We all watched this month as the world’s best football players took part in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, treating us to some inspiring football, and as an international marketing agency, a nail-biting final!
Here at SWC, as the championship played out, we couldn’t help but spot a variety of tactical marketing ads popping up in between the coverage. Tactical advertising offers an opportunity to engage with an audience with real-time marketing, taking advantage of a topic or event that has caught the imagination of a big audience. And you don’t get much bigger than the World Cup – the tournament attracted millions of viewers every day. Turning around a quick and clever tactical piece can boost your brand’s fame, give it personality and super-charge your social engagement.
This year, some news-jacking tacticals played on old rivalries, whilst others called in the celeb big guns and some simply made us laugh with clever wordplay. Our favourite? See if you can guess from the below…
Adidas – Impossible is Nothing

This a great example of brand values in action! Watch the video here.
Lufthansa – The Great Swap

Brilliantly highlighting how international sports competitions like this are much more than a game, they’re about connection and unity. This ad deftly articulated the sense of pride and togetherness we all felt through the competition. Watch the video here.
Fox Soccer – The Christmas World Cup video

Budweiser – The World is Yours to Take video

The Sun – French Toast

Great on-the-pulse tactical here from The Sun, with a rallying cry for the team and a tongue-in-cheek reference to England’s age-old rivalry with France.
British Supermarket, Sainsburys – England vs France (Quarter Final Match)

Classic, cheeky and surprisingly daring for the British supermarket, Sainsbury’s. Who doesn’t love a challenge?
We loved checking out all these examples of real-time marketing and seeing the creativity that inspired them. SWC is no stranger to a tactical ourselves, and recently produced one for currency exchange company OFX when Liz Truss was ousted as UK Prime Minister back in the autumn:

If you’re a business interested in being more responsive to real-world events as a way to engage your target market, then get in touch with us to find out more.