With the knockout stage of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup set to begin on August 5th, it’s a good time to think about how mobile marketers are leveraging attention on the event to boost their own apps. We’ve previously discussed in-depth how to make the most of events with hyper-contextual advertising on mobile, and a global sporting event that lasts a full month is an ideal time to take advantage of the App Store’s in-app events and Google Play’s promotional content. Running in-app events and promotional content are great ways to generate new downloads and to re-engage with lapsed or infrequent users. Live events of this scale create an opportunity for timely promotional content that you can plan for well in advance. Let’s take a look at the MobileAction platform to see how publishers are using the event to connect with audiences as we approach the homestretch.

The Game Is Afoot

With gaming often at the forefront of mobile marketing efforts, it’s no surprise that there’s a variety of gaming genres taking interest in the World Cup.

A variety of games are using the World Cup for in-app events and promotional content, sometimes with differing copy based on the app store.
A variety of games are using the World Cup for in-app events and promotional content, sometimes with differing copy based on the app store.

Roblox introduced a hybrid miniature golf golf/soccer course that you must complete in order to receive a Tazuni mask (Tazuni the penguin is the official mascot of this year’s World Cup). Call of Duty Mobile added a Urban Tracker Team Captain character skin, including with soccer-influenced weapon decorations, that you can acquire by spending in-game points (CP). Arcade game Soccer Super Star added a live match for every day of the tournament where you can collect starts to receive exclusive equipment and badges. Color by Number added new soccer images to its creative portfolio. We also noticed that some games used different images and ad copy the App Store as compared to Google Play. Something to consider when testing copy or crafting messages for audiences.

As discussed in our Barbie mobile marketing post, it’s easy to think of ways to channel the vibes of an event like the FIFA World Cup into an experience even if you’re not using the IP directly. You can still create costumes, skins, modes, buildings, and other in-game content even without official branding. Some of the apps refer to the event generally as soccer, women’s soccer, and women’s international cup. What’s important is that the provided experience thematically resonates with audiences as the FIFA World Cup.

There’s an opportunity for additional games to incorporate World Cup inspired content into their in-app events and promotional content.
There’s an opportunity for additional games to incorporate World Cup inspired content into their in-app events and promotional content.

Keep Your Eye on the Prize

US broadcaster Fox created several in-app events for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
US broadcaster Fox created several in-app events for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Fox, which owns the English broadcast rights to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in the US, created several in-app events to draw people in. There’s an overarching one for the World Cup as a whole and then they created shorter events to align with each specific US game. Creating multiple events enables you to provide even more targeted messaging, which is great for live events.

Streaming apps have a variety of ways to connect their apps to soccer.
Streaming apps have a variety of ways to connect their apps to soccer.

Other streaming apps were able to get in on the action as well. Hulu, fuboTV, and Peacock also highlighted their World Cup streaming availability. Peacock even made sure to put its placement in Spanish given its broadcast is in Spanish, while fuboTV created unique placements for both languages.

Crunchyroll didn’t have world cup streaming, but did what more streaming apps should do and highlighted soccer-related content that it did have available. In this case, soccer-themed anime TV show BLUELOCK, based on the manga. There’s an opportunity for many other streaming apps to highlight soccer-themed content that they have available during the World Cup, as many streamers are likely to be interested in soccer content when the games aren’t on.

Get Your Kicks With a New Kit

Nike created different in-app events for the lead-up to the World Cup and during the World Cup.
Nike created different in-app events for the lead-up to the World Cup and during the World Cup.

Soccer apparel is of course on the rise around the World Cup. Nike took the strategy of creating different in-app events for the time leading up to the World Cup and during the World Cup. The focus on the lead-up is about getting gear in time for the tournament, while its mid-tournament messaging talkings learning more about starts with athlete exclusives, new workouts, and team gear.

We previously discussed optimizing shopping apps optimizing their mobile UA for Prime Day, and many of those best practices are applicable to the World Cup as well. While specific companies sponsor official jerseys on a country-by-country basis, there’s room for a plethora of shopping apps to get in on in-app events and promotional content to ride the wave of the World Cup media boon. Some retailers offer jerseys, but many more can highlight general soccer apparel or other gear created to support one’s favorite team.

Next Steps for Upleveling Your Own Marketing Strategy

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is a major event that more apps should be prioritizing for their marketing efforts. Gaming, streaming, and shopping are just a couple of examples of categories where it’s beneficial to find ways to highlight timely messaging in the App Store’s in-app events and Google Play’s promotional content. Even if you don’t have the ability to include the World Cup itself into, it’s easy to think of ways to channel the themes into your app’s experience and catch someone’s attention for either a new download or re-engagement. For other mobile marketing tips and tricks, check out some of our other related content:

MobileAction provides comprehensive app store marketing intelligence and seamless AI-powered Apple Search Ads campaign management. Backed by our vast dataset of 5+ million tracked keywords and a library of 70+ million ad creatives from 50+ ad networks, our solutions help you drive more downloads effectively. Maximize your app’s success and make data-driven decisions with the MobileAction platform.