商業內幕：討好贊助商索尼 FIFA封殺魔聲耳機
Neymar likes them Brazil-green. England's Wayne Rooney, white. Luis Suarez, blue.
據《商業內幕》網站6月18日報道，許多球員都鐘愛魔聲（Beats）耳機，比如，內馬爾喜歡象征巴西的綠色耳機，英格蘭隊的魯尼喜歡白色的，烏拉圭的蘇亞雷斯喜歡藍色的。
Banned from the pitch by FIFA for licensing reasons, the bulky Beats headphones are a favorite for many of the world's top players, making the World Cup a huge unofficial ad for the company acquired by Apple Inc last month.
國際足聯因授權理由禁止beats耳機出現在世界杯賽場，但是對于眾多球星而言，beats耳機是他們的心頭愛，本屆世界杯也成為了魔聲耳機的一次“非正式”廣告，而該公司剛于上月被蘋果公司收購。
The colorful high-end headphones created by rapper Dr Dre have become a ubiquitous soccer accessory.
說唱歌手Dr Dre開發的這款多種配色的高端耳機已經成為了球員們的必備單品。
Neymar wore them as he stepped off the bus at the Castelao stadium of Fortaleza for Brazil's last training season on the eve of their match with Mexico on Tuesday.
周二，內馬爾在結束了與墨西哥的賽前訓練之后，在巴西福塔雷薩（Fortaleza）的卡斯特勞球場（Castelao stadium）外走出巴士的時候就戴著一副魔聲耳機。
Suarez had them wrapped around his neck as he joked with his Uruguay team mates during a break at a recent practice.
在最近的一次訓練休息時，蘇亞雷茲在跟他的隊友們開玩笑時脖子上也掛著一副魔聲耳機。
But soccer world governing body FIFA's licensing agreement with rival electronics maker Sony Corp means players have to take them off when they are in World Cup stadiums for official matches and media events.
但是國際足聯與魔聲的競爭對手電子產品巨頭索尼公司達成了一項授權協議，協議規定球員在世界杯球場參加正式比賽和出席記者招待會的時候都不得戴著索尼耳機之外的其他品牌耳機出現。
Marketing experts say that probably only amplifies their appeal.
營銷專家表示此舉可能會使魔聲耳機更具吸引力。
"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," said strategist Ellen Petry Leanse, a former Apple and Google executive.
“當球迷們看到球員在休息時戴著魔聲耳機，其影響力就跟看到球員身穿阿迪達斯運動鞋或喝著贊助商飲料一樣大。”分析師艾倫·佩特里·林賽（Ellen Petry Leanse）指出，他曾擔任過蘋果和谷歌的高管。
"Maybe more, actually – Beats isn't a sponsor, so the message is more authentic and credible."
“也許這種影響力還要更大，因為魔聲不是官方贊助商，所以球星戴著其耳機之舉就顯得更加真實可信。”
Acquired by Apple for $3 billion, Beats Electronics is known for "guerrilla marketing" tactics to bypass licensing barriers.
Beats Electronics已被蘋果公司以30億美元的價格收購，這家公司以其“游擊營銷”策略而著稱，這種策略是指可幫助其繞過授權障礙。
During the 2012 Olympics in London, for instance, the company sent thousands of free headphones to high profile athletes including the U.S. basketball team and the entire British delegation, outsmarting official sponsor Panasonic.
舉例來說，2012年倫敦奧運會期間，魔聲公司向許多高知名度的運動員贈送了數以千計的耳機，其中包括美國籃球隊，整個英國代表團，其手段比大會贊助商松下公司高明許多。
Officials at Beats were not available for comment on their strategy at the Olympics and this World Cup.
對于在倫敦奧運會和巴西世界杯的營銷之舉，魔聲公司并未做出任何官方回應。
A 5-minute film featuring Neymar, Suarez, Germany's Mario Goetze, Netherlands' Robin van Persie, Mexico's Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez and other players wearing Beats headphones released days before the World Cup has been seen by 10.6 million people on YouTube.
在世界杯開賽的幾天前，YouTube上出現了一段五分鐘的視頻，其中內馬爾、蘇亞雷斯、德國球星格策、荷蘭球星范佩西、墨西哥球星哈維爾·埃爾南德斯及其他一些球員佩戴著魔聲耳機，點擊率達到1060萬人次。
Its name? "The Game Before the Game".
這段視頻的名字叫做“賽前之賽”。
Sony this month issued all players participating in the World Cup with a free set of its own headphones they can take to the games.
本月，索尼公司向世界杯的所有參賽球員都免費發放了一副耳機。
But so far few players have been spotted with them wrapped around their necks.
但截止目前，仍鮮有球星佩戴索尼耳機出現在公眾面前。
（譯者 小愛Tiana 編輯 齊磊）
