Perhaps the most important accessory in national football athletes from every part of the globe is the trendy Beats headphones by Dr. Dre. This is a feat for the growing giant, considering that it has been banned by FIFA for licensing reasons, Reuters said. The company, which was recently acquired by Apple Inc last month, has managed to eclipse World Cup sponsor Sony, who had been distributing headphones to every athlete free of charge, The Verge said.
Former Apple and Google executive, strategist Ellen Petry Leanse, said, "When fans see World Cup athletes wearing Beats in their downtime, by choice, it has as much impact as seeing them lace their Adidas (boots) or sip a sponsored beverage. Maybe more, actually - Beats isn't a sponsor, so the message is more authentic and credible."
The Verge said this is not the first time the company had skirted licensing deals. During the 2012 Olympic Games held in London, company representatives were spotted handing out headphones to some of the athletes, much to Panasonic's dismay as the latter was the official sponsor of the games.
On the other hand, Beats have been amping up people about the World Cup despite not being a sponsor of the tournament by releasing a cinematic World Cup ad that featured some of the popular athletes in the world, including Neymar, Serena Williams, and LeBron James. The ad, which has racked up over 10.6 million people on YouTube ahead of the World Cup, could be viewed as Beats' "guerilla marketing" tactics, which on a business point is a sound decision considering the many freedoms it entails to promoting itself in association to a major sports event and the potential millions of dollars saved from not opting to partner with the operators of the tournament.
Reuters said Sony remained to be the favored electronic gadget supplier of the World Cup athletes, as few players so far have been spotted them using the free headphones.
