A study by a US university points to evidence of boycotts linked to the violation of human rights and laws against LGBTQIA+ citizens
The country that hosts a World Cup takes more than a ball into the goal on national soil. The event functions as a showcase of habits and places transformed into tourist destinations for visitors from all over the world, leaving a cultural and economic legacy as a legacy. But in Qatar, that has not been the logic of the game. In addition to economic issues, as profits will certainly come, it is not uncommon to find retaliation for behaviors that go against the efforts of the brands themselves in favor of a more inclusive world.
The exposure and reach of the sponsoring brands of the Cup is huge. However, in recent years, the consumer has become much more critical, and does not accept inconsistencies, warns Juliana Morganti, director of strategy at Mutato. Indications of a boycott were signaled by a study by Montclair State University (MSU), in New Jersey (USA). Analyzed between October and November, a sample of 22,000 tweets with the hashtag boycottqatar2022, more than 18 million impressions and about 43 million people reached, indicated 92% support for protests related to human rights and laws against LGBTQIA+ citizens.
Homosexuality is illegal and punishable by arrest in Qatar. Some European teams, such as Germany and England, announced that their captains would enter the field with the phrase One love written on their armbands, but withdrew after the International Football Federation (FIFA) threatened to punish players who insisted on maintaining the demonstration with yellow cards. . In retaliation, the athletes from Germany’s four-time champion team took the official photo before the match against Japan, at the Khalifa International stadium, on Wednesday (23), with their hands over their mouths.
If, on the one hand, the first World Cup in the Middle East will be marked by beauty and luxury, labor issues and employee deaths in the construction of stadiums and the discussion around human rights, in particular, the LGBTQIA+ movement, will also remember the World Cup, says Fernando Trein, sports marketing professor at ESPM Porto Alegre. The managing partner of Sports Value, Amir Somoggi, warns that soft power is terrible because it manages to soften even the worst of dictators.
Beer consumption was also put in check. On the eve of the opening of the World Cup, FIFA and Qatar prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages around the stadiums, a decision that affects the sponsorship of Budweiser, from AB InBev, the official beer of the tournament.
After discussions between host country authorities and FIFA, a decision was taken to concentrate the sale of alcoholic beverages at the FIFA Fan Festival, removing the beer outlets from the stadium perimeters of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, wrote FIFA in note. Budweiser decided to present the winning team with the beer stock previously destined for the event.
I find it absurd that countries like Russia and Qatar, and others that are not effectively a democracy, that have no alternation of power, that control the media, limit women and homosexuals, are considered for major events, criticizes Somoggi. In the split ball, marketing does not always win. Although strategic, marketing is not the only pillar. This situation brings a more realistic plan, the power of money, and political power. And it puts marketing in its due size. There comes a time when there is a game of forces and, normally, the owner of the vault wins, observes Roberto Kanter, a marketing specialist for MBAs at FGV. The imbroglio is dealt with in the documentary Esquemas da Fifa, released by Netflix.
For Kanter, Budweiser loses out in local consumption, but its relevance remains in global markets, which are already expressive for the brand’s consumption. It’s not even a calculated risk. It is a loss that is within the account. It would cost much more not to be in the Cup, and to give way to the competitor, believes the professor. The tendency is for the recovery to take its course, rescuing guidelines from the progressive agenda.
In digital, everyone can be predisposed to boycott, it is not up to judge the motives and responsibilities, but to analyze the impact, how much, in practice, this has a mirroring, reflects Kanter. Anyway, the specialist defends more transparency. Brands could explain their positions, political and economic, stressing that creeds, beliefs and colors do not matter in football, suggests Kanter.
That’s what Hyundai, another sponsor of the Cup, did. The Korean automaker showed a film between games that shows the mother behind the wheel of a Creta New Generation 2022, and her daughter in the back seat. Can I learn to drive now?, asks the girl. Messages encouraging diversity and inclusion are a constant presence in Hyundai’s communications. Examples prior to the Creta Nova Gerao reinforce the brand’s commitment to female empowerment, as in the HB20 commercials in 2019, recalls Jan Telecki, Hyundai marketing and communication director for Central and South America.
Hyundai uses its presence at the World Cup in Qatar to express the company’s values. One of the examples is the Goal of century campaign, which brings messages of solidarity and sustainability alongside names from sports and culture. In addition to visual communication, the brand provided sustainable vehicles and inaugurated the Fifa Museum.
Locally, it implemented the promotion Na Hyundai gives the game, test drive with zero carbon emissions through the planting of more than 1,000 trees in the Atlantic Forest. It is possible to use the sponsor space to position yourself according to the brand’s values. Neutrality leads nowhere, stresses Juliana, from Mutato, who turned the influencer Luva de Pedreiro into the voice of the Waze app in order to insert the brand into the football conversation.
(Credit: Hatem Boukhit on Unsplash)
