One of the most popular and fastest growing uses of in-image advertising is for brands to surround the images of major sporting events such as the Olympics, the Super Bowl and now, the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Three World Cup targeted campaigns are currently running on the GumGum platform, officially selling out that inventory through mid July. More details of GumGum’s World Cup efforts were profiled on the cover of this week’s Los Angeles Business Journal.
Why are sporting events are so attractive for brands? One major reason is how they are captured so eloquently online with imagery. Images are a powerful storytelling medium that evoke emotion and viscerally capture the moment of victory or defeat like no other. Another reason is how people interact and engage around sporting events. Few other cultural activities inspire community and photo sharing the way sports do. Moreover, brands want to be associated with positive and consistent event platforms, which GumGum helps extend from the realm of live events and television onto the Internet through images.
This event is similar to high profile entertainment occasions such as the Academy Awards. The 86th Academy Awards, held in February, reached 40 million viewers and attracted up to $1.9 billion for 30 second advertising spots during the show. The FIFA World Cup is expected to attract more than 3.2 billion people during its five week duration. Both of these events capture a large online audience as well. Placing relevant World Cup advertisements on images and articles pertaining to the games allows brands to successfully reach their intended audience.
