World Cup Advertisers Trade Commercials for Hashtags

For advertisers during the World Cup, hashtags are becoming as valuable as 30-second commercials.

With few breaks in action during a soccer match, advertisers are embracing social media as a stand-in for the 30-second commercial that dominates the Super Bowl, Olympics and World Series.

U.S. advertisers have committed to spend $378 million on marketing products during the World Cup this year, a 43% increase from the prior games in 2010, according to a study published by Nielsen on Monday.

"Connecting with fans posting through social is a critical opportunity for advertisers, who can engage with these viewers and potentially capture the the momentum of Twitter TV activity around games to amplify brand messages," Stephen Master, senior vice president of sport at Nielsen, said in an email Read more...