Playing the Brand Game, World Cup Edition

The World Cup is all anyone is talking about this month…so we might as well talk about it some more. 😉🏆 We’re breaking down the most interesting and memorable insights we’ve gathered as the football matches continue, from the brands outperforming the official FIFA sponsors to the unconventional bonds being formed between international cities like Boston and Glasgow…sister city friendship bracelet, anyone? 🫶

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Welcome to the For What It’s Worth Podcast, where two highly opinionated marketing professionals offer some commentary on the current events that have people talking: in the moment stories, news, controversies, and more — we’ll dissect it all. We’re Jessica and Kayla, here to offer some culture conversations with a dash of media and marketing perspective — for whatever it’s worth. 

“For What It’s Worth” is brought to you by Evermore Co, a full-service marketing agency. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:15

Hello and welcome back to another episode of For What It's Worth with Kayla and Jessica, where we're sharing our opinion on some pop culture, marketing, media things that are going on, and we'd love to hear your comments. Also, be sure to subscribe to our podcast so you make sure you hear all of our content and be able to share your opinion too, because we always like to hear your two cents for what it's worth. So today's episode, again, we're going to talk about something super current is the World Cup, um, which is actually from a marketing media standpoint, has been really going on for several months now, um, leading up to it. But um, something really interesting that I want to kick off our conversation about is um paid sponsorships versus organic. So there are official sponsors of the World Cup, the FIFA World Cup, um, such as like Coca-Cola, um, Hyundai, Kia, um, Adidas, obviously the biggest one with the clothes. And um what we're watching and seeing the numbers is those sponsorships are getting less engagement, um, less almost publicity and and revenue-based income from sponsoring it, where organic brands that are just posting about it, doing something special for it, and basically being more creative, um, are actually garnering way more engagement and getting more bang for their buck, so to speak. And so I just think that brings us to the point of like, it's not just about paying for media anymore, it's actually adding that creative element. It's that idea that we always talk about here in the office is you know, you can have the right channel, but if you don't have the creative correct, it doesn't even matter anymore. So um just just let's let's kick it off there. What what things have you been noticing with that?

SPEAKER_00 1:59

I think it's really interesting because it says something about like what people value, whether it's like big legacy brands or if it's the people kind of doing scrappy under the table marketing. Um so I think that's a really good point here because a lot of this is kind of igniting. We were seeing that like youth soccer in America right now is going through the roof because it's so popular, like high rocket. It's just all this publicity is crazy. And you're seeing all these people from other countries come here and have like a grand old time, like the Scottish in Boston was hilarious. Like it's too good. Um, and so like it's bringing all these different people who have such a love for the sport here, and I feel like they see all the people around the stadium. Like, I think it's really easy to be like, oh, there's another Coca-Cola sign, and there's another whatever. But I think it's more fun for fans to kind of see those like more organic moments because it feels less corporate, kind of, and it doesn't feel so intentional, it's a little more like here we are in this moment, just like you, that sort of thing. It's more relatable in that sense. So I'm not surprised that we're seeing that. Um, and all of these like paid sponsors are I mean, they're paying hand over fist to get this publicity. It's insane. And I mean it's gonna pay off well for them in the end, but uh compared to these other brands that are doing that more entertaining spur of the moment stuff, they're winning a little bit better. And I think it's just a masterclass and like understanding when it's time to plan and when it's time to just do. For sure.

SPEAKER_01 3:25

Yeah, it's it's been interesting to watch too. Of you know, I think I think the I think the popularity of it, I mean the fact that the World Cup's in the US or North America, I know there's some games um across North America, but of how much that publicity has drawn. And I think part of that has to do with when we can watch it, right? Right. A lot of people talk about that viewership because it's, you know, we we don't have a huge time difference or anything. Um, and so what does that mean? What's interesting is is the US. How far does the US go? And typically we're not known to go very far in the tournament, like it's you know, soccer, which again, the fact that we're the only ones that call it soccer kind of kind of shows that.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

There's a lot of things going viral with people being like, I didn't realize we had a team. I thought people were just coming here to hang out.

SPEAKER_01 4:11

I didn't know we had to cheer for somebody here, right?

SPEAKER_00 4:14

Which is funny.

SPEAKER_01 4:15

But it'll be interesting to watch the advertisements and what happens to that based on how far the US goes, right? Because of course, those are gonna be the biggest games that are tuned into by, you know, our country, obviously. Um, and if if we don't go very far, where will those ad spends go and and what'll happen? And will it fizzle out towards the end? Because I think we still have about two and a half weeks or so before before the finals, a couple weeks here, um, to see what happens. So that'll also be interesting to watch. Um, I know the other aspect of this that we've talked about quite a bit is logo placement, right? And I've actually seen this over the past, I don't know, 10, 15, 20 years of you think about these stadiums now across the country, whether it's baseball, football, anything, um, are named after brands, right? I mean, let's look at Minnesota. We got Target Field, we have US Bank Stadium, um, I don't think it's XL Energy. It's Grand Casino, yes, because the naming rights, right? You only get it for so long. But what's been really interesting is these stadiums, because there's already these paid sponsors and you can't upset them, have to cover their logos. Like we can't have product placement, right? Um, and so they're having to cover everything, and which is a significant cost and a significant feat to have to cover these massive building signs and structures um to make sure that there's no um sponsors that aren't paid being shown. And what's happening with that, like, is it actually pushing those brands to have more equity? Because people are like, what is that? Why is that? You know, it's the idea if you leave it alone, it's not as noticeable. But if you're trying to hide it, people want to know what it is. I think that's been fun to watch.

SPEAKER_00 5:58

Yeah, it's been hilarious because I think Levi's Stadium is the most famous one where they obviously they have to do what's called the clean site policy, which is when they scrub everything or basically tape it up essentially. Right tarps, tape, whatever it takes, you know. Um so Levi's had to cover up their big logo on the outside of the stadium, but it looks exactly like Levi's logo. You can see the outline, you know what it is, but it's just white. It's just covered in a cloth or something. Um, and so all these other brands, like I think Levi's changed all their profile pictures to be that white covered logo. And then these other brands are like, We're with you, man, and they're covering the brilliant again in the moment.

SPEAKER_01 6:34

Let's mark it in the moment. I just think that's absolutely brilliant.

SPEAKER_00 6:37

Yeah, no, it's so good. And that's what makes it funny, is it's just like like all these fans are walking up and noticing it and being like, that's ridiculous. And we all see it on social media later and we're like, that's funny because I just saw it. So it's like a very like shared moment thing. And that goes to what we were talking about before. Like, it's just organic. That's all it is.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

Right. And it's been interesting that even the announcers, like, how hard is that to call it? They have to rename it when they're talking on the air or when they're advertising it, right? It's like San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, um, which has always been known as Levi. But I know we were chatting a little bit too about um Atlanta Stadium, Mercedes Benz, um, and they had an exception. So I'll let you kind of share your thoughts on that.

SPEAKER_00 7:19

Yeah. So because they have like a retractable cover over that stadium, Mercedes Benz has branding. So when you look up, you see the logo. Um, and so it's a structural part of the stadium, which means that they can't scrub it. There's nothing you can put up there that's gonna like like what? Are you just gonna stick some tape up there on every single thing? And it's also like extreme cost to do that as well. It's just impossible. Yeah, so they got a free pass because there's nothing they can do, right? But they still have to call it something else, like Atlanta area stadium or something.

SPEAKER_01 7:49

So it's just I just feel like it's drawing so much more attention doing it that way.

SPEAKER_00 7:53

It is, it is, and they have to understand that. And of course, it's just like it's really just to help the sponsors sleep at night, knowing that they spent all this money and they're gonna have a clean slate to work with. Right. But it's just funny, like you think it's gonna stop anything. So it's working out great for these people that aren't sponsors.

SPEAKER_01 8:10

Well, I think about Mercedes-Benz. Heck yeah, right. I mean, look at us all talking about it, and and so like what they're getting out of this is is amazing, you know. So that paid nothing. Well, let's be real. I mean, what they paid to have the stadium called that, right? Um, but I think, you know, this is kind of a positive outcome that they I'm sure can see coming of that brand awareness that's been just incredible and fun to see. Um, you know, I think about back when I was a kid, product placement was, you know, a thing. Um, I think about one of the most iconic product placements was ET. Actually, they went to um MM's first, you know, when he's holding the in the show, you know, the Reese's pieces. Well, they went to MM's first and they turned them down. And so then they did the Reese's pieces. Well, now that is one of the most iconic things ever. And I'm sure Eminem is like, oh my gosh, what did we do? Mars, what did we do, right? Like, yeah, what did what do we do? But I mean, product placement is important. Um, and so I like you said, I understand why they want to get rid of it, but I think times have changed, especially with social media and digital and all that kind of stuff, that is kind of flipping. You would have been better off leaving that product placement almost because people would have ignored it more than now we're talking about it.

SPEAKER_00 9:28

Exactly. Yeah, and I think the other thing that's really fun about this is um we're seeing like different approaches to marketing too. So, like I was saying before, talking about the Scottish in Boston. Now Boston is going through the process of becoming a sister city with Glasgow. And so that's really interesting because it's kind of like that is essentially just a marketing move. So they started doing that after World War II to like encourage cooperation. Um, and so it really doesn't do much, it's just symbolic. Um, but I think it's a really interesting way that this World Cup is helping like uh brands aren't just brands, like a city is a brand too. And so both of these cities now have this cultural tie because of this like two-week stint where the Scottish like drank Boston out of house and home. So that's essentially that's what they did. And so now it's becoming like I think all it does is like helps with trade, and then there's also better opportunities for people to study abroad between countries, and it's kind of just like a giant friendship bracelet. Like, that's all it is. Oh, I love that analogy. It takes about a year to do this process, so there'll be like like the mayor of Boston signed it, and then in a year it'll go like into place. Yeah. But yeah, so we're still gonna be having that happen afterwards, and now it's a marketing stint. Now you can be like Boston and Glasgow are sister cities, like the tourism is gonna be crazy.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

Like it's just these partnerships.

SPEAKER_00 10:53

Yeah, it's a really big deal. And so thinking about it from like less of a sponsorship perspective and more of just like uh what is this doing for the cities that it's being hosted in? Like it's so interesting to just watch how people are approaching this in many different ways.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

And that's just it. I mean, with this World Cup, I mean, the sky's the limit. There are people that I know of in my life and in my circle that zero clue about soccer, right? Like you said, or like we have a team, we have professional soccer teams, things like that, to now just being so excited about it and talking about it, whether it's um, you know, the branding or or the team or the cities that they're in. You know, I I picked up some Coke Zero the other day and it was, you know, had the soccer ball all over it. Like you're you're seeing it everywhere. That's been fun. Um, and and now it'll be interesting too to see what happens, like I said, with what how far does the US go? So how far is that viewership? But I mean, there is a flip side to this. This is a worldwide thing. Yep. And so, like you said, it's not just the United States and United States brands that are that are benefiting from it, but worldwide. And so, um, because let's be real, soccer, or what the rest of the world knows it as, football, um, is the biggest sport in the world. I mean, it's one of the oldest. And so um it's it's a big deal. And it's a big deal, I think, for North America to have it and be exciting and brands to have it and watch what happens, these sponsorships, and and just keep in mind, I know this is a grand scale, right? It's the World Cup, it's it's brands that have billions of dollars to spend on marketing. But if we bring it back down to a local level or a smaller level, the marketing concepts are still the same. Yeah, it's the organic, it's the not sponsored stuff, it's the not in your face, it's the things you're not doing, you know, covering it up, not communicating is communicating. And what does that mean? So I I I find that really interesting and I love that as an example of not doing something, does something.

SPEAKER_00 12:54

So exactly. We'll be watching to kind of see what the US does. I know one of our biggest players got a red card and he's out for the next game. So we'll see what happens. Um, we'll be watching it. And I think just to wrap things up, like in general, like we're just kind of this has been the first time that this has happened here in what, 35 years now? Yeah, it's very, very close to that. So I think it's just we're seeing what happens when all of these different countries are kind of focused on what's going on in the US and these brands are having a heyday with it. Like it's just going crazy. Um, whether you're involved or you're not, like there's opportunities everywhere. And so I think in general, like it's it's the thing to watch right now. It's been bigger to me than the Super Bowl was this past year. Like compared to the stuff that was happening back then. I know we did an episode about that. That to me is just like, oh my gosh, gone out of my head. Like all I can think about is World Cup. So it's been a very interesting cultural moment. We're excited to see where that goes.

SPEAKER_01 13:49

Yeah. So that's our two cents for what it's worth. But we want to hear from you. What do you think about covering the logos? What do you think about marketing organically versus sponsored? And where is that headed? And and what are your thoughts? So please share that with us. We'd love to hear, as you just heard our two cents for what it's worth. So make sure you're, like I said, you continue to follow us so that you continue to hear our content, hear our comments, and we'd love to hear yours.