Why the World Cup’s Vuvuzela is Important
Jun 23rd, 2010 by David Svet
We love them. We hate them. They’re suddenly everywhere. The vuvuzela has emerged as the defining element of South Africa’s World Cup. The constant, relentless, droning, B flat buzz of the plastic horns has everyone buzzing about them. They’re all over the news. The microphones for World Cup matches have been changed to accommodate them. There is a vuvuzela iPhone app. There is a vuvuzela Twitter account. The Onion has even written an article about the South African Vuvuzela Philharmonic’s outrage at soccer matches breaking out during their outdoor concerts. The vuvuzela has become a part of the World Cup zeitgeist. So, why is this important for marketing your business? Differential advantage.
Before the vuvuzela, this was an underperforming World Cup. Massive numbers of tickets went unsold. There was talk of record low attendance. There were insinuations that Africa was simply not up to the task of hosting a world-class event. Once the soccer began, it started slowly and uneventfully. Then came the vuvuzela. Suddenly everyone had something to talk about. It gave the South African World Cup an identity, a differential advantage over other World Cups and other sporting events. It was unique.
We all know that it is important to stand out as something different. How has the vuvuzela done this? After all, they aren’t new. You can buy one at most any US sporting event. I bought a red one, much to my parents’ chagrin, over forty years ago. There are a variety of reasons that they’ve caught on that can help your business. Here are a few:
- They’re cheap – this lowers the bar for access
- They’re loud – they produce the desired effect
- They’re controversial – see above. Love them or hate them, either way it helps.
- They’re unique – combine a bunch of them and the sound is other worldly.
- They have a cool name – in the US they’re plastic horns. Now they’re vuvuzelas! Cha-ching$$$.
- They’re fun – something that is largely overlooked yet highly valuable.
- They’re scalable – their tone is easy to imitate and parody opening up alternate uses. (iPhone?)
So, once you think about it, there is a lot of sense behind why those blasted horns are so popular. Now how do you go about designing your own vuvuzela for your business?
Image under the creative commons by Andrewthecook
And for everyone else, there’s this:
