The Coca-Cola jingle is one of television's classics: "I'd like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony..." Through the years its message of togetherness hasn't lost an iota of relevance. The songwriters were alluding to elements of life that's universally loved and worth bonding over. Sure, it was also about selling Coke, but the sentiment struck a chord of togetherness that not even a Pepsi exec could deny. Right now soccer fans the world over are in tune with daily drama offered by the World Cup in Germany. Accordingly, Coca-Cola is in Germany on the crest of an advertising trend, perhaps, and sponsoring a large team of bloggers in order to share the World Cup experience online. And if they get engage in some quality branding, well, that's okay, too.
ICMediaDirect.com is well represented with employees hailing from World Cup 2006 countries. In fact, we resemble a microcosm of global rooting interest. Besides disappointed Team USA backers we've had partisans pulling for their native France, South Korea, Italy, Brazil, and Ukraine. During the last World Cup catching part of a match meant a secretive trip to a nearby restaurant or pub; now seeing beloved soccer teams doesn't require going missing in the middle of the working day. ESPN360, the free downloadable application that broadcasts the action on the pitch, has changed this don't-see/don't tell dynamic. Now we can watch from our terminals, still at the expense of office productivity be damned, but at least we know where everyone is. Face-time is saved.
The Internet is also soaking up and fostering online World Cup communities that would not exist without some of the latest in blogging applications. Take for instance, this new online celebrity in Beijing, China, Dong Lu. You may not have heard of him, but soccer fans in China certainly have. A sportswriter, he started a blog from his living room this past November ? now he's averaging over 100,000 hits a day and has just reached his ten-millionth visitor. All this and China didn't make the World Cup!
Dong Lu has extensive coverage, pictures of the action, signature podcasts where he dresses up in a fake afro and mustache (think he's having fun?) and a vibrant messageboard. Respondents to a recent Indian online survey rank the Chinese ahead of Singaporeans, Malaysians, Australians, and Thais in terms of likelihood of visiting websites for World Cup coverage. The corralling ability of this interest creates excellent advertising opportunities, Dong Lu would concur. It's great that there are soccer nuts in China and even better to know they've a place online to take themselves. Dong Lu isn't merely putting on a show, he's an enthusiast just like his visitors. That's the Internet at its best.
Early statistics suggest that Coca-Cola's decision to sponsor a platform of World Cup may prove a wise choice. Building on their "Torino Conversations" blogging model from the Winter Olympics in February, the goal of www.weallspeakfootball.com is to provide an expanded online World Cup experience with over 30 bloggers and counting. Collectively it helps convey, as one Internet wag referred to it, the "everyone wants to party with everybody" mentality that's overflowing in Germany right now. Coca-Cola's bloggers are providing interaction and quality vlogging, that's fun and extensive video clips of goings-on that doesn't make televised broadcast.
Early statistical returns suggest that the World Cup 2006 is being heavily followed and watched online. According to Kevin Alavy, of Initiative Futures, the highly desired 16-24 year-old demographic is three times more likely to take in World Cup content online than on mobile and, more importantly, the satisfaction ratings is also much greater with online content, at almost 70%. These kinds of numbers are getting attention, no doubt.
Advertisers, heed Coke's example. The World Cup is a special event that generates tremendous global interest and the Internet covers it better, more comprehensively and to higher levels of satisfaction than any medium. Since this World Cup is shaping up like a winner for online advertising it should also be viewed as a precursor to World Cup 2010. Internet applications that already make access to information, vlogging, and fan interaction an enjoyable supplement to the World Cup coverage will continue to improve in the next four years with continued broadband and quality WiFi expansion. This will make World Cup 2010 an advertising bonanza.
All of this change and innovation in coverage and yet it's still the simple and "beautiful game" of soccer along with national pride that draws us in. "I'd like to buy the world a home and furnish it with love..."
Joseph Pratt Media Analyst ICMediaDirect.com TEL: 212-563-6455 Email: joseph@icmediadirect.com http://www.icmediadirect.com