Women's World Cup insights with Microsoft Advertising

The Women’s World Cup is quickly approaching, and consumers are eager to support their favorite teams. The event is set to take place starting July 20, 2023, in Australia and New Zealand, making it the first women’s tournament ever to take place in two countries. The event will likely be a huge success and provide a valuable opportunity for Retail brands to reach younger audiences, according to a recent study produced by Footballco and Indivisa.²

Brands that choose to engage with the female players will have the biggest edge, with “56% of fans saying they would think more favorably about brands that sponsor their favorite female players.”²

World Cup searches on the rise

Interest in the tournament is starting to rise on the Microsoft Search Network, with recent queries containing the term “womens world cup” growing an average of +84% week-over-week (WoW).¹ Microsoft Advertising gathered suggestions for our Retail advertisers over the next few months, based on online trends and learnings from the Men’s World Cup in late 2022.

Read on for insights on the best timing to reach sports fans as well as top Retail categories that have seen increases in previous events.

A few insights for your ads

• For similar past sporting events, such as the Men’s World Cup in 2022, searches on the Microsoft Search Network increased around one month prior to the event. Searches gained traction one week before and peaked the day of the event.¹
• Use the search and native full funnel strategy to focus on performance; +3.6x visitation rate vs. Only search ad exposure; 5.4x conversion rate vs. Only search ad exposure.
• This year, ensure you have your budgets distributed for the entire duration of the event, as searches didn’t completely drop off until the events ended. Leverage remarketing to target people who visited your site 30 days before the event and are ready to buy during the event.

• Multiple Retail and Sporting Goods categories showed uplifts around sporting events. For instance, during the Men’s World Cup, we saw a significant search lift in the following categories: Sports Apparel, Sporting Events, and Soccer Equipment.
• In fact, leading up to the Men’s World Cup this year, we saw a click growth of +33% month-over-month (MoM) for Soccer Equipment queries.¹
• Jerseys have commonly been the most searched item for Apparel during similar sporting events, followed by cleats and socks. Consumers often searched for the country they’re rooting for during the tournament. During the men’s tournament in November 2022, the US held 45% of the click share among all countries for jersey searches.¹
• Since US women teams are currently one of the favorites to win this year’s tournament, we expect to see similar results in July. Use Merchant Promotions to display special offers on specific products relevant to the World Football Tournament offerings through Product Ads.

• Make sure you’re prepared for this year’s Women’s World Cup by setting your flighting to include the weeks leading up to the tournament through the entire tournament, using keyword targeting relevant to the event and your brand, and distributing your budget accordingly.