The document analyzes social media data from the 2014 FIFA World Cup to determine which brands benefited the most. Nike and Beats by Dre had the most social mentions, despite not being official sponsors. Adidas, as an official sponsor, focused on great content and the hashtag #AllIn, winning more conversations than other sponsors. Both Nike and Adidas saw over 150% growth in social media followers following the World Cup. Adidas reported record football sales of €2 billion and more jersey sales, showing the social media success translated to business results.

1. Which Brands Won the World Cup?
SocialData|Captured|Visualised
*Data compiled from Buzz Radar statistics and financial reports on MarketingWeek UK.

2. Brazil 2014 was the most social event in history:
!
!
116 million mentions
!
4 million photos tagged
!
Memes abounded, from
#ThingsTimHowardCouldSave to #SadBrazilians
to #Persieing.

3. But does this really mean anything for your
brand?
!
22 companies joined FIFA to become a partner
or sponsor -- and brands around the world tried
to capitalise on the real-time opportunities
within the event.
!
We crunched the data and there’s more than a
few insights in it.

4. Top 3 Most Mentioned Brands During
Brazil 2014:
Nike 24%
!
Beats by Dre 19%
!
adidas 17%

5. Brands Total Mentions Percent of Totals
Nike 4,236,900 23%
Beats by Dre 3,326,960 18%
adidas 3,005,930 16%
Coca Cola 2,725,304 15%
Sony 1,788,490 10%
McDonalds 1,600,630 9%
Paddy Power 741,800 4%
Kia 593,900 3%
Hyundai 270,630 1%

6. Being a sponsor isn’t key.

7. Despite not being official sponsors of the
tournament, Nike and Beats by Dre owned
social.
!
Both had a larger share of voice over the course
of the tournament than any official partner or
sponsor.

8. 2%
10%
9%
2%
16%
17%
19%
24%
Nike
Beats by Dre
adidas
Coca Cola
Hyundai
McDonalds
Sony
Hyundai
Share of voice among top brands

9. Great content pushes big numbers.

10. Nike’s videos garnered huge views, with more
than 187 million views.
!
adidas received 97 million views. adidas did push
out more videos (53 compared to Nike’s 9), but
this is one case where a focused effort may
make more sense from a brand.

11. However, adidas used great
content combined with smart
promotion to win the battle for
conversation among official
sponsors.

12. Among all the World Cup partners and
sponsors, adidas won more than 30%
of the total conversation, followed by Coca-Cola
and Sony.

13. 3%
6%
16%
18%
27%
30%
adidas
Coca Cola
Sony
McDonalds
Kia
Hyundai
Share of voice among Top Tier Sponsors

14. Promotion works, especially when
combined with great social ideas
and content.

15. In the battle of the hashtag, adidas got it right.
The sentiment behind #AllIn was spot on.
!
While Nike may have won the overall general
conversation, adidas’ marketing was smart and
very targeted.

16. 7%
14%
79%
#allin or nothing (adidas)
#riskeverything (Nike)
#startbelieving (Puma)
Mentions of top campaign hashtags

17. The Impact

18. This increase in conversation garnered brands
substantial follower growth.
!
adidas gained 19.1 million new Facebook likes
and 1.9 million Twitter followers, which is over
150% growth.
!
Nike saw similar growth, with 19.1 million new
Facebook likes and 1.9 million Twitter followers
at 95% growth.

19. And this all resonated with consumers in the
form of sales
!
adidas is reporting a new record in football
sales of €2bn this year, with more than 8 million
official jerseys sold, which is 1.5 million more
than the last World Cup: a 19% increase.*
!
Not surprisingly, their bestseller is tournament
champions Germany.

20. “Germany may have held the
trophy aloft but banter, numbers
and personal brands were the
real winners.”

21. So how does a brand win at the World Cup?
!
They combine smart social with events that matter
to their base and market it well, which can include
paid advertising or sponsorship.

22. Thankyou.
info@buzzradar.com | buzzradar.com | @BuzzRadar