Marketing Lessons From The World Cup

The month long spectacle of the quadrennial Football word cup culminated in South Africa after much fanfare and gaiety last week. The tournament as a whole was a great success thanks to the hosts who took to the event in such a huge manner that the festive atmosphere that prevailed truly reflected the rainbow nation in its true colors. Though there was much to crow about the successful event, the first in the African continent, a lot of things could've been done better. Let's look at the some of the lessons that we can learn from this event from a marketing angle.

Ignore Technology at your own peril: I know that my English friends would still be sulking about Lampard's disallowed goal. Whether that decision would have made a significant impact on the outcome of the match is indeed debatable. I have my doubts as I feel that Germany was a much better side on the day and they thoroughly deserved the win.

Disallowed Goal

But what is beyond debate is the fact that the simple use of technology could've avoided the issue altogether and everyone would have been happy with the final result had it been the case. And the winner would've been pleased that their win did   not get sullied in the controversy.

Marketing Takeaway - Don't get overawed by technology as it's a great enabler.

Don't alter crucial factors close to the event: The tricks that the ball (Jabulani) played in adversely affecting the games as a spectacle as well for players could've been avoided had they not left the choice of balls to be used till the very last moment.

Marketing takeaway - Trust the tried and tested tools when the stakes are high.

Don't go overboard with the scarcity card: Well before the first whistle blew or the sound of Vuvuzela was heard, FIFA had announced that the most of the tickets had been sold. But in hindsight, the claim that 97% of tickets were sold before the tournament began seemed hardly credible as made conspicuous by swathes of empty seats at the stadia. Did they put off the potential buyers by playing the scarcity card excessively? Well, the evidences seem to suggest so.

Marketing takeaway - Be moderate and credible with claims as it may put off prospective customers otherwise.

Know your market: One of the basics of marketing is to know your target audience and the organizers made a basic error in judgement in this aspect. There was a huge drop in the ticket sales over the internet, since majority of the football fans in Africa don't have access to internet and the payment options online. Africa isn't Europe and what worked in the previous world cup obviously didn't work this time as the market has changed.

Marketing takeaway - Choose to go online or offline based on the audience

Greed isn't a virtue: The exorbitant pricing of the packages - travel, accommodation and ticketing aimed to squeeze out the maximum from the ardent faithfuls was met with strong negative response from all around. And instead of making it an affordable proposition for the multitude of fans, the sheer greed on the part of the stage managers fended them off big time.

I'm sure that the cricket fans would nod their heads in agreement on how the West Indies bungled on the same in the world cup that they hosted in 2007 but did well to quickly learn from that mistake in time for World T20 two years later. Hope that Brazil can take a leaf out of their books in time for 2014.

Marketing takeaway - When you're working with a massive market, the prices ought to be competitive

World Cup Party

But for all the marketing slip ups and hiccups, what cannot be missed was the joi de vivre that was on display in ample measure. Let's capture that spirit of joy and happiness in our marketing efforts as well.

Waka Waka folks..!!

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Finding Quality Football Training Equipment

Image : http://www.flickr.com

Do you want to train well to become a good football player? Do you manage a team of football players and wants to train them well? If you want to prepare your team for get ahead of the competition, you have to train them well. You can be sure to train them well using football training equipments that will be helpful to prepare their bodies for the challenges ahead.

Either you will be playing offense or defense, training hard will be your best ally. Training hard does not mean play football over and over and over. Training well includes training the body by exercising, eating well and probably sleeping enough to make the body strong. Additionally, you have to find the right football training equipment that will help prepare you and your team for top notch game every time.

Now, what are the football training equipments that will help you keep the body of your players ready for the challenges? In this article, we will list some of them. Keep an eye on things your team lacks and you may improve their game by ensuring that the training equipment will be just what they need.

Football goals

If you practice for the game, it is always helpful to have the same or almost the same equipments used during the games. You can purchase any of the many football nets available in soccer stores. Your goalie will surely know how to handle the impact of the action when he practices his position and his game well.

Slalom poles, football cones and hurdles

When you train your football players, they have to practice running in hurdles and poles. This will help them get away from their opponents when they have the ball in them. This likewise trains their agility that they can always apply during a game. These equipments will help build their bodies strong.

Passing Arcs

Football passing arcs will help build the accuracy of the players when they need to pass the ball to a teammate. This is a neat football training equipment that you should never practice without. Aside from the usual equipments to practice for the game, football players needs their bodies strong enough to handle the challenges in the field.

Speed parachutes, agility ladders and power hurdles likewise help them build their bodies to meet the demands of the football game. Other football training equipments may likewise be helpful. However, aside from training and exercise equipments, food supplements may likewise be necessary.

Eating right and training right is what every sportsman needs. During your training, it is necessary that you train your football team to care for them bodies as well. Avoiding cigarette and too much alcohol helps every player not just football players perform well during the games. Training does not need to focus only on football training equipments, strengthening the soul and the body will likewise be necessary. Keep your team alive by giving them the power to be healthy and strong.

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"Lega Calcio Serie A" Could Revive Italian Football

In late April, it was announced in Italy that Serie A is to split from Serie B to form the new 'Lega Calcio Serie A'; a move that displays glaring similarities to the formation of the English Premier League in 1992.

Italian football has not exactly steered clear of controversy over the past few years; 2006 saw the latest of a series of scandals in which Serie A champions Juventus were relegated to Serie B as punishment for match-fixing. AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and Reggina were also docked points for their involvement.

And with all three of the Italian sides that made it to the knock-out stages of last season's Champions League crashing out to English opposition for a second season running, the seemingly large gap between the leagues was presented for all to see. The famous Italian football that dominated the 90s is nothing more than a distant memory.

However, the news of Serie A's breakaway from Serie B to form a new league, set to be introduced in July next year, could prove to be a key turning point in re-establishing the Italian league as one of the best in the world.
The decision to split from the lower league was made when the two divisions were unable to reach an agreement about how to distribute money from the leagues between each club. It has been a long-running debate, but the decision was in part fuelled by the economic downturn, with many Serie B clubs facing serious financial difficulties.

It was ultimately put to a vote, with 19 of the 20 Serie A clubs voting for the formation of the new league. Lecce were the only club in the division to vote against it, most likely because of their eventual relegation from the top-flight.

Following the decision to set up the new league, former journalist and head of Italy's employers' association Maurizio Beretta was instated as President of the division, and will be responsible for setting up the competition.

Top-flight clubs in Italy will be hoping that the proposed new league can bring Italy success similar to that which has graced the English Premier League since it's separation from the Football League in 1992.

One major difference between the two leagues at present is the way in which television revenue is distributed between teams. In England, the money is split evenly between every club, meaning that each one will receive an equal fixed sum. In Italy however, it is the current Serie A clubs' responsibility to sell their own broadcasting rights to a set of designated channels. But next year, Italy is set to revert back to the collective selling of TV rights.

It of course remains to be seen whether the formation of Italy's new premier division can give a much needed boost to Italian football, but if engineered in the correct manner, the move could well prove to be the building blocks of success in calcio's revival.

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