As a Marketer, you know that Hosting the African Cup of Nations marks a boost across industries in Egypt, as it comes second only to the World Cup In terms of the online search query volumes according to google statistics. As a certified marketer from Integrated Marketing Communications at Chicago Northwestern University’s Medill school of Journalism and also, A certified Marketer from the Business Administration Dpt. at the University of Illinois’ College of Business, I will recommended to Marketers 3 actions to stand out during AFCON2019, just right after introducing these 2 insightful articles highlighting the most important marketing strategies to use then.
In a recent ThinkWithGoogle Article, “Top 3 tips for marketers ahead of African Cup of Nations 2019 in Egypt”, Dina Barakat, Google Associate Product Marketing Manager and Sara Hamdan, Think with Google MENA Editor pointed that:
A great way for brands to connect with consumers during the African Cup of Nations, is to Embrace a seasonal moment and to have a deeper understanding of a loyal audience like football fans cheering on their favorite teams. A winning strategy can easily include a wider scope than just football fans, tapping into a sense of community and wider implications to peripheral industries, including the hospitality and tourism sector.
The idea is to target audiences before, during or after games, with the right messaging at the right time and that Basing your campaign on signals and insights will deliver impactful results. The idea is to target audiences before, during or after games, with the right messaging at the right time and that Basing your campaign on signals and insights will deliver impactful results.
And in a recent Brandberries.com 2019’s experts report, “Predicting 2019 Report”, Nour Saleh, PHD Egypt General Manager, stresses that:
Egypt’s Hosting of the African Cup of Nations can have a positive impact on the creative output in Egypt, but on condition that brands do not return to their default setting using team-based promotions and incentives offering tickets and branded merchandise, as they did in World cup 2018 during the participation of the Egyptian football team .
Media agencies must move forward to more creative content development, and management using data analytics’, Consumer custom profiling and targeting, as They have to be more agile and resourced in this field with tools and talent to enhance effectiveness with tailored approaches and personalized messages that speak to the individual.
Actions for Marketers
Based on these 2 articles, I recommend for marketers 3 actions for their Brands to stand out during AFCON2019:
- Be Creative and Interactive – Fans love to see behind the scenes and from different perspectives other than TV, and Social Live Streaming provides real time engagement and leads to later campaigns and conversions).
- Capitalize on Fans Motivations – Entertainment (Beauty of the Game), Inspiration (Learning from the best), Connection (Being a part of a Community) and Thrills (Escape from the Ordinary).
- Track Trends and Queries – Before, during and after the games, search queries and Hashtags of Fans, are key to real-time marketing. Google trends and Twitter are great tools for that.
Conclusion
Starting today, you need to track your audience and their online behavior, use data analytics to segment and interact with them in a more personal approach with technically innovative tools in this Data-driven, digital world.
By Fadi Ghali
Google Marketing Fundamentals Certified.
Hubspot Content Marketing, Inbound Marketing Model and Techniques Certified.
Social Media Marketing Certified from Northwestern University.
Digital Marketing Certified from Illinois University.
And Currently Enrolled in Social Media Marketing Specialization track at Northwestern University,
and also, the Digital Marketing Specialization track at Illinois University VIA Coursera.
Feel Free to reach out or connect with me @Fadi_Ghali or on LinkedIn.