Budweiser's Twitter Mentions Jumped 525% After FIFA's Sepp Blatter Quit

Amobee Brand Intelligence today tracked four major brand sponsors of FIFA—world soccer's embattled governing body—on Twitter during the hour before its president, Sepp Blatter, resigned in disgrace and the hour after he stepped down. A quick hit: Budweiser tweets spiked by 525 percent from 207 to 1,296. Call it "The John Oliver Effect," after the HBO host last night promised to drink a Bud Light Lime if the brewer pulled its sponsorship. Blatter stepped down at 1 p.m. Tuesday in the wake of bribery and racketeering charges against a number of FIFA officials. Here's what the Foster City, Calif.-based researcher discovered about Bud's fellow FIFA advertisers—Coca-Cola, Visa and Adidas—for the hour before the announcement (Noon to 1 p.m.) compared with the hour after (1 p.m. to 2 p.m): Coca-Cola tweets increased 97 percent from 1,575 to 3,105. Tweets around Visa rose 71 percent from 3,402 to 5,832. Adidas tweets were up 53 percent from 5,832 to 8,946. All four brands have stayed with FIFA since word of the indictments came down nearly a week ago. Other brands—including Castrol, Sony, Johnson & Johnson and Continental—have taken their ad budgets elsewhere. Ammiel Kamon, svp of products for Amobee Brand Intelligence, suggested that the unusual amount of media attention brands received as a result of the scandal was at the heart of why names like Bud, Coke, Visa and Adidas were still such a big part of the conversation after Blatter resigned. Budweiser in particular harshly criticized FIFA late last week and demanded action. Though, Kamon added, "John Oliver's megaphone moment and public plea caused the brand involvement and awareness to be amplified." And give Oliver credit for this well-played response to this afternoon's big development. Champagne.... pic.twitter.com/1S8shEcN6E — John Oliver (@iamjohnoliver) June 2, 2015 Here is Oliver's bit from last night. (Fast-forward to the 12-minute, 22-second mark to see him riff on Bud Light Lime.) Coca-Coca also issued the following statement after Blatter resigned: "The announcement today is a positive step for the good of sport, football and its fans. Our expectation remains that FIFA will continue to act with urgency to take concrete actions to fully address all of the issues that have been raised and win back the trust of all who love the sport of [soccer]. We believe this decision will help FIFA transform itself rapidly into a much-needed 21st century structure and institution."

Performance Marketing

Budweiser's Twitter Mentions Jumped 525% After FIFA's Sepp Blatter Quit

Call it the John Oliver effect

Christopher Heine

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Christopher Heine