• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, July 11, 2018

From goals to fan’s sheer fanaticism, there are many ways to measure success at the World Cup.  

But for brands looking to get a leg up on their competition, social-media analytics firm Talkwalker is using a unique metric to measure sponsorships: engagement per dollar.

Looking at engagement per dollar -- including engagement on images that include brand logos -- the Luxembourg-based agency believes that brands get a better idea of how they’re being received across social channels.

By this measure, who’s winning this year's World Cup? At the moment, Nike seems to be on top. 

That’s despite the fact Adidas is this year’s biggest sponsor, spending approximately $311 million per year, or $850,000 per day.

It's helped Adidas accumulate more than 67,000 social-media mentions, and over 3 million engagements. On average, that means the brand’s sponsorship investment is yielding 0.32 engagements for every dollar spent, Talkwalker calculates.

Nike has banked over 69,000 mentions and more than 2 million engagements. On average, that means Nike’s sponsorship investment is yielding 0.34 engagements for every dollar spent.

How do the brands' respective strategies differ?

For one, Adidas drew numerous mentions from its own World Cup Awards. Also, by sponsoring the Golden Boot, the Golden Ball and the Golden Glove, the German brand racked more than 38,500 mentions, to date.

Nike is sponsoring 10 World Cup teams this year; it is expected to spend upwards of $195 million -- or around $530,000 per day.  Of note, its Nigerian uniforms have been an enormous hit for Nike, considering the team has so far made up 19.6% of the company’s total brand mentions. 

Not in the same league as Nike or Adidas, New Balance is expected to spend about $960,000, this year, or $2,630 per day.

With its more limited resources, the Boston-based brand is relying heavily on social-media influencers to get its name out. That includes a “docu-series” entitled “Make it to Moscow,” which features a number of YouTube stars, including Theo Baker, Charlie Morley and Jemel One Five. 

Yielding more modest results, New Balance has so far garnered 2,290 and 5,284 engagements. On average, that means its sponsorship investment is yielding 0.18 engagements for every dollar spent.

More broadly, Talkwalker calculates that $2,513,890 is being spent on World Cup sponsorships daily.

Those sponsorships are vying for the 3.4 billion fans estimated to be tuning in at some point during the tournament. Some 913,691 fans engage with World Cup sponsors every day, per Talkwalker.