What’s Trending in Football?

5 things to keep in mind while posting about trending topics

The 2014 FIFA World Cup has been a football lover’s dream. It has generated precisely the level of thrill, excitement, nail-biting, nervousness and satisfaction that a fan desires and expects from the greatest sports tournament in the world.

Mario Goetze’s extra time winner for Germany in the final against Argentina was the 171st goal to be scored in the tournament equaling the all-time world cup record of most goals scored. Each and every team registered on the score sheet at least once. 8 out of the 16 knockout games were decided by Extra time or on penalties. If this isn’t exciting enough, the World cup saw more than its fair share of shocks, controversies and upsets. This World Cup was the justification of FIFA President Joao Havelange’s decision in 1998 to increase the number of participant teams from 24 to 32 as it showcased the potential of the “underdogs” with Chile, Costa Rica and Columbia punching way above their weight. On the other hand, World Cup mammoths like Portugal, Italy, England and reigning champions Spain were thrown off their pedestal pretty early into the tournament. Pundits are describing this as the greatest World Cup ever and it has done nothing but add to the already massive popularity and fan following football as a sport enjoys.

FIFA, the governing body of world football now has more member nations than the United Nations. It is truly a global sport and isplayed or followed by billions of people around the world. It is a sport that requires minimal equipment and is played by people from all races, religions, castes, genders or income groups. Football is played on the beach, in the snow, in the desert, on a ground, indoors and even in war zones. It is this flexibility and adaptability of the sport that creates an unparalleled fan following and loyalty.

The tears in the eyes of fans when their team is losing, the celebration during victory, the anger at the transfer of their favorite player from the club they’ve been supporting since childhood to the direct rivals, the delight of qualifying for the Champions league and countless other emotions are shared universally by billions of fans across the globe. These fans respond very positively or very negatively to every piece of news that the world of football provides and one can count on football to provide regular and ample fodder.

Suarez biting Chiellini, Zuniga’s outrageous tackle against Neymar, Lois Van Gaal’s appointment as the manager of Manchester United, Germany’s mauling of Brazil and Kroos’s move to Real Madrid are just a few examples of gossip that football offers on a daily basis.

In digital marketing terms these are called “trending topics”. The fans discuss this exhaustively online and love to read everything they can about every topic there is.

Herein lies the opportunity for marketing, advertising and building a brand.

Posting about these trending topics has really picked up in recent years with memes, jokes, 6 second videos called vines and tweets. These posts on trending topics that fans want to read about can be used to create brand awareness and loyalty. Users would love to read about, laugh at or enjoy such news or gossip and the presence of your brand name along is a sure shot mantra to increase brand loyalty.

Some examples of impactful posts are-

“But the most important question is: Do the Germans know who Sachin Tendulkar is?”

“Hey @luis16suarez. Next time you're hungry just grab a Snickers.”

“David Moyes....The UnChosen One...”

Brands like Amul, Snickers and McDonalds’s do a great job at this while some brands fail miserable. It does not require a creative genius to come up with these posts. A few things if kept in mind would ensure that your brand benefits the most from these trending topics.
 

5 things to keep in mind while posting about trending topics:-

1)    Do not lose focus- Your brand is not the hero of the post, the topic is. The limelight must be on the topic as that is what the users are interested in.
2)    Be precise- The posts would either be memes, tweets, vines or jokes. No one has the time or inclination to read lengthy paragraphs. You must not try and communicate everything in a single post.
3)    Do not be late- Nothing tastes as bad as expired bread. Post when users are interested to know or read about the topic or do not post at all. No one would be interested to read about the Louis Van Gaal’s appointment or Fabregas’ move to Chelsea now.
4)    Use visual cues- Majority of the users scroll down their news feed without reading each and every post. Usage of distinct and attractive visual cues like giff videos or images is the only way to grab their attention and indicate the post’s link to the topic.
5)    Take risks or be different- Last but perhaps the most important point is to take risks or post unique content. Posting the same kind of posts as the competition will not grab any eyeballs. For example – every possible post against Lionel Messi winning the golden ball has been already posted. A post supporting his selection and making an ideal case for it would be refreshing and stand out from the crowd.


By
Siddharth Shetty,
Marketing Intern,
Integrated Corporate Practice
DY Works

Experiential marketing: Automakers’ new tool to build brands

Ketan Thakkar, ET Bureau Apr 11, 2014, 07.07PM IST

MUMBAI: Jann Mardenborough, a 22-year-old race car enthusiast, will soon participate in GP3 racing and take a step closer to his dream of racing in Formula 1 championship.


The platform for Mardenborough was being offered by Nissan's GT Academy in Europe which has now come to India. The academy aims to reach out to 5,000 young people in five cities in India to test their driving skills on simulators installed in malls. The company will filter 14 best drivers, but the main aim is to spread awareness of the Nissan brand to the participants.

This kind of experiential marketing is increasingly turning out to be a new brand building tool for automakers in India. Be it Mahindra's Great Escape `off-roading rally' for its customers or Tata Motors' recent truck racing.

"Experiential marketing is a fast gaining currency in India for high engagement categories such as automobile and luxury goods. Advertising is increasingly very expensive and is like carpet bombing,'' Alpana Parida, president at DY Works, a brand strategy firm said.

Parida said there was a direct correlation between higher level of customer engagement with a brand to conversion and preference for that brand.

"Experiential marketing reaches out to opinion leaders, who are the innovators and early adopters in a category. They are the influencers, the enthusiasts, who today, thanks to the evolution of technology, are more important than ever. They create a viral buzz that quickly reaches a wider audience. This is a very effective strategy to build brands beyond advertising," Parida said.

Fast And Furious: How Fastrack managed to play sex card in advertisings

Brand Equity, Wednesday, January 9th, 2013

Remember the character of Akira Rai played by the ebullient Anushka Sharma in the 2012 release Jab Tak Hain Jaan? Many of the films viewers conclude she was the brightest spark in an otherwise morose caper. A girl who believed in breaking up over the phone without shedding any tears, was looking for no strings attached sex while also being the wholesome girl next door. Sort of like the young women and men of Fastrack.

With racy ads and a product range that's very sharply youth focused, expanding from timepieces to sunglasses, bags and belts, it's built itself as an Indian youth icon of sorts, no 4 in Brand Equity's survey of Most Exciting Brands. And that in a relatively short time frame, even as former youth favourites with a bigger heritage like Flying Machine grapple with where they belong and how they need to get there.

Fastrack was known for bold product design but the audacious imagery is of a slightly more recent vintage. It was launched in 1998 as a sub-brand of Titan and was later spun off as an independent entity targeting the urban youth in 2005.

Ever since, the brand has added accessories like eye gear, bags, belts, wallets and wristbands and is betting big on the youth fashion space. "Very few new brands have succeeded in India — Fastrack is one of them. It has been the first to identify the 'Move On' generation and position to them," views Alpana Parida, president, DY Works, a marketing consultancy.

Edginess has been the key factor, according to Arun Iyer, national creative director, Lowe Lintas. He adds "one can't build an irreverent brand and be safe in the communication." Accordingly the tone of voice has been kept bold. Its advertising initially had Virat Kohli and Genelia D'Souza making mischief in various locations ranging from the elevator to the ATM to the airport counter.

Then they moved the action to the bedroom, and the parking area and explained 'why the world moved on' to typewriters and handbrakes. After a commercial ran into problems with TV channels, Fastrack quickly went online to drum up hype about this 'forbidden' film.

The final clip was rather innocuous: a girl taking her bra off while still wearing her t-shirt with the cheeky line '20% off can mean a lot'. And though it had a lot less skin on show than the average deo commercial, it made several people who would otherwise have watched the ad without batting an eyelid, eager voyeurs charged up to catch a glimpse of the 'film the channels didn't want us to see'.

The tone of the ads over the last few years has been mischievous, just the right side of risque. In early 2012, the brand used digital as the lead medium for the first time to launch an entire collection called TEES. It had a combination of provocative visuals and girls admonishing people for staring at their T..s.

The hostel campaign for bags also created a furore as it showed a girl sneaking out of a boys' hostel after a night with her lover. A sequel to the ad had the same girl groping hot male passengers in a metro train. The use of young stars and a reversal of roles (and rules) made for a counter-culture offering in an otherwise polite and frequently dreary Indian brand universe.

Says Gupta, "Whatever Fastrack has put out there has always been aspirational and young. But above all it's always been believable. This makes it easy for the youth to relate." Adds Iyer, "For a brand like this we have to be thinking ahead of the curve rather than going by what the youth may feel as being currently cool."

An insight learnt in this journey has been that while it talks to the youth, many people who are not necessarily in that age bracket are using Fastrack too. It's a sign that the country is getting younger not just in age but mindset. Realising the propensity of its core target audience for the digital medium, Fastrack has been present extensively on it and is spending way above the industry average. Elaborates Vineet Gupta, managing partner of 22feet, digital agency on the brand, "Over the years, we have used the medium to influence every aspect of the marketing funnel — from engaging with our audience on a daily basis to generating conversations and awareness, to even launching new collections and activations with digital playing the lead role."

While the synchronicity between communication, packaging and product design has created an amazingly robust brand in Parida's view, what can be heightened is the in-store experience. It was in 2009 that Fastrack had opened its own stores positioned as a complete accessories destination. Currently it has over 125 showrooms, along with a presence in multibrand outlets. According to Vinay Bhatia, customer care associate and senior vice president - marketing and loyalty, Shoppers , "We are its top retailer in the country.

It has been consistently doing a double digit growth rate (CAGR) for us in last few years." Across the Tier I and Tier II cities, the brand is faring well and affordable entry price points have helped. In Bhatia's view, Fastrack is way ahead of category competition within the areas it operates in.

While it is good to have a footprint in all the spaces that the youth are excited about, the marketing head of a fashion brand, on condition of anonymity, points that it may actually be playing on a sticky wicket. Since it is competing in multiple segments and with many players, Fastrack could define the competition as coming from the various players in each of these categories or it could choose to believe there is no single challenger. The tipping point, many feel, could come from its overtly sexy positioning, which has got it noticed and has created ample anticipation but may pose a limitation in the long run. Explains Anup Vishwanthan, executive vice president, Leo Burnett, "The brand's aspirational value, creates a non-serious and frivolous image, which could corner it into a box when it gets ready to take the next leap." Going forward they will have to bring in certain values that would give them the stature, he adds, since the flip side of the entire 'move on' imagery could position Fastrack as lacking in depth and being irresponsible.

For now Fastrack seems to be having a free run with its target segment eating out of its palms. Who knows where the next extension could be coming from: a diverse set of possibilities ranging from funky helmets to equally funky condoms. 


AlpanaParida is President of DY Works , a leading brand strategy and design firm.