In the blink of an eye, the global sports event is approaching. This year’s event is not only the first major sports event open for live audience participation after the pandemic, but also the largest sports event ever held in France. It is hailed as the biggest global sports event in the past decade, drawing significant public attention. This year’s event will open on 26 July and conclude on 11 August, and in order to gain more consumer attention during the event, major brands have been laying out advertisements and using innovative AI technology to enhance their brand experience, in an effort to raise brand awareness during this prime time.
Global Sports Event Opportunity Surge: Advertising Spend Hits New Heights
According to Dan Lovinger, President of NBC Sports Television Advertising Marketing, the highest sports event advertising revenue previously was from the 2022 NFL Super Bowl, with a total ad revenue of $636 million. This year, the sports event’s television advertising revenue is expected to reach $1.2 billion (approximately 5 billion Malaysian Ringgit), with over $350 million coming from new media ad placements. This record-breaking amount highlights the global marketing community’s emphasis on the exposure opportunities presented by this event and demonstrates the immense impact of global sports events on the marketing market.
Irresistible Event Charm: Why Are Global Marketers Flocking to It?
Sports have universal appeal. Once the competition begins, billions of people around the world will discuss the event from various corners of the globe. Every topic related to the event gets amplified in the eyes of consumers. The high level of consumer attention to the event provides more marketing opportunities for brands, allowing them to reach a large audience, convey brand messages, and enhance brand image.
This discussion is not limited to the event itself but also includes related advertisements, brand activities, and various marketing efforts by sponsors. During this period, consumer recognition and emotional connection with brands deepen, presenting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for marketers. Additionally, consumer purchasing behavior during the event is influenced by the competition’s atmosphere. They not only buy event-related products like sportswear and souvenirs but also develop higher trust and affinity toward sponsor brands.
Female Viewership on the rise, Social Media as an information source
According to the latest survey data, 59 per cent of respondents say they are interested in watching or following sports events, demonstrating the broad appeal of sport to a global audience. Not only that, but the interest of women in sport cannot be ignored, with 47 per cent of female respondents expressing a strong interest in watching or following sports events, demonstrating the growing importance of the female audience in the sports market.
Regarding the attention to 2024 the largest sports event, 52% of respondents indicated interest in the 2024 event. Of these, 41% plan to use social media to watch the event, 39% will use social media to find news reports about the event, and 35% will use social media to get the latest updates. This indicates that social media is gradually replacing traditional media as the primary source of information.
AI Technology Takes the Stage at the Global Sports Event, Enhancing Event Presentation
AI technology application is a key focus of this year’s event. The organizers have utilized AI in several areas, such as using AI cameras to adjust angles based on sunlight and weather changes to provide the best viewing perspectives. AI is also used for security, ensuring smooth operation of the event. Additionally, AI creates virtual environments for athletes to familiarize themselves with their surroundings in advance and monitors athletes’ physical conditions, analyzing data to help teams adjust training strategies. AI has also transformed judging methods by providing real-time data on athletes’ movements, such as speed, angles, and jump heights, aiding judges in making accurate scores. Viewers can see this data on screens, deepening their understanding of the competition.
Additionally, for at-home viewers, AI broadcasting services are used to automatically generate highlights and send customized clips of specific athletes and sports events based on viewer preferences. Beyond the event, this functionality is also widely used in marketing. If this service is applied to the marketing automation process, audience behavior can be predicted through analytics, which not only saves manpower costs, but also allows the brand to send out targeted messages, ensuring that the brand is presented at the optimal time and in front of the most appropriate audience groups.
Digitalisation of Match Watching, New Opportunities for Brands through Audience Interaction
Advances in technology and the popularity of digitalisation are rapidly changing the viewing habits of viewers. Today’s fans not only watch live streaming events, but also stream media platforms, social media and professional sports websites to track the progress of matches, watch match recaps, browse news analysis and even participate in online discussions, forming a diverse and interactive viewing ecosystem.
In the highly competitive advertising market, this change highlights the advantages of digital advertising. Unlike the expensive advertising layout at the event site, digital advertising is not only less expensive, but can also more accurately target the target audience, providing an immersive brand experience with customized marketing, deepening their perception and goodwill towards the brand, and these advertisements that can catch the consumers’ eyes will lead the brand to victory and establish a deeper connection with the global audience.
Creative Advertising: Unlocking New Business Opportunities
Through the aforementioned content, we generally understand the potential of digital advertising in event marketing. Rich Media (creative multimedia advertising), as a trend in the advertising industry, not only has a variety of creative formats, but also allows brand advertisements to appear in the consumer shopping and research journeys, which greatly enhances the interactivity of digital advertising and brings more business opportunities for brands.
Rich Media (Creative Multimedia Advertising)
- Interactivity: Multi-creative media advertising can increase user interaction and brand engagement.
- Multi-sensory experience: through sound, video and animation, to enhance the attractiveness and effectiveness of adverts
- Mobile Interstitial | Eye-catching animations that captivate and resonate with consumers
During the tournament, the ‘Mobile Interstitial’ creates an exciting and competitive atmosphere to enhance the user’s viewing experience; the full-page design not only allows more space for information placement, but also provides a wide range of multimedia elements, from pictures, videos to audio, which can strike a deep chord in the hearts of viewers and motivate them to click on the ads.
2. Mobile Footer + Mobile Interstitial | Eye-catching formats that ensure continuous brand exposure
Using an Mobile Interstitial animated cover page, the advert immediately catches the audience’s attention. After the transition, the advert will continue to appear at the bottom of the page, increasing brand exposure significantly.
Of course, in addition to Rich Media, Social Media is also a good marketing medium, through which you can interact with consumers and publish various forms of promotional content.
Social Media Marketing
- Interaction and Engagement: Interacting with users on social media, responding to comments and messages, and engaging in discussions helps build trust and relationships with audiences.
- Content Creation and Sharing: Create and share brand-related content, such as articles, images, videos and stories, that are designed to capture audience attention and generate interest.
During the tournament, people all over the world will be excited, and there will be fans joining the tournament and cheering for their favorite teams. Taking advantage of the enthusiasm created by the tournament, brands can use WhatsApp, a messaging app that is used by 90% of Malaysians, to create a topic and interact with users. For example, brands can set up a poll on WhatsApp’s official group, and those who complete the poll will receive a discount coupon. Not only can brands get closer to their fans through this simple activity, but user behavior on WhatsApp will also be recorded, such as preferences or the amount of time a user has been active online, etc. This data can be segmented so that if a brand wants to send out a message in the future, they can send out customized messages based on the preferences of different categories of audience! This greatly improves customer satisfaction. If you are interested in WhatsApp Marketing, welcome to seek the assistance of cacaFly Malaysia.
2. Instagram
Instagram is one of the social media that young people like to use and most KOLs must be running Instagram, so if brands want to enter the youth market and find KOLs to promote their brands on the social media platform, Instagram is one of the media that can’t be ignored. Brands can join hands with sports KOL to organize events on their social media pages to increase users’ interest in their brands. For example, KOL can use IG Your Turn stickers to organize an online competition – race imitation – where fans can imitate the movements of their favorite athletes, post them on social media and tag the brand (tagging the brand will allow them to take part in lucky draws, etc.), collaborate with KOL can not only reach out to the KOL’s fan base, but also to the brand’s own fans and those who are interested in the race.
3. TikTok
TikTok, as a social media that cannot be ignored in attacking the Malay market, can be used to organize fun online competitions, such as a 30-day fitness clocking programe to urge the public to exercise together, and featured hashtags to cheer on sportsmen and women, and so on.
Leverage Creative Advertising to Shine in the Global Sports Event
Undoubtedly, this event attracts global consumer attention like a magnet, allowing advertisers to significantly increase brand visibility and connect with highly engaged audiences. However, the challenge lies in capturing consumer attention amid intense competition, as many brands vie for exposure. Effectively engaging consumers through the right channels is the true test for marketers.
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