With the 2022 FIFA World Cup a little over three months away, brands will be thinking long and hard about how they can win over consumers during the tournament. And the key to consumer engagement could lie in diversity, gender equality, and sustainability, according to research conducted by GWI on behalf of Teads.
The opportunity surrounding the World Cup is a massive one for brands, with 70% of UK adults expected to follow the tournament, and 75% of those people intending to watch a match at home. However, these consumers expect brands advertising around the tournament to highlight more Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) in their ads.
The research found that 63% of fans think it’s important for World Cup-related ads to promote diversity, and 61% want to see more gender equality. The latter has, of course, been a huge talking point since England’s Lionesses’ Euro 2022 success.
Moreover, 65% of football fans believe that the World Cup’s sponsors and partners should have a business model that supports sustainability.
“The World Cup is always a massive draw for brands to get in front of consumers glued to their screens with the hope that football will, once again, come home. This year will be even more special as it will be hot off the heels of the fantastic win by the Lionesses at the Euros, but consumers expect to see the gender equality that was highlighted during the competition to carry on into the men’s World Cup,” said Henry Vernon, Head of Insights at Teads.
“Brands have a real opportunity this year to ensure they aren’t scoring an own goal and actually engage with consumers in the way they expect – by authentically showing gender equality, diversity, and sustainability. This needs to go beyond brand messaging, and be put into play by advertisers supporting quality publishers with their media budgets, as consumers turn to trusted news sources for their football fix.”
*Teads is a client of Bluestripe Communications, owned by Bluestripe Group, owner of NDA
