Sydney: 11th June 2014 — Smartphone-owning soccer fans across the globe expect their mobile devices to take on a pivotal role when it comes to their FIFA World Cup 2014 experience, according to “2014 World Cup: A Global Mobile Perspective,” a landmark international study from the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Querying sports enthusiasts from 11 markets including Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, UK and USA, the survey found that 46 percent of Australians football fans intend to use their phones to follow the World Cup.
This compares to the global average of 48 percent and is second only to TV in all markets surveyed. 29 percent of Australian respondents also named smartphone, tablets or desktops as their primary channel for watching and following the World Cup.
The study also found that while the primary channel for world cup viewing and content by Australians will be TV, 42 percent of Australian fans anticipate plan to use their mobile phones for game-related activities while watching the game on TV. By comparison the global average for dual-screening is expected to be 35 percent.
Additionally 17 percent of Australian respondents intend to follow the games on their mobile while watching something else and 15 percent intend to follow games on their mobile while listening to something else.
Alice Manners, CEO of IAB Australia commented: “It’s clear that smart phones will be front and centre for consumers at this year’s World Cup and this data highlights the synergies between TV and digital channels. As consumers move seamlessly between screens there are huge opportunities for marketers to target consumers with an effective and more efficient frequency across platforms.”
Other key findings from the research include:
- Australians are app crazy with 29 percent planning to download the official FIFA app versus 21 percent of global fans
- Australians are more likely to reside in the ‘real’ social world than their international peers with 42 percent of Australians planning to watch the game with others in bars and pubs and a further 22 percent “out and about” versus 31 and 18 percent respectively for global fans
- Social sharing is huge globally with 90 percent globally intending to share world cup content) but Australians are more likely than average to share on Facebook (51 percent versus 45 percent globally) and still want to share via SMS and MMS (38 percent versus 27 percent globally).
- 29 percent of Australians intend to share video content
- 36 percent of Australians indicate that they click or interact with ads to get more information about a product/service at least once a week –increasing to 54 percent for Australian football fanatics.
- 32 percent of Australians are willing to pay to watch full games live on different screens versus 26 percent globally
- 54 percent of global respondents will use TV as their primary channel for world cup viewing and content, with 30 percent using digital (phone, tablet, pc); and 12 percent through internet connected TV.
To download the complete “2014 World Cup: A Global Mobile Perspective,” visit http://bit.ly/1MdKXaw
Methodology
A 20-question survey was designed and fielded by OnDevice Research in 11 markets (Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, U.K. and U.S.). In each country 500 consumers who were 18-plus, owned or had access to a smartphone, follow football and plan to follow the World Cup were interviewed via their mobile device. All respondents were asked the same questions, with fieldwork taking place from April 22 – May 12, 2014.
In addition to IAB in the U.S., nine global IABs participated in the study: IAB Australia, IAB Brazil, IAB China, IAB Colombia, IAB France, IAB Ireland, IAB Italy, IAB Mexico and IAB U.K. The DA Consortium, a Japanese organization that provides leading display advertising and search solutions to agencies and advertisers, also took part in the research.
You can download the full IAB World Cup deck below.
