I Spy With My BrandsEye: The New FNB Stadium

Let us face it; most of us are dealing with severe World Cup withdrawal symptoms. Prior to the World Cup, there was a lot of mixed sentiment around the stadiums. Many people felt that a lot of money, which could have been better spent elsewhere, was invested in their construction. However, the positive motivation was that the stadiums would play a vital role in the continued development of the sports industry, improving the standard and capacity for match attendants. 

FNB Stadium, previously known as Soccer City.

Image Credit: Charles

One stadium which has recently been in the spotlight is the Soccer City (now the FNB Stadium). The name change created a lot of hype, both positive and negative. Online conversation indicates that there has been a mixed public reaction to the FNB Stadium and the corresponding naming debate. 

73.7% of the conversation referred to the stadium as Soccer City, while 50.5% of conversation termed it FNB Stadium. This demonstrates that Soccer City is a preferred name – which can possibly be attributed to the recent 2010 FIFA World Cup and associated positive sentiments. 

A good example is the Tri Nations Rugby match between the All Blacks and Springboks. The match was hosted at the FNB Soccer City in Johannesburg, which hosted the World Cup finals.

The FNB Stadium has generated a lot of publicity and online conversation equating to approximately 2,969,165 people and an Ad Value of R 670,582.13, which can be broken down further to:

• A Reach of 1,212,640 people and Ad Value of R 273,841.5 for the two days before the match.
• A Reach of 557,165 people and Ad Value of R 126,314.63 for the day of the match.
• A Reach of 1,199,360 people and Ad Value of R 270,426 for the two days after the match.

The statistics and volumes indicate the most crucial time for a campaign or event is the build up. The two days prior to the event contributed to the highest input in terms of generating conversation, as well as publicity in terms of Ad Value. These two days created excitement and awareness of the event, which also lead to the high volumes of conversation during and after the event. 

This conversation can also be analysed in terms of the media source. 61% of the conversation was generated from consumers. A further 20% was generated from enterprise and 19% from press. The conversation can be further broken down according to the time, which includes:

• 55% consumers, 23% press and 23% enterprise two days before the event.
• 72% consumers, 17% enterprise and 11% press on the day of the events.
• 53% consumers, 28% press and 20% enterprise two days after the event.

24.4% of the total conversation was from Twitter. This shows Twitter is an important and accessible platform which is used by consumers, press and enterprise. Siyabulela Sekeleni was amongst the most active on Twitter with two tweets. The other platforms which generated considerable conversation included:

• 9% from Facebook.
• 4% from Global Rugby Scores.
• 3% from MyZA, Sportinglife and FIFA World Cup Soccer News.

Furthermore, the trend shows that the press coverage is highest before and after the event, with consumers generating the bulk of the conversation throughout.

As a whole, the conversation during the five days was relatively high, with a variety of mentions and endorsements. The volume of mentions around the event shows businesses and consumers can engage and communicate in a common space about a common lifestyle brand and event. This shows the versatility and importance of measuring and monitoring the online industry for all aspects, whether it is business or lifestyle.