Share on LinkedIn
Share on X
With the huge advances in contextual targeting technology, there’s no real reason any advertiser should be relying solely on keywords in their campaigns. But we understand that letting go is sometimes difficult; and so if you must use keywords you have to be increasingly diligent in what you’re including, both to ensure there are no missed opportunities, and to avoid discrimination.
The FIFA World Cup 2023 is set to be one of the most complex advertising hotspots of recent years due to a number of factors:
- Its proximity to Christmas. This year’s World Cup final takes place the week before Christmas Day, and so there are lots of opportunities to make a real impact during the festive buying period.
- Brand safety risks due to human rights records in Qatar.
- As we all know, digital is a fast growing industry and technology has taken leaps and bounds even since the last World Cup in 2018 meaning there are now more unique and targeted ways to ensure your brand is noticed and remembered.
But, you don’t want to be remembered for the wrong reasons, and so as this article promises, here are some keywords that you must avoid if you want only fond memories of the 2023 FIFA World Cup.
- Qatar – there’s plenty of positive news about communities coming together to support the Qatar World Cup. Not to mention the airline, of course.
- Human Rights – a lot of human rights organisations post thought leadership and content that’s completely safe for brands.
- Shoot – he shoots, he scores? Doesn’t sound so bad.
- Attack – you can’t very well get possession of the ball without some attack.
- Injury – a bit of extra injury time is sometimes make or break.
- Defence – A precise defence strategy can be the difference between winning and losing the cup!
- Protest – One to watch out for all year round; the lady doth protest too much, methinks.
- LGBTQ+ – Including this phrase or any similar ones in your keyword lists risks serious allegations of discrimination.
- Alcohol – Not allowed in Qatar, but alcohol sales around the world will likely soar over the tournament.
- Death – If your team ends up in the ‘group of death’ keywords may be the least of your worries. But best avoid this one just in case.
- Russia – Inevitably during year’s FIFA World Cup there will be journalists making comparisons to previous years in places such as Russia.
- Middle East – It’s just geography.
If you want to see our full guidance for the FIFA World Cup in 2022, see our handy guide here.
And don’t forget to sign up to our FIFA World Cup 2022 sweepstake!
