A new survey has found that half of consumers and two-thirds of young adults will have more respect for brands which speak out over the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
The survey of 2000 people was commissioned by IPA and carried out by Opinium.
It found that 49% of all adults said they would respect a brand more for speaking out about the Qatar World Cup, which rose to 63% for 18-34s. The figure is higher among men (52%) than women (47%).
Other findings were that 34% of respondents felt that the competition would provide “a much-needed distraction” from the challenges faced this year.
38% of 18-34s said that having the competition during the Christmas build-up made it “all the more exciting”, However that figure was 20% for all adults and just 8% of over 55s.
47% of young adults stated that they’d prioritise football viewing this year over seasonal television shows.
39% of 18-34s stated that they were more excited than usual about the World Cup, following the success of England Women. This is higher among men (42%), than women (18%).
“How to manage activity during the Qatar World Cup is a significant problem and potential opportunity for brands to solve, both in terms of whether to comment on human rights issues and how to manage the disruption to the festive period,” said Damian Lord, Head of Insight at the IPA.
“These findings will provide significant insight into how to best engage with football fans and people going about their Christmas shopping over the coming weeks and what issues matter most to their audience.”
The survey also revealed attitudes to Black Friday 2022, which falls on an England and Wales match day.
It found that women (56%) are more likely than men (45%) to restrict spending to brands they trust and that younger generations (42% of 18-34s) are more interested in shopping in-store than over 55s (8%) on Black Friday.
