which opens up with prizes during the event. Typically, these come in “12 Days of Christmas” themes, but you can create a custom version that uses both football and the holidays for inspiration. For instance, the better your home country team does in the tournament, the better the prizes awarded.

But there are many routes to take as you’re able to hide anything behind the boxes. It can be videos, discounts, gifts, a contest, exclusive content, and more.

These digital calendars are a fantastic choice because they present many benefits to help with creating a winning marketing strategy. Here are a few of the advantages:

●????You can easily engage with your audience and user base

●????You can build brand loyalty since users are encouraged to visit the calendar regularly

●????It increases traffic to your site, social media, and app

●????It helps convert prospects to buying customers through discount codes and unique rewards

●????It holds your audience’s attention for longer

●????You can easily showcase your products or services

●????It can potentially go viral

Digital calendars are a powerful tool for getting people interested in your brand and driving them down your sales funnel to get them to purchase your product or install your app.

Entravision: Your Leading Global Digital Marketing Partner

Sometimes, you need an extra helping hand to make a successful marketing campaign. That’s where Entravision comes in. We’re dedicated to assisting brands to reach their desired goals around growth, acquiring new users, retaining current users, and generally taking their business to new heights.

Learn More?about Entravision and see how our team & proprietary technology can empower your business today!

Contact us today to speak with one of our friendly professionals, and we’ll be more than happy to work with your brand.

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