Here’s Why Apple Suddenly Starting Caring About Sports

Apple Soccer Credit: Beats
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Apple made a very unusual move during the World Cup finals: It changed its homepage. While that may not sound like a big deal, this is the first time that Apple has altered Apple.com for an event (Steve Job’s death was one of the only exceptions) – particularly a sporting event.

If you visited Apple’s website during the last Cup game in the right countries, you probably saw the cute little soccer-themed additions. The company created different autoplay videos depending on the region. The home page in France, for example, showed floating soccer balls and the French flag before transitioning to the traditional site.

French Soccer World Cup Apple
Image via iPhone Addict

Croatian users got a similar video when they visited Apple, with their own country colors well represented.

It turns out these unusual changes were just the beginning. Quietly, almost behind the scenes, Apple spent the World Cup implementing a vast marketing campaign that included soccer videos shot with iPhones from around the world, from Australian Aborigines to Buddhist monks.

Analysts even noted that Apple got a lot of free publicity at the World Cup just because players seemed to be using their easily recognized AirPods (Apple’s keeping quiet on how much of that was on purpose).

Neymar Airpods
Image via AP Photo/Andre Penner

So, why is Apple suddenly going so hard after events like the World Cup when it paid relatively little attention in the past? Two words: International growth.

Apple has always been interested in global expansion as a way to fight saturation levels in places like the U.S. The World Cup is an excellent way to reach a whole lot of global customers at once.

Apple found out this lesson at the 2014 World Cup, where its recently acquired Beats headphones made a surprising splash.

Now you can bet Apple is going to continue to devote more resources to international sporting events and similar global spectacles. It’s a great way to tap into growing markets!

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