The Digital Footprint of Pacquiao v. Mayweather
After all the punches, cheers and jeers, and 12 rounds of championship boxing, the much-awaited Fight of the Century between Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao ended with Mayweather’s hands raised and his winning streak untarnished.
Tale of the Tape
Much like the CompuBox statistics that tell us the punch rate and accuracy of each boxer, there are also numbers that show the digital footprint of the mega bout. Social media marketing clearly played a role in drumming up the hype for the match. Here’s a quick look at how the #MayPac fight faired online:
Mayweather dominated the fight on Twitter, with more than 7.1 million tweets per day mentioning him over a one month period (April 5 to May 5). Tweets about Pacquiao were at over 4.3 million per day, and the fight hashtag #MayPac was mentioned at an average of 2.1 million tweets per day during the same period.
On Facebook, however, Pacquiao came out as the clear winner, according to stats compiled by GMA News Online. Globally, over 22.5 million Facebook users were talking about Pacquiao from April 20 to May 5. At the other corner, about 17.7 million users were talking about Mayweather on Facebook over the same period.
Breaking it down by gender, males were generally split between the two boxers, with 49.4% of male users on Facebook talking about Pacquiao and 50.6% talking about Mayweather. The Filipino boxer had a slight advantage over his American opponent when it comes to the ladies, with 53.5% of female Facebook users talking PacMan, 46.5% talking about Floyd.
Mayweather had the most reach when it came to age groups, with 25-34-year-olds and 35-44-year-olds being the most active on Facebook. “Money” had about 8.2 million Facebook mentions from 25 to 34-year olds and almost 4.5 million mentions from 35 to 44-year olds. Manny, meanwhile, got 7.8 million mentions and 4.1 million mentions in the same age groups, respectively.
Interest for the Fight of the Century peaked on the day itself, with Mayweather again gaining the advantage over Pacquiao. Unsurprisingly, the Philippines topped the world in regional interest for the fight.
A Win for Brands
The two champion boxers weren’t the only ones who enjoyed exposure during the mega fight. With the 16,507 in attendance and the millions who watched at home, it’s easy to see why the Battle for Greatness was also a great opportunity for marketers and brands.
Some brands were prominently displayed throughout the match, either in the ring or on the boxers’ clothes. We took a look at the top 3 brands that were most visible throughout the fight : Tecate (seen on ring mat), Motolite (seen on Pacquiao’s headband and waistband), and Hublot (seen on Mayweather’s trunks). Online reputation management is definitely something these brands know all too well.
The cerveza con caracter had the most mentions on Twitter, with an average of 22,258 tweets per day mentioning Tecate over the period of April 5 to May 5. The Swiss luxury watch brand Hublot, meanwhile, had 16,473 mentions per day and battery manufacturer Motolite had 1,339 mentions per day over the same period.
Pacquiao’s shorts alone carried sponsorships worth at least $2.3 million from six brands, according to reports. While there are no exact figures for Mayweather, analysts are saying the watch company paid a lot since this is the first time Floyd is wearing a company image or name on his trunks.
The Burger King was also present in the Mayweather camp during the ring walk. Nike and Butterfinger, meanwhile, were in the Pacquiao camp. Samsung also made an appearance during the fight—the selfie taken featuring Coach Freddie Roach, Manny Pacquiao, and Jimmy Kimmel—before Team Pacquiao made their way onto the ring.
In the end, the Fight of the Century was a big win for the boxers, their sponsors, and the promoters. Whatever you feel about the outcome, there’s no denying the mega fight left quite a mark both inside and outside the ring.
Online, users from around the world were very engaged in the conversation. Brands saw an increase in likes, visibility, and engagement. For all its hype and promotion, the event was a big success, at least on a marketing level.