The upcoming 2014 World Cup in Brazil will the world’s most viewed sporting event of the event of the year — yes, more viewers than for the Super Bowl.
As with other major sporting events, the technology involved in creating a better customer experience for the World Cup continues to be cutting edge. This year’s innovation: a camera embedded in the soccer ball.
Raymond Wong, reporting for DVICE.com, notes that:
“Created by adidas, the brazucam is arguably the most high-tech soccer ball ever conceived. The custom soccer ball is equipped with six high definition cameras (GoPros, if you must know), which will be used to record the game from new angles. What kind of angles and views can we expect? How about views from the ball flying in the air before it gets kicked by another player? Or views of the ball coming right into the goal? Adidas plans to release a new video on its YouTube channel every week as the ball travels around the world and ends up at the World Cup in Brazil.”
Take a look at the adidas trailer on YouTube: “I am brazuca, traveling around the world on my way to the 2014 FIFA World Cup™. Come join me as I meet some of the world’s best players, attend matches, and play with fans. With six eyes and 360º views, I will see and share the love of football around the globe like never before. Follow my journey on Twitter: http://twitter.com/brazuca. #allin or nothing .”
And, of course, there is an official brazuca World Cup soccer ball for sale — at $159.99. Sorry, this version does not include any cameras. But it is the soccer ball they will be kicking this summer!
Nike will be the big winner at this year’s World Cup. They are sponsoring the Brazilian national team – arguably the best futbol team in the world – and several individual Brazilian stars. The Nike swoosh will be everywhere throughout the country.
As a soccer fan, I have to say, this is the first time a ball owns its soul, which comes from social media. The Official match ball of Adidas not only a ball but also stands for the spirit of FIFA World Cup. By having its twitter account, the spirit of World Cup has been more influential all around the world. You can see the photos of entertainment celebrity like Pitbull or other sports professional like Flavia Pennetta and Stan Smith or even Pope with Brazuca. No doubt that is a strategy of attracting all kinds of people to join world cup, which is mostly beneficial for FIFA and Adidas.
This post caught my eye when I read that the World Cup has more viewers than the Superbowl. I think that is really impressive. Personally, I don’t watch soccer so I don’t know the following too well. I think it is absolutely brilliant for marketers to use something as simple as the ball. Also, sponsoring the team is very smart. Since this is the event is the highest viewed event on television, companies can really market their products successfully.
I enjoy this article because it is a prime example of marketing. The video is talking about a soccer ball that will change how we watch the sport. However instead of just having it at the game for everyone else to see they are creating these videos. hyping up the product before it is released for the game. This way, when everyone sees it, not only will it change the way people watch the game, but people will also be willing to spend the ridiculous 160 dollars on a soccer ball.
Whoever came up with this idea is brilliant! It’s such a great way to not only market the Adidas brand, but also to encourage even more publicity for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. I personally love watching the World Cup no matter what, but this certainly adds to the excitement of the event. In a world that is obsessed with taking videos with their phones, go-pros, etc., a camera embedded in a ball is the next big thing. People love attaching go-pros to their surfboards, snowboards, skateboards, etc. and now they can capture all their other sports just by using a different ball!
A lot of Americans do not understand the fervent passion with which soccer fans worldwide follow the sport. I wake up at 7 in the morning on weekends to watch Manchester United games! Adidas is doing a great job with this marketing tactic and I think it will definitely pay dividends for them.
Without doing an industry research, I think Nike has taken the edge on Adidas in terms of visibility. The World Cup is provide Adidas with marketing opportunities to promote their brand
This ball is definitely going to start many conversations around the world and it is a very well contrived marketing tool. Adidas has done very well to incorporate technology into its campaign. While at first it does seem like a great idea to view the games from the balls viewpoint, you soon realize the ball would be spinning like crazy when in play. It would take video editing professionals to get some good footage and pictures out from all the whirlpool of captured video. In the end, however, it is still quite a great product.
This soccer ball will change the way many fans view the game. I think it is a very cool idea to get the view from another perspective. Although I do not follow soccer particularly, my brother is a soccer player and for soccer players alike, I think Addidas marketing tactic with this new ball might a popular item.
This post did not really surprise me as I play soccer and am well aware that soccer is the most viewed and favorite sport in the world. Soccer is the worlds game. It is one of my dreams to go to a world cup and cheer on team USA. I love the FIFA world cup it is very exciting to watch. The brazucam I think is genius and will be a social media sensation. It will get some very interesting footage. I wonder how they were able to make it so it has the same composition as a normal soccer ball. None the less I am very excited for this summer.
This “brazuca” ball is such an interesting concept to me. As someone who doesn’t usually watch soccer, I would definitely be interested in watching the videos of the ball on their YouTube page. I think this is an awesome marketing tactic, and will interest people of all demographics from all over the world. This publicity may even increase sales of soccer balls, soccer apparel, and other Adidas products.
This new innovation for a soccer ball will be a great addition to the World Cup. The angles and camera shots that are possible with this ball will provide footage like no other. At times in other major sporting events, the camera team has trouble catching certain shots, viewpoints and plays that happen but this soccer ball gets as close as you possible can. I’m not sure how well the sales of the actual retail product will be ($159.99) considering it does not have any special functions. However, because of the magnitude of this event fans may be compelled to invest in this memorabilia.
The world cup is definitely the most important event in 2014. In China, the people’s attention toward this game is no less than the Olympic games. People rarely play football in China due to the cultural impact and lack of the battle field. But soccer is one of the most popular game that we grow up with. The official ball of the 2014 world cup is also the eye-catching product. the embedded camera obvious is cutting edge. But I am little concern about its actual effect. For example, how to link the connection of each balls’ camera to the public broadcast system, or whether such moving camera its going to make audiences feel dizzy.
Even though I am not a huge soccer fan I love watching the World Cup. The players are so passionate about the sport and they truly play for their country and not for the money or fame. I think that the cameras in side the ball are a great idea! This will give viewers really cool angles on shots and I think it will get great reviews as the games are being played. The only problem I have with the ball is the price that they are selling it at. Like I said I am not a huge soccer fan so I do not know if 159.99 is a reasonable price for a ball but it seems a bit expensive. However I’m sure many kids will buy it just because they want to use the same ball as the pros. But I am very excited to watch the world cup this summer…GO USA!
I love how brazuca has its own twitter page. This is a great way to market and promote this product more than ever before. I’m predicting that many innovative products, like this one, are going to start introducing themselves to social media in the near future because it’s great for mass marketing. With the World Cup about a month away, I’m hoping to see a lot of action with brazua. #allin
Honestly, I am not a soccer fan but the ad brazuca made caught my eyebrow immediately. It is a very innovative and attractive product. As a marketer, I felt a huge potential behind this great event, especially as a growing number of Chinese and Indian people devote them time and energy into this worldwide soccer game. Brazuca did a very great job and I believe whoever watched this ad would definitely interest in.
I am not a fan of soccer but I will definitely interested to see what will the video be from the soccer ball. The world cup in Brazil provide an excellent opportunity for Adidas to marketing their brand. This innovative product make me thinking about our final project of the course mkt249: technology is supposed to make life better but not confused people, changing human’s lifestyle is much more important than complicated technology features and functions. Anyway, this product changes how people watch the sports and really successful.