At the mid-way point of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, FOX, its advertisers, and competing national soccer teams, are all scoring and seeing results.
FOX, who is covering the first of its four contracted Men and Women’s World Cups, is already seeing gains despite initial doubts. Advertising Age reports that inventory for the games went fast, with over 20 sponsors signing on despite the recent FIFA bribery scandal. And as ad revenue approaches $16 million at the end of the group stage, FOX’s gamble seems to have been a wise one. According to Forbes, viewership has increased 56 percent over 2011’s championship on ESPN and ESPN 2.
Top Performing Ads
So far, the 36 matches of the group stage, which began on June 6, saw 417 unique commercials from approximately 200 brands. Of these, Nationwide and Fiat have distinguished themselves as leaders. Nationwide’s “Band Together,” which features US National soccer star Alex Morgan, leads with 47 airings during games and another 32 during post game shows.
TV Spots Ranked by Digital Performance (Share of Voice*)
Despite impressive exposure, the spot is coming second in digital performance rankings behind Fiat’s Super Bowl XLIX commercial “Blue Pill”. With approximately 200,000 online views during the first two weeks of the Women’s World Cup, Fiat is a definite digital performance frontrunner, but its lukewarm tweet sentiment suggests that might be the result of the controversial subject matter. Disgruntled viewer @MissLovelyToYou writes, “Everything is becoming so sexual. That Fiat commercial with the old man attempting to pop a Viagra is so gross to me.” Her sentiment is not uncommon. Still, Fiat’s “Blue Pill” accounts for 22.57 percent of all the digital activity surrounding the ads during the World Cup. Even with the mixed reception, this marked increase in exposure is a win for the brand.
Brand Event Focus
Big events usually feature a bevy of event themed ads and the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup is no exception. Currently, eight brands have debuted ads tailored for the Women’s World Cup to varied results. Nationwide’s “Band Together” is at the top of the class with an iSpot Ad Effectiveness score of 9.2. The soccer focused message of coming together to support our Nation’s team has made for a very compelling spot. Additionally, the hashtag #BandTogether serves as an effective digital engagement tool. Audi’s “The Game,” which showcases highlights from various MLS soccer stars, was also a deemed a success, matching Nationwide’s effectiveness score of 9.2 and earning an 80 percent positive tweet sentiment. Lastly, Nike’s “Nike Soccer: American Woman” managed to rack up an impressive 586,510 online views after only being aired once at this point in the games.
More To Come
As the 2015 Women’s World Cup continues and moves into the knockout stage, expect competition to keep heating up for both the teams and advertisers. iSpot.tv will have all the national commercial insights as the remaining teams battle it out.