Sponsors leverage 2014 FIFA World Cup partnerships

During next year's FIFA World Cup in Brazil, companies will be using a wide variety of traditional, mobile and digital marketing techniques to reach local and worldwide audiences. Global sponsorships sold out years ago.

With millions of fans planning to attend or watch (or check online for updates), marketers are implementing detailed plans for connecting with audiences before and during this much-anticipated sports event.

For example:

• Coca-Cola, an official FIFA marketing partner, also sponsors the Mexican National Team (above) and is already using adverts featuring that sponsorship to reach targeted audiences in North America.
• Want to communicate with the global audience that checks Twitter for second-by-second updates? Twitter is auctioning rights to a 'top of the trends' promoted brand message visible to Twitter users in 50 countries each day during the World Cup. 
• Adidas--naturally a global FIFA sponsor--has been running World Cup-related promotions for many months, such as the 'name the World Cup ball' promo from last year. It sponsors numerous pro football teams, giving the brand high visibility before and after the World Cup.
• Castrol Football is the oil company's yearround page for football rankings. As an official FIFA marketing partner, Castrol maintains a Facebook and Twitter account specifically for football-related posts. 
• Continental tyres, another official FIFA sponsor, has its own web site, ContiSoccerWorld, for fans (with an option to view in English, Dutch or German).

Given the hefty investment made by official sponsors, FIFA works hard to prevent ambush marketing, unofficial promotions that try to link a brand with the World Cup without paying for sponsorship rights. During the 2010 World Cup, FIFA took legal action against a beer brand for ambush marketing--the same beer brand had used ambush marketing in 2006, as well, according to FIFA.