World Cup in the U.S. — App, Ad, and Viewing Preferences
As it’s been four years since the last World Cup, held in Russia in 2018, a lot has changed, and consumers in the U.S. are looking forward to watching the games and engaging with soccer content in-person and in-app on mobile devices. Though the U.S. team did not qualify in 2018 and has never won the World Cup, they did qualify this year, and soccer lovers in the United States are always excited to watch the games and cheer for their favorite teams.
With the World Cup being a global event and engaging with diverse demographics all over the world, brands are working hard to increase time and connection with consumers across multiple platforms. According to Adweek, NBCUniversal, the channel showcasing the World Cup games, has reported that they already sold 90% of the advertising space for the tournament. What’s more, Budweiser is tapping into mobile and OHH advertising methods by using famous players to promote a scavenger hunt the brand is putting on with prize boxes, including tickets to the games, in places that are important to top players. To bring in the mobile element, Budweiser had the players share QR codes with clues on social media in addition to having the QR codes at the physical locations.
While users all over the world are making plans, meeting with friends, and watching the World Cup, what are they looking for from brands during these games and what will they do while watching the games? Keep scrolling to see highlights from our World Cup survey, covering insights from over 1,500 consumers between the ages of 18 and 74 across thirteen countries. This survey includes questions about viewing the FIFA World Cup 2022 and other sports, activities on mobile, and ad preferences during this event.
Highlights — USA
Consumers of all demographics will be watching the World Cup this year. — U.S. viewers aged between 18-64, male and female, and more.
While Connected TV is still the top device used to watch the World Cup, a third of U.S. viewers will watch on a smartphone. — 57% of users will watch on connected TV, 42% will watch on TV or cable, and 28% will watch on a smartphone.
The majority of consumers who watch the World Cup watch soccer at least a couple of times a month and prefer to use sports apps related to a TV/streaming channel. — 70% of U.S. viewers use a sports app related to a TV/streaming app (Fox Sports, ESPN), 30% use a web app (Yahoo! Sports, Bleacher Report), and 30% use a mobile-first platform (SofaScore, DraftKings). In addition, 60% of viewers watch soccer broadcasts at least a couple of times a month.
64% of viewers think it’s important to keep up with the World Cup on multiple devices and will spend time in apps while watching the games. — While watching the World Cup, viewers will spend the most time on social media apps (25%), news/sports news apps (21%), sports gaming apps (16%), and fantasy sports apps (10%).
More app activities during the World Cup will relate to ordering food, checking sports apps, and more. — While watching the games, U.S. viewers will also use their mobile phones to order food for delivery (39%), browse in sports apps (30%), text (29%), and browse social media apps (27%).
Viewers prefer to see funny ads during the World Cup, and 81% are likely to consider buying a product they have seen advertised. — When it comes to ads from brands during the World Cup, 64% want funny ads, 38% want celebrity cameos, 34% want emotional/heartwarming, and 25% want political/social ads.
To view all of the insights discussed in this blog post, see below! To view the Global 2022 World Cup research, check out our blog here.
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