The World Cup in Brazil this year could become the biggest battlefield for online social strategies that has ever been seen.

With global media firms from across the world  clamouring for coverage for themselves and their clients, social media on the second screen is going to be exploited as it never has been before.

Unsurprisingly, the big players are ensuring that their online presence will be complete. Many of these are officially tied to the FIFA competition, but there are also some that are hoping that reflective marketing will work for them.

Adidas in particular is one company that has really pulled out all the stops.

For the South Africa World Cup in 2010, the brand committed 20% of its marketing budget to digital. That figure is likely to be exceeded this time around, with the global boss of marketing for the German sports brand, Tom Ramsden, explaining:

“It’s not about a need to do ‘the big TV ad’. This will undoubtedly be the most social World Cup ever and probably the most social event in history.”

Ramsden naturally espouses the sentiments bounded around before any big event, with the social fever expected to increase with future sporting tournaments. What with the upcoming Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup and the Olympics set for to take place in the next few years, the role of digital marketing is expected to naturally progress in importance.

However, just how far reaching the effect of digital marketing will have throughout the tournament was given a clue earlier last week, even before a world cup football had been kicked.

Twitter confirmed that already more had been written about Brazil 2016 than had been said online about the last World Cup.

The reasons are many, but at Pressroom, we think one reason overrides all others; second screening is huge now, with Twitter also confirming that 60% of UK TV watchers tweet while viewing.

Steven Morris