MUMBAI: The FIFA World Cup is one of the biggest sports events the world witnesses every four years, pitting players from different nations against one another to find out who the new holder of the trophy will be. The FIFA month also sees a lot of different brands, big and small, fight for branding supremacy and exploit the event to grab the attention of the billions glued to the game.

The official sponsors and partners almost always have an upper hand; apart from garnering visibility on all of FIFA’s digital channels, LED boards, and match tickets they also get to use the name of FIFA in all their campaigns.

A prime example being Adidas, who has been FIFA’s official football partners since the 1970 World Cup. They released a new commercial for the 2018 games featuring stars players of Football including Lionel Messi, Paul Pogba, David Beckham, Mo Salah and Luis Suarez with celebrities from other spheres like Pharrell, Caroline Wozniacki, Usain Bolt, Von Miller, Damian Lillard, narrating the 90 second plot of the footballers showcasing their skills.

Even though the official brands get to eat a big chunk of the cake, this does not deter other brands from taking their own fair share. Adidas’ biggest rival, Nike, in response to the former released their own advertisement ahead of the 2018 World Cup centred around Brazil. It featured a mix of Brazilian players and hopeful kids kicking the ball around on various indoor and outdoor pitches, even featuring an appearance by none other than the great Ronaldo (Brazil) himself.

These head to head battles between two global giants has led to engagement and impressions in the millions, with teams and players eventually opting for either of the two as their kit and boot partners, seldom choosing anyone else.

But enough about the big boys, FIFA World Cup is also about the underdogs and what they have to offer. Many brands have used creative ways to market their products with the spirit of Football in mind. Vivo, smartphone makers and now a sponsor of FIFA, rolled out their ‘Pass the swag’ campaign which aims to unite football and music fans through a common dance language and the tunes of the Official Song for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The brand is leveraging social media platforms to connect with fans in India.A very famous India paint brand was also quick to jump on the FIFA wagon when they opted to have the interiors and exteriors of three of the stadiums in Russia painted in anticipation of the games. The Kolkata-based MNC has confirmed its imprints on the Rostov Arena, Volgograd arena and the Kaliningrad stadium in their official statement.

A lot of the restaurants and bars are also rolling out exclusive offers to attract avid fans to their venues. For example some restaurants in Delhi NCR have come up with offers like unlimited beer for 90 minutes, i.e. for one match, at throwaway prices along with free shots for every goal; free drinks for people who show up dressed as a foAnchorotballer, flaunting a quirky hairstyle or wearing a team’s jersey; venues decorated with flags of different participating countries and staff members sporting jerseys of your favourite teams.

Then there are brands that take their social media game to the next level, keeping track of their customers’ online chatter about matches, constantly creating posts around defining moments and sneakily pegging their products to constantly engage their target audience and increase recall value at every step.

The World Cup, and other events like it, offer a great chance for every brand to market themselves in front of the world. It requires thinking outside the box; strategizing as a team and hints of creativity and brilliance to score the winning goal.

The author is director and founder at Scroll Mantra. The views expressed here are her own and Indian Television Dot Com may not subscribe to them.