Is the World Cup marketing a losing gamble for the TV industry?

"In the short term, the World Cup has a very obvious stimulating effect on the color TV industry, but in the long run, the effect is limited." On June 20, the eighth day of the Brazil World Cup, Dong Min, deputy general manager of the black-and-white electronics business unit of Aowei Consulting, said in an interview with a CHEAA reporter.

"Everyone participates in the World Cup", a good opportunity that comes once every four years, and TV companies will naturally not miss it. But can the marketing investment of real money be exchanged for real sales figures and real brand influence?

Let us first step out of the color TV industry and take a look at the Chinese companies that have invested the most in this World Cup.

Yingli Energy is the only Chinese sponsor of this World Cup. According to estimates by China Business News, Yingli's sponsorship fee for the Brazil World Cup was as high as 430 million yuan. Yingli also sponsored the South Africa World Cup in 2010, but from the 2012 fiscal year to the present, Yingli has been making losses for three consecutive years. The continued investment has not only failed to help Yingli turn losses into profits, but has also aroused widespread doubts from the media.

However, in the few days from June 13th when the Brazil World Cup was held to the 23rd, Yingli's stock price did move abnormally, rising from US$3.13 to US$4.01, and its market value increased by US$134 million to US$629 million.

——Yingli’s performance vividly demonstrates Dong Min’s point of view: short-term effects are obvious, but long-term effects are limited.

The impact of the World Cup on the TV industry has disappeared within the annual cycle

Relevant data shows that there are 1.3 billion football fans, 2.48 billion Internet users and 1.8 billion television sets in the world; there are 240 million football fans, 590 million Internet users and 570 million television sets in China.

——The World Cup is indeed an attractive business. In the first half of 2014, my country's color TV companies actively prepared for stocking, with exports reaching 8.8 million units, a year-on-year increase of 38%. Domestic sales in early June reached 1.25 million units, a year-on-year increase of 36%. The most important point is that the World Cup has a very obvious driving effect on high-end TV products. According to Aowei data, during the World Cup, the sales penetration rate of UHD TVs rose overall, reaching a stage-high value of 17.3% and 16.3% in May and June. In terms of brands, in April 2013, the UHD market had only 8 brands, 6 sizes, and 22 products. By June this year, it has developed to 19 brands, 15 sizes, and 207 products.

The positives in the short term are obvious, but for the market throughout the year, Aowei still gave a relatively "pessimistic" forecast: the total sales volume of the Chinese color TV market in 2014 was 45.83 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 4%, of which the sales volume in the second half of the year was 24.98 million units, a year-on-year increase of only 1%.

Traditional enterprises have no choice but to do World Cup marketing

After all the noise and heat, the World Cup still cannot play the role of "savior". So what are the traditional color TV companies trying to achieve with the marketing wave? They are trying to do what they have to do.

The above data show that the World Cup has significantly promoted the rapid upgrade of UHD TVs and large-screen TVs. Dong Min said that compared with non-UHD TVs and small-screen TVs, the cost-effectiveness of UHD and large-screen TVs is still relatively high. Using the World Cup for marketing can fundamentally improve the profitability of traditional companies.

"In addition, in the Internet era, many IT and Internet manufacturers have joined in, and brand competition has become more obvious. It is actually very difficult for traditional manufacturers, especially the top 5 and top 6 companies, to maintain their sales. Their situation is 'if they don't advance, they will retreat', so traditional manufacturers will seize every opportunity for promotion," said Dong Min. (Wang Dexiang)

>>Link: "12 Major Business Opportunities of the 2014 World Cup"

Xiao Mingchao (e-commerce observer)

1. Marketing World Cup (Brazil World Cup TV advertising revenue will exceed 2.9 billion US dollars);

2. The World Cup on multiple screens (video sites, mobile news clients, and sports sites are all vying for attention);

3. Mobile World Cup (more than 50% of fans choose to watch World Cup highlights on mobile screens);

4. World Cup related themed products;

5. World Cup of Beer;

6. Localized mobile marketing + O2O World Cup;

7. The World Cup of 4K TVs (4K TV shipments increased more than six times year-on-year);

8. World Cup of big brands;

9. The World Cup in the entertainment industry;

10. The World Cup of fake fans;

11. Women’s World Cup (If businesses only focus on men’s marketing, it will inevitably be incomplete);

12. The World Cup for the rich (chartering a plane to Brazil to watch the World Cup has become a hot topic).

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.