Lorraine Horley is Head of Client Services at Fotorama, one of the UK’s leading and longest established fixed fee promotions companies who work with many leading brands and agencies on all types of promotions.
There are very few sporting events that can command a global audience like the World Cup. This is an event that will unite a nation. We will cheer with delight as our supporting team progresses through the competition and cry, scream and shout together if it all goes horribly wrong. www.fotorama.co.uk
It is this widespread public engagement that makes the 2014 World Cup the perfect theme for promotions.
So it’s no surprise then that many brands have already signed up to Brazil 2014 as partners believing that their association with such an event will bring them attention and adulation. www.fotorama.co.uk
Yet, with many legal restrictions in place that will no doubt be strictly enforced, it may seem difficult to create ideas that would work within the limitations of the regulations.
It is possible, as many major brands have shown in previous years, without resorting to guerrilla marketing.
However, if brands want to capitalise on this enormous event then they need to start planning now before it’s too late. Our proven experience in the industry has shown us time and time again the need to plan early and be on the ball.
Indeed, members of the Fotorama team have been closely involved in creating innovative promotions based around major international football tournaments for over 20 years.
Top goal scorer
There are plenty of ways brands can get involved – from asking consumers to choose a particular team and see how far they will go in the competition to how many goals a country will score in total during the tournament. There could be also be the opportunity to predict the finalists and the top goal scorer or even put forward the idea of picking a game and asking them to accurately identify the first goal time.
Although certain words, phrases, logos and products cannot be mentioned in the copy, running successful football linked promotions legally before the event is certainly possible. To make the most of the enormous interest, now is the time for marketers to start planning and talking to experts.