World Cup Pushes Social to New Heights
Advertising data website Warc states that "[a]lmost half of all connected TV viewers around the world are now multiscreening...with the FIFA World Cup." The global Connected Life study conducted by TNS found that 48% of people who watch television in the evening also participated in secondary digital activities such as social media, shopping and checking emails (75% watch daily and as many eat their evening meal during this time as well).
TNS also found that during the FIFA World Cup these people attempted (where possible) to placeshift their viewing experiences, leveraging multiple screens and locations. This "always on" ability for viewers to experience the World Cup has (rather successfully) lead to a far heavier social conversation presence on social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter:
"[t]he semi-final that saw host nation Brazil lose heavily to Germany [which] drove a record number of interactions on Twitter, the Guardian reported: the 35.6m tweets during that game far surpassed the previous high of 24.9m during the 2014 Super Bowl. At one point there were 580,166 tweets per minute,...[a] new record."
US Soccer fans took to Twitter to comment, support and share their feeling and experiences of the match against Germany.
Similarly, the USA soccer team, while trying to make it past the Group Stage against Germany saw a heavy social media presence. During the match, which included a few substantial events such as a tweet from Will Ferrell or the goal from Portugal which guaranteed a US presence in the round of 16, it was clear that fans of USMNT leveraged their second screens to comment on the situation.
So what is the impact for marketers and advertisers? Commenting on the findings, Matthew Froggatt, Chief Development Officer at TNS, noted that "the growth in screen-stacking and online TV viewing is huge, particularly in the Asian markets [in which 32% of the population consume content on a digital device]"
Advertisers would, he noted, have to adopt a more integrated online approach in order to engage consumers.
