Press releases

The motto of the largest sales promotion held by a German consumer electronics retailer in the run-up to the FIFA World Cup was “TVs for free”. Up until the end of May, customers purchasing one of the latest models offered by the leading brands LG, Panasonic, Philips, Toshiba, Samsung and Sony were also able to place a bet as to how well they thought the German team would do in the World Cup. The further Jogi Löw’s team goes, the more money customers get back, providing they made the right bet: 10 percent if the team makes it to the round of the last sixteen, 15 percent for the quarter finals, 20 percent for the semi-finals, 25 percent for the final and a full 100 percent if the German team wins the World Cup.

It was no wonder that thousands of football fans took advantage of this opportunity to buy a new television - a worthwhile purchase no matter what since all the games are being broadcast in brilliant high definition quality (HDTV) for the very first time. Leading brand-name manufacturers therefore launched TVs that offer the latest reception technologies prior to this major football event, thus allowing viewers to bring the atmosphere of the stadium into their living rooms.

Media Markt has now counted out the play slips: Almost 12 percent expect the German team to become the world champions, and approximately 5 percent bet that it will reach the final. Most customers have a more sober assessment of the team’s chances of success: 29 percent wager on it reaching the semi-finals, 37 percent the quarter finals and 17 percent the round of the last sixteen. This sober as-sessment not only says something about how well the national team is expected to perform but also something about the psychology of saving: Customers are obviously more likely to bet on a lower refund - which they think they are more likely to get - than on the possibility of actually having the full purchase price refunded.