September 25th, 2014 

This year’s FIFA World Cup, as with other major sporting events, presented sponsoring brands with an opportunity to raise buzz levels, and perhaps also WOM quality (i.e. sentiment and recommendation).

In the UK, relatively few brands achieved these goals, when we take into account all forms of conversation (and not merely the much smaller volumes in online social media).  Only three brands achieved significantly higher levels of WOM during the event period (including the two weeks prior to kick-off), compared with their usual levels.  These were Adidas, McDonalds and Coke, who are among the most talked-about brands in the UK already.

In contrast, the World Cup did little to boost the relatively modest numbers who discuss brands such as Emirates and Visa, whereas Hyundai’s WOM levels were actually lower during June and July (their category TalkShare was also lower – there was plenty of conversation about cars during this period).

Adidas confirmed a successful World Cup for Germany in general by also experiencing somewhat higher brand sentiment as the tournament progressed – net sentiment improving from +42 to +56. 

In contrast, McDonalds, which saw its sentiment improve during the feel-good London 2012 Olympics, could not repeat this trick.  For both McDonalds and Coke, sentiment if anything was slightly more negative, and in a year when only one Home Nation is competing (badly), sponsorship may not always prompt positive discussion.

But the World Cup itself remains a big source of conversation, with as many as 60% of GB adults discussing the tournament on a daily basis. Not surprisingly, peak levels of talk were achieved in the 2nd and 3rd week of the tournament before England made its premature exit. Nevertheless talk levels remained high through to the finals week and registered higher than for the Commonwealth Games, though not as high as those achieved during the 2012 Olympics.

Our fusion of TV ratings and brand WOM data in the US has generated considerable interest, demonstrating that TV’s ability to spark social interaction is not limited to live events such as talent shows and sport – especially if the focus is on generating buzz for advertisers and sponsors rather than the shows themselves.

Extending this capability to the UK was a natural step, and now our friends at Nielsen have successfully fused our TalkTrack^® data to BARB TV audience measures.  This unique dataset enables advertisers and media buyers to identify where to find the most vocal and influential TV audiences.

Of course, big audiences have the largest numbers of talkers and influencers, so for sheer reach the top-rated commercial programmes will always be attractive.  But even here, some audiences appear to be more social than others:  among soaps, for example, Hollyoaks has a more talkative audience than either Coronation Street or Emmerdale (and not just because of audience age profiles: older viewers of Hollyoaks are more active socially compared to their peers watching Corrie).

For advertisers, some of the real opportunities become apparent among smaller and mid-sized audiences.  For example, if you are looking to reach people who talk about financial services, ITV News is a solution, but greater efficiency and value could be obtained by seeking a broader mix:

Note how some of these programmes are not obvious places where finance talkers might be expected to congregate.  But that’s the beauty of WOM as a channel – it does not conform to category rules or boundaries.  Some of the less intuitive programmes present an opportunity to stand out in a less saturated environment.

Hence the fusion enables marketers to structure specific WOM and social TV strategies in ways not previously imaginable or quantifiable.