World Cup fans’ media engagement around the world
Reaching World Cup fans
The popularity and reach of the football World Cup means marketers everywhere are seeking ways to reach fans of the tournament in the most effective way.
Here we draw on our TGI data and sports research expertise to explore the media types and brands that particularly appeal to World Cup fans, including differences between markets and how preferences have changed since the last World Cup.
This reveals key opportunities for marketers in targeting World Cup fans across the globe.
World Cup fans are big consumers of media across channels and devices
% who consume this media
World Cup fans consume considerable amounts of media. Generally speaking, they consume most kinds of media just as much as connected adults as a whole, but with a particular bias towards digital media.
World Cup fans particularly likely to consume big streaming and social brands…
% who consume
Within digital media, World Cup followers are particularly likely to use well known paid TV streaming services and social platforms. This makes these prime targets for marketers seeking to engage fans effectively.
…and use of these digital brands has grown a lot since the last World Cup
% World Cup followers who consume digital brand
Engagement with social and paid streaming brands has grown considerably since the last World Cup.
This is true for consumers generally, but social media and video streaming brands have become particularly popular among World Cup fans.
World Cup fans really like to watch clips and keep up with sports news online…
% who do this
Social media sites are particularly popular with World Cup fans. Video clips and quick updates are what these sites are all about.
A considerable proportion of World Cup fans enjoy watching clips online and keeping up-to-date with what’s happening in sport via social media.
This provides key opportunities to reach fans with short form video ads when they are most engaged with content.
…and watching sports clips online is over twice as popular in some markets as in others
% World Cup followers who watch sports clips via online video
In some markets, over half of World Cup fans watch sports clips online, but in others, including big markets like China and Germany, less than half as many do so.
Advertising around sports clips can be an effective way to reach World Cup fans, but the impact will likely be far higher in countries like Thailand, Sweden and the Philippines.
They are also more likely to go online during – and because of – the match they are watching
% who do this whilst watching sport live
World Cup followers are also significantly more likely than other sports fans to consume food and online media at the same time as watching sport.
This provides opportunities for brands to drive immediate online searches and app/site visits via messaging, whilst a match is happening and engagement is locked in.
Podcasts have a growing role to play in World Cup engagement…
% who listen 1+ hours per week
World Cup fans are 56% more likely than other connected adults to listen to podcasts for over an hour per week.
The power of this medium among fans is reflected in big digital brands seeking to leverage prominent football podcasts during the World Cup, such as Netflix running the visualised version Gary Lineker’s ‘The Rest is Football’ podcast daily throughout this summer’s tournament.
…and fans discover podcasts differently to other listeners
% who discover podcasts in this way
Adverts and reviews are among the most compelling ways to reach World Cup fans who listen to podcasts. They are considerably more likely to find podcasts in these ways compared to other podcast listeners.
Watching live football on TV in a bar or other venue is a popular choice for many World Cup fans…
% who interact with football on TV in this way
When fans watch games outside of the home and with others it offers extra opportunities for brands to interact with them, including in-venue promotion and outdoor advertising – potnetially amplified by word-of-mouth recommendation.
Nearly a quarter of World Cup fans watch football on TV outside of the home, in bars and other venues, whilst more than half make some kind of social plans to watch football.
…in some countries doing so is almost three times greater than in others
% World Cup fans in this country who watch live football in bar or other venue
In Spain, nearly half of World Cup fans watch football on TV in bars or other venues. But there are huge differences between countries. At the other end of the scale, in China and USA, the figure is around 15%.
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Find out more about World Cup fans – or any consumer target – through the breadth and depth of our TGI consumer data.