GOL.HR AND THE UNFORGETTABLE WORLD CUP IN QATAR
The World Cup (WC) is the biggest sporting event on a global scale, attracting the attention of even those who normally have no interest in football. Last year’s World Cup in Qatar brought a change because the championship was organized for the first time in November and December, which encouraged viewers to consume more online content due to the cold and shorter days. Gol.hr recognized this opportunity and focused on online content that would attract viewers and keep their attention during the championship.
STRATEGY
Gol.hr positioned itself as a portal that offers match broadcasts, however, it did not have the right to broadcast the WC. The challenge was to make up for the absence of video broadcasts of matches and, despite this, to offer users the most interesting coverage of the championship.
The just-mentioned challenging environment encouraged Gol.hr to position itself as a portal that offers something different – content that users cannot find elsewhere. They set criteria for their content: fun, interactive, informative and above all sports. Marginal sports topics were covered on other portals within the group, while Gol.hr focused its attention on innovative approaches to following the championship.
PROJECT GOALS
It was already noticed at the very beginning that WC is a great opportunity for acquiring new customers and converting them into loyal visitors, so the following goals were set accordingly:
Gol.hr is the most visited sports portal during the WC
Increase the number of page views by 50% compared to the average in 2022.
Retain users after the championship – growth in 01/23. by 15% compared to the average in 2022.
PERFORMANCE PROCESS
In order to achieve the aforementioned goals, the project was divided into two phases – before the championship and during the championship.
BEFORE THE CHAMPIONSHIP | DURING THE CHAMPIONSHIP |
Even before the start of the championship, Gol.hr built the atmosphere and excitement through the series of articles “Repkologija” and the web application “Best Moment”, which allowed users to recall the greatest moments in the history of football. They also launched the “Goalmanija” web application, which challenged football experts to predict the outcome of the championship, and the “Super Vatreni” application, which allowed users to choose the ideal national team player. | During the championship, Gol.hr provided a variety of content so that users could follow the matches in a unique and interesting way. They offered live press releases from Qatar, announcements from fan zones, columns, match tracking, special illustrations, text broadcasts of matches, selection of the best player, etc. The content was attractive and highly engaging, which resulted in a high reach on the portal and social networks and minimization budget to 12,000 Euros (Google&Facebook). |
ACHIEVED RESULTS
Gol.hr, through a combination of diverse and unique content, enabled users to follow the championship in the most meaningful way, and thus achieved exceptional results and fulfilled the goals:
- Gol.hr took the leading position and set a new market record with as many as 1,450,828 users, which is an increase of 23% compared to the WC 2018 portal result.
- Increase in the number of page views by as much as 132%
- Growth in the number of users in 01/23 by as much as 32% compared to the average before the WC, (+10% compared to 01/22) and defended the position of the most read sports portal
- The number of searches for the term ‘gol.hr’ on Google increased by 69% compared to the rest of the year
CREATIVITY AS A KEY COMPONENT
Creativity was a key component of the project. The content is carefully selected and adapted to user preferences and the characteristics of each channel. All the contents had their own visual identity that reflected their purpose and appeal. The link to all materials was the unique visual identity of the World Cup, which grouped all content under a common denominator – gol.hr. With this approach, the content received its own branding, and Gol.hr gained additional recognition.
The project of monitoring the World Cup in Qatar through the gol.hr portal achieved excellent results and provided users with an unforgettable experience of following the championship. Through innovative approaches and creative content, Gol.hr achieved its goals and confirmed its position as the leading sports portal in Croatia.
