October 2018 edition of SPORTO Magazine is marked by the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Among the exclusive contents we deliver you the interview with UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, the insight about marketing ecosystem of the French Football Federation and behind the scenes with Alex Stone, Head of Social Media at FIFA. Please find more about the content of 12th international edition in our announcement.
At the heart of the Russian Epic
The President of the The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), also vice-president of FIFA, 51-year-old Slovenian Aleksander Čeferin, will be the main guest of this year’s SPORTO Conference on the second day of the event, 23 November in Portorož. In our interview he congratulated Russia once more for organizing such a great event and touched various topics connected to UEFA’s (marketing) products and ongoing campaigns.
“As important as our elite competitions are, I would like to reinforce the fact that UEFA’s main role is to develop football in Europe and to use it as a force for social change,” he emphasised.
François Vasseur, Head of Marketing at the French Football Federation, pointed out their challenges and opportunities as the world champions: “Now we have to take advantage of the title in the global marketing field.” Vasseur also revealed details of some major projects like the documentary At the Heart of the Russian Epic, the extraordinary numbers on social networks during World Cup in Russia and the upcoming women’s World Cup in France.
With more than 7.5 billion social engagements worldwide, Russia 2018 was not only the most engaging FIFA World Cup ever, but also the tournament where the world’s football governing body showed everyone that they have moved on with the times. They have changed their digital style, “put on a T-shirt and some shorts”, and won the hearts, eyeballs and clicks of the global digital audience. SPORTO talked to Alex Stone, FIFA’s Social Media & Video Group Leader.
Sponsorship, neuroscience and consumer psychology
WeAreFearless is a slightly different agency in the world of marketing and sponsorship. We discussed with Naomi Segal, Managing Partner of young and successful agency, who shared insight into how they use consumer psychology to determine what and why motivates consumers in their decisions.
According to their recent research about values of sports fans, they identify three ʻworldsʼ of consumers in the UK’s sports environment: some nest, others hunt, while the third group explores. Interested in details? Read more in the new issue of SPORTO Magazine
No more digital departments in the future?
While at the SPORTO Conference Luka Dukich, Head of Digital Content at Chicago Bulls, one of the most iconic teams in the NBA, will be sharing his views and experience, his colleague Dan Moriarty, Digital Director at the Bulls, was interviewed for the SPORTO Magazine. One of his most bold predictions: »At some point the sports teams will not have digital departments anymore. As digital becomes more pervasive, the skill set will be one that exists throughout the whole organization, rather than being centralized in one team.«
Facebook and the world of sports
Jerry Newman, Head of Sport Partnerships across EMEA at Facebook, will also join SPORTO 2018 speaker line-up in Portorož this November. Before his conference talk (how sports businesses all over the globe are using Facebook and Instagram to grow and enhance the relationship they have with their fanbase) he shared his views for our magazine. He also explained why he is thrilled about the possibility to be able to co-watch a match with a friend who is on the other side of the world: “As an avatar you can be parachuted to the scene of the event surrounded with avatars of other users.”
SPORTO Magazine brings also TV ratings for Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia. Traditionally we present social media charts of athletes and clubs across social media platforms in Adriatic region (where NBA rookie Luka Dončić reached his first million followers).
SPORTO also talked to Maria Ramos, a brand consultant who helped create visual identities of high-profile sporting events, from London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics to 2017 IAAF World Championships, and discussed with the team of top Slovenian Alpine skier Ilka Štuhec about sponsorship and communication challenges at the time of her one-season absence from competitions. Don’t miss new column (Red Sox vs Yankees) by Fredda Hurwitz, RedPeg Marketing.
The new SPORTO Magazine with an insight into the sponsorship, performance and trends in the sports industry is available for all SPORTO Conference past participants (this year will be held in Portorož on 22nd and 23rd of November), European Sponsorship Association & Europaische Sponsoring Boerse members. If you would like your own copy, please write to info@sporto.si.
