The language of this year's Rugby World Cup "couldn't be more different from last year's FIFA World Cup," according to Fitch EMEA Exec Creative Dir Alasdair Lennox writing for CAMPAIGN LIVE. "Risk everything, all in or nothing," was some of the language used by sponsors of the FIFA World Cup 2014. The language of this year's Rugby World Cup is "not the language of risk, fear and force -- it is the language of commitment, loyalty and patriotism." And the major sports manufacturing brands "aren't investing in such a major way." To succeed in a crowded market of sponsors, brands must "become more meaningful than ever." They need to shape this meaning through "the sharing of stories, and spread the message with individuals." The sponsors of FIFA World Cup and RWC "have built exactly that around their campaigns -- the difference is that the football campaigns focus on individual values, while the rugby campaigns focus more on social values." A "model example of one brand's different approach to sponsorship depending on the sporting event is Emirates, official sponsor of both FIFA 2014 and RWC 2015." Emirates FIFA World Cup campaign "focused on the individual." The focus was on "the player's stories, their success and their fans," rather than the tournament itself. Meanwhile, the airline's current campaign demonstrates a "different approach." It doesn't focus on the individual, it "concentrates on the game, the tournament." Emirates’ "bringing rugby home" campaign tells the story of the rugby ball travelling across the world to the pitch at Twickenham. This tournament "is for everybody, wherever and whoever you are." Why do football and rugby "attract such different brands?" Football players are "world-renowned superstars" and "pin-ups" for the sports brands. Everyone knows who Rooney, Suarez and Messi are -- but people are not so familiar with the world's leading rugby players, "meaning their personal brands do not carry as much weight." So, if branding around football features the individual, branding around rugby "heroes the social value of the sport." Land Rover’s RWC "we deal in real" campaign highlights the importance of the audience and their inclusion in the tournament (CAMPAIGN LIVE, 9/25).
