FIFA World Cup 2022: YouGov consumer intelligence

YouGov Global Fan Profiles reveals that the FIFA World Cup generates almost as much global interest as the Summer Olympics, surpassing the multi-disciplinary sports event in some markets. In this piece we explore the popularity stakes of the World Cup vs the Olympics in greater detail.

Read our latest FIFA World Cup 2022 articles:

• Have the World Cup sponsors made an impression?
• Wrong to pause top-flight club football for the World Cup, say Premier League fans
• Where is World Cup interest strongest around the globe – and how does it compare to the Olympics?
• What types of sponsorship do World Cup fans notice?
• Who are Britain’s football bettors?
• FIFA World Cup has a grip on higher income consumers around the world – beating the Olympics
• How American World Cup fans watch sports
• Gamer attitudes towards the FIFA World Cup 2022
• FIFA World Cup 2022: Are gamers putting their boots on?
• Key behaviors and attitudes of American soccer fans
• Half of Britain’s sports bettors likely to bet on the World Cup
• Some England sponsors are already scoring goals
• Has brand perception of the US soccer team sponsors grown among fans?

In the article, we find that while the Summer Olympics outdoes the World Cup on a global scale, there are several markets around the world, particularly in South America and Europe, where it is the World Cup that has more fans. In the APAC, results can swing wildly between markets, with Indonesia and China positioned at opposite ends of the spectrum. Indonesians show a solid preference for the football event, whereas the Chinese are significantly more partial to the Summer Olympics.

Over the coming weeks, we will conduct a more robust analysis into the profile of World Cup fans. What are the other sports they follow? Which sports apparel brands do they most consider purchasing? And are they likely to buy from the sponsors of their teams? This can help marketers leverage the event to develop a better sense of how to target their campaigns and reach their desired audience more efficiently.

Identifying your target audience is an important component of efficient campaign management, but it is equally important to know what are the channels that are most likely to reach the target audience. For that purpose, we will again dip into YouGov Profiles data to peek into the types of sponsorships that World Cup fans are likeliest to notice. This is based on a variable on the vast dataset that asks consumers which medium of advertising they would select if they wanted to grab their own attention.

Another piece will look at the types of media through which they prefer following sports events. For example, how much likelier are younger fans of the FIFA World Cup to prefer watching online streams compared to traditional media? By how much, and what is the share of fans that will likely engage in social media chat about the event? This YouGov framework explores the preferences of American World Cup fans when it comes to watching sports.

Using YouGov BrandIndex, we also look into existing attitudes of consumers in Britain and the US towards brands affiliated with the World Cup and will continue to track metrics along the course of the event.

Our initial wave of analysis, as of early October, using YouGov BrandIndex, which tracks consumer perceptions on a number of fixed metrics across a variety of markets, reveals that select sponsors of the US football team (Allstate, Chipotle and BioSteel) and of the England football team (Xbox, LG and Budweiser) are starting to gain some traction among football fans in their respective markets.

While the World Cup is a sporting phenomenon, it has implications across a much broader scope of industries. To keep in step, YouGov’s coverage around the event will focus on audience intelligence from a variety of sectors, ranging from consumer intelligence on gambling, through snacking habits, to audience interest in the FIFA 23 video game and how it ties into growing Buzz around the event.

Another factor for brands and marketers to consider is whether consumers are industry-agnostic when it comes to identifying with sponsors of their favorite football teams. For instance, what is the share of consumers who think a sponsor from the video gaming industry is a good match for their football team? And how does that share compare to responses for brands from another sector, such as carmakers? We are running a global survey to find the answers to that question.

Gamblers and the 2022 FIFA World Cup

Needless to say, the FIFA World Cup is one of the most anticipated events among sports punters. A survey we ran in September in Britain found that 50% of gamblers – defined as those who placed a bet in the last 12 months – said they planned on betting on the World Cup.

The study also examined gamblers’ propensity to switch betting providers during the course of the event and what are the factors they might consider when fishing for new events. How big a lure are free bets and promotions? And what are the other motivating factors? Find out here.

As part of the focus on punters, YouGov will also run a global piece examining the Buzz among gamblers for the World Cup relative to the general population. We will also examine their excitement levels around betting on the World Cup and explore consumption patterns, such as whether gamblers will only bet in games that feature their favourite teams.

Gamers and the 2022 FIFA World Cup

In addition to gambling, another sector with particularly close links to sports is video gaming and esports. Unsurprisingly, our data establish in this piece that, in several markets, gamers are markedly more likely than members of the general audience to be fans of the FIFA World Cup. For instance, US gamers are 38% likelier than the overall population to say they are “somewhat interested” in the FIFA World Cup or that it is one of their “top interests”.

YouGov’s Qatar World Cup coverage will include other devoted focus pieces on gamers and the gaming industry, including an article examining the Buzz levels for the World Cup among this audience group. In another piece, we also take a look at the degree to which EA Sports’ FIFA 23 franchise will be impacted by the World Cup 2022.

During the FIFA World Cup 2022

While we have set the ball rolling to unveil a wealth of insights in lead up to the event, tracking is set to continue during the course of the World Cup too. Here is an examination of some of the biggest sponsors of the event in four key markets.

Another planned survey is to examine fans’ snacking and drinking habits while watching matches. Additionally, we plan to run a study exploring whether gambling interest will diminish if their favorite teams get knocked out from the event. This will be interesting data for betting providers planning to cash in on the latter stages of the event with promotions and discounts.

All in all, the World Cup is a terrific opportunity to showcase brands and services to vast audiences. YouGov will deliver consumer intelligence to help these brands target, plan and track their campaigns and activations around the event.

Image credit: History of soccer

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