“The Game Before The Game”: Beats by Dre Taps Into the Emotions of the World Cup

Following the 3 billion deal Apple made with Dr. Dre for the undeniably popular Beats by Dre headphones, Beats released a thrilling World Cup commercial catered to athlete and fan preparations for the big game. The commercial enticed its audience with major soccer stars such as Brazil’s Neymar and even special appearances by other athletes Serena Williams and Lebron James (which is no surprise since he had a previous partnership with Beats).

Although parts of this commercial were featured on television during the World Cup, Beats provided a 5 minute full version which was released before the World Cup aired. This was clearly a strategic move to build hype for the game and create viral buzz about the commercial around the internet.  The commercials target market can be inferred based on the medium they chose. Internet mediums are usually reserved for the tech savvy internet trolling generation. With a young generation brand such as Beats, that has now been acquired by the interactive and innovative company Apple, there is surprise that  this commercial had an 18-35 target market. Beats and Apple understood the importance of advertising through the correct medium for their age group.

“The Game Before the Game” commercial reaped the benefits of going viral on the internet. Its online success includes over 11.5 million views (impressions) on Youtube. On Beats Facebook, the video’s post received over 27,000 likes and over 1,000 shares.

The video was shared on all social media sites and was even featured on viral sites such as Mashable. This not only increased the videos reach but also its frequency. When a video goes viral you tend to hear about it more than once causing an increase in awareness.

Beats also created a landing page for this campaign, TheGameBeforeTheGame.com, which is a strategic advertising effort leading to a call to action. The video takes up the majority of the landing page as the focal point but it also features custom Beats headphones for each World Cup team (call to action persuading consumer to purchase) and quotes from athletes on how they use music to before for game time (a consistent theme). All these elements add to the user experience and interaction of potential consumers.

So what does all this analysis mean? Yes, it was a captivating commercial with engaging graphics that accurately depicted the emotions of not only the players but also the soccer fans. But what made this commercial work?

Here are 4 reasons why “The Game Before The Game” was a success:

• Unique: There are plenty of Gaterorade, Powerade, Adidas and Nike commercials that make their commercials about the game time situations. Beats understands the role they play before the game by setting the tone and preparing the mind for the war/ game. They set themselves apart from all other athletic commercials in order to command attention.
• Audience Connection: Beats also understands the emotional connection fans have to soccer and elicited these emotions throughout the video. Beats also included celebrity cameos such as Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Lebron James, and Serena Willams to bring more relevancy and intrigue to its audience (the younger generation). After all, these are the  people they idolize.
• Golden Medium: Beats picked the golden medium to feature their full length commercial. Not only is the internet a viral medium. Audiences can easily visit the  link of the landing page after viewing the video. Digital media marketing is easily accessible and measurable making it beneficial for both advertisers and those watching.
• Sticking to their Roots: Beats are in the business of music. By partnering with rap legend Jay Z and his song “Jungle”. Music fans were still able to appreciate the musical additions of the video as well as the dramatic effect it gave the video. The main premise still remained : the music through Beats headphones will prepare you for the “jungle” on the field.

Do you think this ranks among top World Cup commercials?