Nov 25, 22 | 5 min read
World Cup and brand purpose
Reading time: 5 minutes
I am writing this article while watching the football match between France and Australia in the group stage at the 2022 World Cup . I felt like I needed some inspiration, once I am not a big football fan, but I am definitely a fan of big events that bring all communities and cultures together.
These global events are great opportunities to talk about something really important to brands: purpose .
Qatar was chosen as the host of the 2022 World Cup in 2010. Since then, the discussion about the country has begun and reflects today's controversies.
Three main themes stand out in the criticism of the first Middle Eastern country to host the most important sporting event:
restrictions on women ;
discrimination against the LGBTQIAP+ community ;
rights of migrant workers.
You may not like it, but football and the World Cup have a social purpose: these types of events share cultures, move the economy and entertain the audience . With this huge impact, it is obvious that brands cannot stay out of the party.
However, more than ever, consumers have a desire to feel represented through the causes your brand supports. We brought this topic to a head in this article and we recommend you read it as well.
And this is where things get complicated: how do suriname email list you unite your brand with the purpose of the World Cup if they seem to be going in different directions?
Read on to find out the answer!
Do brands have a real purpose at a World Cup hosted by Qatar?
When consumers and important social organizations began to question the brands that sponsor (or do not sponsor) the World Cup, all the responses demonstrated that any choice is made with a purpose.
For some , being a sponsor of a major event at this social moment in Qatar is a great combination to promote positive changes from within.
For others , the decision not to sponsor is also a way to promote positive change , making it clear that there is no investment in places that do not respect human rights.
All brands have a purpose with the Qatar World Cup, whether it be small actions or indirectly using the event in some special action to boost their sales.
So in this case, we need to look again. Let's move to the midfield, team!
Purpose is not enough
The scenario with so many opinions and points of view shows me one thing: most brands were not prepared for reality . Among the sponsors are big companies, such as Coca Cola, Adidas, Visa and others.
In my personal perception, most of them are running after the ball from one side to the other without scoring any goal (pardon the pun). Why?
For example, Budweiser recently took a surprise decision to restrict beer around stadiums, and here we are not talking about a social and human rights point, but rather about the alignment between event organisers and sponsors. In the worst case, big sponsors simply do not take any measures to make a real impact.
According to Reuters , some human rights organisations said in July that they wrote to World Cup partners and sponsors and only four of them (Budweiser, Adidas, Coca-Cola and McDonald's) expressed support for the situation of workers in the event buildings.
For this reason, the purpose is not enough. All brands, sponsors or not, have a great opportunity to change their view on the rights of many consumers in the coming weeks. And this is not done only through official messages and notes or trust in FIFA.
The game is far beyond the field
Football, and many other sports, still has a long way to go in the fight against discrimination against women, the LGBTQI+ community and other underrepresented groups. When this happens in places that are a big culture against human rights and freedom of expression, this can be even worse, such as the challenge faced by the press at the 2018 World Cup in Russia or the economic loss in 2014 in Brazil.
Prejudices and social vulnerabilities are everywhere (and we know that in certain places the setbacks are even worse).
It is also important to direct and measure our actions towards the right places and the right key people.
The purpose of taking a stand and acting cannot be to condemn a culture or a population; brands must understand that the challenges are structural and cultural, that is, in most cases these challenges are validated and supported by governments and large actors, and the individual inserted in this context is only the tip of the iceberg.
