You may have heard that we (England) are playing Croatia tonight in something called ‘The World Cup’ – you can’t move for talk about the football, the beautiful game and you may have heard a person or two tell / sing / yell that “It’s Coming Home” , but is this really business talk?
I am an approved member of Safe Local Services and there was due to be a networking event this evening, the same date as the match. It was subsequently cancelled as some members wanted to watch the football. This announcement was made via Facebook and there were views from both sides of the fence.
I felt the best response was from Victor Sacks and Louise Moore, who both suggested either watching the football at the venue and having the networking after, or having an informal networking event elsewhere with the football. What a great idea – the football would break the ice at a networking event and give attendees a common ground with something to talk about.
This got me thinking, how could a business use the World Cup to engage with their audience, to break the ice and chat on a common ground?
You could make an offering that if the score is 2-1 to England then you will offer 2 for 1 on set products or services, you could then joke that if it is 2-1 to Croatia then its buy 1 for the price of 2. Include that you don’t think that’s possible as England are looking strong this year.
Ask your social media following and audience to guess what the score will be for the game, offer that as fun competition with no prize, or give a chocolate bar / free pen to everyone that guesses the right score by the time the match starts. It’s something small but it gets people engaged and talking.
Find a way that your products or services can relate to the football or World Cup and promote them – is there something that could fit with “Its Coming Home” – for example free delivery on all orders if / when England win?
How about hiding the World Cup (and image of) on your website and ask people to spot it; this means they have to look through your website and see more of what you do and what you offer, but when they find it they email you for a free gift or special discount?
How else could you use the World Cup to promote your business and brand while engaging with your audience?
