What does a winter FIFA World Cup mean for your marketing plans?

With the last qualification places for this year’s World Cup finalised in the next few days, players and fans alike will soon be turning their attention to a new season unlike any other. 

With the tournament taking place through November and December, multiple domestic leagues will take an extended break for the duration of the competition for the first time ever and football fans around the world will bring in a new year off the back of a festival of football. 

For marketeers, this turns traditional end of year plans on their head and presents new opportunities for what could be a once in a lifetime football phenomenon.

Whether on the ground in Doha or activating in markets around the world, here are three of our top considerations for this year’s World Cup. 

Christmas Spirit

With the tournament taking place in the build up to Christmas, up to 40% of fans around the world believe they will bring forward gifts this year so that friends and family can enjoy them during the World Cup. Whether that’s a new flat screen to watch all 64 matches on, or the latest Argentina shirt, this will mean a change in traditional spending patterns for many.

Furthermore, the traditional Christmas party season will have a sprinkle of football unlike ever before. 

There is an opportunity for brands, federations, broadcasters, players, teams (the list goes on) to integrate themselves more heavily than usual in to a period of the year when for many markets around the globe, personal expenditure is at its most free flowing and when colleagues and friends gather most frequently. 

Where will we watch?

A winter World Cup flips the traditional ways in which nations have consumed the tournament. 

For fans in the southern hemisphere who are usually in the midst of their coldest months during the traditional June & July schedule, this World Cup represents an opportunity to consume the competition in a way unlike ever before. This means that fans who who would usually never dream of gathering outdoors to watch the tournament may well be afforded the opportunity to attend large screenings in parks and public spaces, or simply enjoy a BBQ at home with friends. 

Don’t miss this. It could well be a once in a generation opportunity to put your brand at the heart of an experience that fans may never see again. 

A holiday for the region

For brands with aspirations on making an impact across the Middle East, this World Cup is a great opportunity to speak to the region beyond Qatar. Thanks to the tournament taking place during the Middle East’s cooler months, many of the 1.5m fans anticipated to travel in to Qatar will be from neighbouring countries, with Arab fans saving their annual leave for a trip of a lifetime.

This has been further cemented by the recent announcement that Qatar Airways has partnered with a host of regional airlines to provide 24 hour shuttle service flights from markets including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman and Kuwait throughout the tournament.

With schools in Qatar closed during the tournament and many people enjoying limited working hours, the addition of hundreds of thousands of fans travelling in from across the region creates the perfect opportunity to speak to the Middle East as a whole.