With the World Cup two weeks in, half of the teams have fought through the group stage to land a coveted spot in the knockout round. Now some marketers are finally breaking ahead of the pack too.
According to YouGov BrandIndex, which tracks consumer perception, Pepsi, Sony, and Coca Cola have all seen a significant brand bump thanks to World Cup-related advertising. McDonald’s, on the other hand, has dropped in YouGov’s “buzz score,” which asks interviewees whether they have heard something positive or negative about a brand.
Pepsi, a so-called “guerrilla advertiser” that did not officially sponsor the World Cup but has run soccer-themed ads, saw their brand awareness jump 4%. Coke, for its part, which is a sponsor, had its “word of mouth” score grow 5%, according to YouGov.
Yet McDonald’s, which has flooded the zone with World Cup ads, lost significant brand perception, says YouGov. Their buzz score dropped 6 points from the baseline.
“Initially, one wouldn’t have anticipated this,” said YouGov BrandIndex chief executive Ted Marzilli. He noted that the fast food chain’s initial ad featuring amazing un-retouched soccer ball tricks had received high praise. But the chain’s other ads featuring their “Peel. Play. Ole. Ole.” promotion, were “peel-off sweepstake” spots “reminiscent of their old Monopoly scratch-off games,” he said. “Compared to others trotting out superstars like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Renaldo and Pele, peeling off stickers may pale in comparison.”
And what about the big face-off between Nike and Adidas?
“For all the hype about the marketing war between tournament sponsor Adidas and non-sponsor Nike, neither has made a perception breakthrough over the other,” said Mr. Marzilli.
