World Cup viewership lessons to help brands prepare for cookie-free advertising

Editor’s note: Nikhil Jain is insights and data solutions senior manager, Dailymotion, Paris. 

The World Cup is one of the world’s most-watched sporting events, second only to the Summer Olympics. More than 3.5 billion people tuned in for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. FIFA president, Gianni Infantino expects 5 billion to watch the 2022 World Cup. One-third (33%) of Americans plan to watch at least a few key games and more than half (54%) intend to follow the tournament in some form. With so many viewers, advertisers have a tremendous opportunity to reach current and prospective customers, but that doesn’t mean they have to spend big on match day.

Our latest research shows that more than four-fifths (83%) of content related to a high-profile football (soccer) match occurs before or after the big event. Team news, classic highlights and virtual matchups tend to hook fans ahead of time while post-match analysis and replays attract audiences in the days after. 

These are among the important stats that will benefit advertisers as the cookieless future approaches. While Google continues to delay the third-party cookie ban for Chrome users, brands need to start preparing for the inevitable. They can get started by taking a closer look at how they can better understand their viewers and forget about traditional methods of user tracking.

Who’s watching and why it matters

National TV ad buys for the 2018 World Cup approached $500,000 during the finals. That’s a significant amount of money to spend on one 30-second spot, but not all brands need a massive budget to reach their desired consumer base. 

In fact, many advertisers have learned they don’t have to break the bank – they can reach viewers on other platforms on days leading up to and after the match. Our research shows that people who view three or more soccer videos each month are 179% more likely to watch news and politics and 139% more drawn to home and garden content.

This is great news for advertisers: they can connect with World Cup viewers well in advance of the tournament by broadening their interest categories. 

Cutting across gender, age and household income, World Cup interest surfaced two distinct audiences: “hardcore football fans” and “party hosts.” While the first group is purely into the sport, the latter might be interested in gathering with friends and family to eat and enjoy the experience together. It should also be noted that viewers who are interested in betting, gaming, high tech, fashion and food delivery show a higher-than-average interest in the World Cup.

For even more insights, a brand may offer a questionnaire to engage with its customers and see how these results differ from the average World Cup fan. This serves as a starting point for brands to begin building a creative strategy to see how their audience is unique or similar to those of other brands.

Prevent consumers from skipping out

There is one challenge to watch out for: even the best, most relevant ads are challenged by the dreaded “skip ad” and “close ad” buttons. 

Consumers have tuned in to a video for a specific reason, so they are inevitably attracted to the “skip” button. They may not even take the time to determine if the ad is applicable to their tastes – they simply cannot wait to view their desired content.

This is understandable and is why advertisers should focus on providing an experience versus a promotion alone. They need to optimize attention metrics and develop the most engaging/interactive video experiences possible. As the level of interactivity goes up, the degree of memorability also increases.

Make smarter decisions for better engagement

With a worldwide viewing audience that’s expected to increase by nearly 1.5 billion, and greater interest from American viewers than ever before, there’s a lot to learn from those who intend to watch the 2022 World Cup. And as the end of cookies approaches, brands will need this data and other insights to make smart decisions about how, when and where to engage with consumers.