World Cup 2010: As viewers go online, so do ad dollars

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The New Economy

World Cup 2010: As viewers go online, so do ad dollars

Companies try to reach larger US markets during World Cup 2010 with huge online campaigns.

Carlos Barria/Reuters

Uruguay's players jump to block a free kick from France's Thierry Henry during their 2010 World Cup soccer match in Cape Town on June 11. World Cup advertisers are hoping to reach broader US markets by going online.

By Alissa Figueroa Correspondent

June 12, 2010, 12:35 p.m. ET

As the US men鈥檚 national soccer team battles out its first World Cup 2010 game Saturday against England, advertisers hope that Americans will get as wrapped up in the game - and the Cup - as the rest of the world.

Companies have invested heavily in ad campaigns for the month-long tournament, after all, and this year they鈥檙e trying to reach broader US markets.

鈥淭he World Cup and soccer has, in many companies鈥� minds, been a Hispanic marketing play [in the US],鈥� says John Guppy, owner of the Chicago-based firm Gilt Edge Soccer Marketing. 鈥淐ompanies are looking beyond the Hispanic market this year. It鈥檚 probably the first time this has been a trend with direct corporate investment.鈥�

They're doing that by going where Americans are: the Internet.

This year people will be able to watch live streaming video of World Cup matches for free on They'll be tweeting about the results, and checking the stats on their favorite players on all World Cup all the time websites like

And companies are launching "some the most intense efforts to drive engagement online we鈥檝e seen" in response, said Mr. Guppy.

So what are advertisers doing to capitalize on the most digital World Cup in history?

Sony has launched its very own where national teams compete in a virtual tournament based on how many tweets their teams receive.

Castrol, the lubricant manufacturer, has developed a to rate players based on how well they play during the tournament. The company鈥檚 World Cup site also allows visitors to follow teams and post their top 10 players.

颁辞办别鈥檚 campaign on YouTube encourages people to submit their own videos of goal celebrations and watch others.

Nike鈥檚 epic 3-minute World Cup ad had racked up more than 14 million views on YouTube before the tournament even began.

Budweiser鈥檚鈥淏ud House鈥� is an online reality show, with 32 people (one from each country in the tournament) living together during the Cup. They are kicked out of the house as their nationals teams are disqualified. Visitors must be 21 years old to enter the site.