Fanning The FIFA'Fever'

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has just got over, though Germany was the official winner, there were many brands which tried to win ‘big’ through this sport.

Merchandising goes viral
Many established brands like Nautica, Adidas, Riot and Nike launched FIFA merchandise. Avinash Pant, Head Marketing, Nike India, says, “We have seen great response for Brasilian team kit. Besides, football fans have also shown great reaction to the off-pitch collection.”

Likewise, Riot, a retail venture of Suditi Industries, launched its latest collection of clothes and garments on the theme of FIFA World Cup that includes T-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, boxers, polos and track pants.

The hysterical demand for football merchandise has also prompted many e-tailers, including Fashionara and Myntra, to launch retail FIFA merchandise. Besides, Riot had launched its exclusive website just for retailing FIFA merchandise.

Animesh Maheshwari, Vice President, Riot, says, “Indians are extremely fond of football and this is a great opportunity for us to connect with the youth.”
 

TVCs speaking ‘FIFA’
In addition to this, brands
like Pepsi and Airtel that associate themselves largely with cricket, also tapped the opportunity during the football season by roping in Ranbir Kapoor and AR Rahman for their respective campaigns.

Pepsi India re-launched ‘Change the Game’ campaign which was originally launched in 2012. Irreverent and youthful, new TVC brings alive the fun associated with football.

Homi Battiwalla, Category Director - Colas, Hydration & Mango Based Beverages, PepsiCo India, says, “Our new Pepsi Football campaign takes forward the philosophy of Change the Game with a refreshing twist. The campaign promises to excite and engage not only the existing passionate football fans but the entire nation.”

In addition, many prominent brands including Coca Cola, Hindustan Unilever and many more advertised exclusively on 28 channels which aired the 2014 FIFA World Cup marketing campaign in India.

Expert speak

The concept of creating a buzz with these short-term advertisements is already applied and tested worldwide. In fact, such advertisements help brands not only in earning revenue, but also build a positive image as well.

Speaking on the same, Ad Guru and CEO of Genesis Film Production, Prahlad Kakkar, says, “Such activities create certain level of brand loyalty. Though people have some pet brands, and when they see their brand promoting the event, it connects with them instantly.”

However, he also stressed that brands need to be ‘local’ in their approach, when they are indulging in any such campaign. “They just cannot take foreign advertising and dump it here. Brands which understood it have performed quite well.”

For example, Pepsi learned it quite early, and the company localised their campaign since the beginning, and coined advertorial phrases accordingly, like Dil Mange More (Indian version of ‘Ask for More’).

The Ad Guru also highlights that festive or event-based TVCs only work for bigger companies like Hindustan Unilever, as they have the capacity to constantly hammer the consumers mind with their brand in shorter spell. It is not at all a feasible option for small and medium sized brands, as they don’t have money to repeat the advertisements as bigger companies do.

Clearly, short term events offer great opportunities for brands; however, it also requires a sharp advertising approach to reap in the benefits.