Hollis Sponsorship Bulletin

German spectators were glued to the TV supporting their national team in FIFA World Cup matches - the average market share generated was over 82%, according to Sport + Markt’s analysis of the free-to-air TV audiences of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in six European countries.   

Exactly the opposite happened in France - just 62% of the French audience watched ‘Les Bleus’, and less than one third watched the FIFA World Cup in general  showing a distinct lack of interest towards the World Cup in general. In the UK, the average market share for the national team was over 68%.

Although in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the English national team games may not of been of high interest, more than 15 million British TV viewers watched the matches of the ‘Three Lions’. Just over than 4 million watched the other matches.

“No matter if England is playing in the group stage or the last 16,  the TV audience is always impressive”, said Gareth Moore, UK and Ireland Director  at SPORT+MARKT. “The second game of the group phase against Algeria attracted even more than the knock-out

game against the major rivals, Germany - but this was because many English fans chose public

viewing for the big match”.

In all the markets analysed, top audiences were, not surprisingly achieved, by the national team matches. The exception was in Switzerland, where the final between the Netherlands and Spain led the ranking. Furthermore, half of Swiss spectators watched all the games not involving the Swiss national team, evidencing the great passion for football in general in the country.

According to FIFA policy, despite the competition of pay TV in some countries, all the most important games at the FIFA World Cup were broadcast free-to-air. Therefore, it is no surprise that the average market share for the final was almost 70% across the most important European markets.

It’s not just the handful of teams who are now enjoying success at the World Cup.  Some of the world’s leading brands are battling it out for dominance in an event that is being watched in over 200 countries by a cumulative global audience estimated to be a staggering 26 billion. 
For the first time at the World Cup moving electronic perimeter advertising for the sponsors is being used, reports sponsorship specialists brandRapport.  Each of the World Cup’s six partners, eight sponsors and five local sponsors have their brands displayed in 30 second slots on the LED boards during each match.  The partners - Coca-Cola, Emirates, Visa, Hyundai, Sony and adidas -  each receive exclusive branding which can amount to eight or nine minutes per match while the sponsors appear in pairs – McDonalds with Yingli Solar, Budweiser with Castrol, Continental with Mahindra Satyam and MTN with Seara.  The local sponsors all appear on the boards together.
This new system guarantees a specific amount of exposure for all the brands during each match.  However those brands that happen to be showing when each goal is scored receive significantly greater benefits.  The goals are of course the most repeated and most widely shown part of each match and as the tournament progresses each goal becomes more important as do the benefits to the sponsors who are visible when they are scored.  Also certain key goals will be shown for years after the tournament has finished.
After the group stages and round, of the last 16 matches a total of 123 goals have been scored in the tournament.   FIFA Partner Coca Cola has been on show for 15 of the goals.  Close behind Coke with 14 is the boards showing the joint branding of sponsors MTN and Seara. Visa is next with 13 goals, Mahindra Satyam and Continental have been on show for 12 goals and adidas for 11.  David Villa’s winning goal for Spain against Portugal was scored while the Coke branding was on show which took Coke into the lead.  However, had Frank Lampard’s disallowed “goal” been awarded in the match against Germany, MTN and Seara would have joined Coca Cola in the lead with 15 goals. Only goals scored during normal time and any extra time period have been counted. 
Three of the partners are using the World Cup platform to promote more than one of their brands.  Hyundai shares its exposure with its sister company, Kia Motors, Coca Cola gives over exposure time to its sports drink Powerade and Budweiser showcases a number of the brands in the Anheuser Busch portfolio depending on which teams are playing.  For example, Brahma Beer appears when Brazil are playing, Hasseroder when Germany play and Quilmes when Argentina are in action.
 After the 2006 World Cup, there was criticism of the sponsorship structure which saw 15 main sponsors shared among the limited amount of branding space offered by a static perimeter board system.  What FIFA has done is to open up the categories, limiting the number of elite “partners” to just six. 
However, it is the eight sponsors that comprise the next tier that are perhaps the most interesting in terms of what we can expect in the future - Mahindra Satyam, an IT service provider from India, Seara, a Brazilian food manufacturer, Yingli Solar, the Chinese Solar Energy specialists and MTN, the African mobile communications company.  Major companies and brands are developing fast from economies outside of Europe and North America and are specialising in sectors which are new to the World Cup and they have clearly identified the event as the way to launch their brands globally.
Another great commercial battle between adidas, Nike and Puma is also hotting up.  Adidas is, of course, an Official FIFA Partner, but both brands have kit supplier/sponsorship agreements with many of the teams in the competition and both will be hoping that teams carrying their brand will be competing in the final on July 11th.  At the start of the tournament adidas had 12 teams wearing its kit while Nike had 10.  Puma who had the 2006 World Champions Italy had seven teams including four of the African nations.  The hopes of Adidas now lie with the German and Spanish teams, Puma with Uruguay and Nike with the Netherlands.
Commenting on the commercial aspects of the tournament, brandRapport’s Director of Football, Richard Thompson said, “The Football World Cup has established itself as the stand-out global sporting event  for commercial partners.  The passion and levels of interest in all the matches are unrivalled and the fact that sponsorship revenue for this year’s tournament is up 80% on Germany 2006 speaks volumes for the demand from companies and brands to be part of it”.

A poll by reputation auditors Echo Research has shown that the British public may well be uncertain which companies are sponsoring the tournament. Respondents were clearer, however, about sponsors’ motives, understanding they are driven by hard-nosed targets, such as TV coverage and selling product, rather than any commitment to any softer issues.
Echo’s Group CEO, Sandra Macleod, remarked “these findings show that, as the tournament gets underway, sponsors have much work to do to raise awareness of their role in the World Cup, and to convince the British public that they are motivated by a genuine concern for the host nation and for football and its supporters, as much as by commercial gains. Should confusion in these areas continue as the World Cup unfolds, sponsors will not realize the brand and reputation benefits that sponsorship should bring”.

Conducted the day before the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony on 11 June, the 1,005 adults polled across Great Britain struggled to correctly identify eight World Cup sponsors and partners (Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, adidas, Sony, Visa, Budweiser, Emirates and Hyundai) from a list of well-known brands. Coca-Cola was the only company to be correctly identified as a sponsor by more than half of those polled (57%) and Hyundai by the least (10%).
Nike was incorrectly identified as an official sponsor by 30% of those polled – more than identified adidas, an actual sponsor (29%). Carlsberg was also incorrectly identified as a sponsor by 23%, not far behind the 28% identifying actual sponsor Budweiser.

When asked to select reasons why a company would sponsor the World Cup, 81% agreed it was “to get their company name or logo on TV” and 50% “to sell more of their products within South Africa”.
Thirteen percent agreed it was “because they care about football and its supporters”; nine percent “because they care about issues of health, fitness and wellbeing” and seven percent “because they care about South Africa and its people”.

The European Sponsorship Association (ESA) has risen to the defence of FIFA World Cup sponsors who are facing mounting criticism from lobbying groups – The World Cancer Fund, to name just one – that they are promoting ‘unhealthy products’. 
ESA’s standpoint is that sponsorship is a legitimate means for brands and companies to promote themselves as they might with other marketing disciplines.  The difference being, however, that sponsorship programmes also have the ability to deliver invaluable funding for a wide range of youth, community, environmental and charitable causes. 
One of the World Cup Partners and two of the sponsors of the 2010 event, Coca-Cola, McDonalds and Budweiser have been specifically mentioned.  All three have a long  established position as major sponsors of the World Cup.  Coca -Cola has had an official agreement with FIFA since 1978, Budweiser since 1986 and McDonalds since 1994.  These brands have not only invested heavily in the World Cup but also through a wide range of relationships with different football-related bodies and rights holders across many markets globally.
According to ESA, these brands recognise that they are not operating in a vacuum and are well aware of developing health issues. As a result, all three brands have taken steps to adapt their sponsorship programmes and communication messages to take account of greater health consciousness in society.  Coca Cola and McDonalds, in particular, have  invested significantly in major initiatives, through their sponsorship programmes, aimed at getting many more children and teenagers playing football.
These types of programmes, set up and coordinated by governing bodies, are made possible through significant levels of funding from sponsors.  They provide opportunities for tens of thousands of children to get outside and get active by taking part in officially run programmes that governing bodies would  be unable to support without sponsorship investment.
ESA is in full support of sponsors legitimately promoting their businesses but encourages all sponsors to follow the example of these brands and look beyond immediate commercial returns to how they may also make a wider contribution to the communities in which they operate.

The Football Association has agreed a new licensing deal with Telekom Malaysia (TM) in the run up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The partnership allows TM to have the exclusive use of the England crest and England player imagery in the telecoms category in Malaysia. The agreement with TM will strengthen a key objective of The FA to partner with leading organisations in Asia and also reinforce the England team brand in the international sector.
As part of its agreement with The FA, TM plans to produce selected merchandise bearing the England trademarks. In addition, TM will be launching its new master brand the World Football Heroes to reinforce TM’s commitment and passion to support Malaysia’s number one sport, football, to the domestic and international markets.
The agreement with The FA is TM’s latest initiative to bring football closer to its customers and fans. The World Football Heroes will kick off with a TV series on Media Prima which will highlight players and teams of the World Cup in South Africa , including an in-depth profile on the England team.
Sean McAuliffe, Head of Business Development at The FA commented: “TM’s impressive work and commitment to football in Malaysia will help extend the appeal of the England team and gives us great belief that we can both truly engage with Malaysia’s football fans.”
Dato’ Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa, Group Chief Executive Officer, TM, said: “TM recognizes the football game’s spirit and passion that football fans generate. Also, the vast potential for marketing to its followers is what attracted us to the England brand. TM plans to tap into the passion and spirit of football .”

The FIFA World Cup™ Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola is set to start the second leg of its biggest ever global tour with a stop in India.  Having visited 50 African nations, travelling more than 72,000km, the tour continues its five-continent journey to another 33 countries around the world.

To date, nearly 200,000 fans across the African continent have attended the Trophy Tour events and been given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have their photo taken with the authentic FIFA World Cup™ Trophy.

The tour, which began its journey from the FIFA Headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, on 21^st September 2009, will visit 83 countries, travelling in total 138,902 kilometres (86,304 miles) or more than three times the circumference of the Earth.  The Trophy Tour was developed through an exclusive partnership between FIFA and Coca-Cola, a FIFA Partner and one of the organisation’s longest-standing corporate partners.

With England expected to have a decent run at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa next summer, ITV has signed up two high-profile sponsors for its coverage of the event. Hyundai, which is official car sponsor of the event, and Lucozade Sport (Team England’s official sport drink) have both agreed to packages which cover broadcast, online, interactive and mobile for the duration of the event.

Both deals were negotiated for the broadcaster by ITV Commercial. Acting for Hyundai was ZenithOptimedia while Mediacom London negotiated on behalf of GlaxoSmithKline’s Lucozade Sport. The sponsorship creative for both partners will be handled by M&C Saatchi.

Some of you may think that the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa is a long way off. But if England qualify for the event this week then it will suddenly feel very close.

Sony Ericsson, official mobile handset of the event, seems to have realised this and has already launched its first wave of activity. The activity comes in the form of its Extra Man campaign which “aims to deliver the ultimate football experience to all World Cup supporters across the globe.”

Sony Ericsson is keen for handsets to be at the heart of what it is calling “the first social networking and media sharing World Cup”. So from now until June 2010, it will reward fans with activities that support the company’s realigned brand strategy - which aims to build a fun, playful and inclusive interaction with consumers. “Our aim is to provide all fans of the 2010 FIFA World Cup with a rich and diverse experience including giving away tickets,” says Stephan Croix, head of global marketing partnerships at Sony Ericsson. “All of our marketing investment will be used to enhance and improve the fan experience as we believe this is an absolute priority. We will work with our colleagues at Sony to help fans realise their dreams.” 

The centrepiece of the activity will be a football application which Sony Ericsson claims “will deliver the best football experience on a handset. This will provide fans with instant access to videos from the best action from the World Cup qualifiers and the friendly games in the lead up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, football news and games. Fans will also be able to share football moments with their friends using social networking site applications built into the handset.”

Sony Ericsson’s activity ahead of South Africa 2010 has already seen the launch of a Golden Ticket promotion, which offers consumers the opportunity to follow their team all the way at the World Cup. “We are in a unique position to provide fans with more ways to support their team,” says Croix. “By listening to fans, we will be able to energise and innovate their experience, becoming the channel for fan-generated opinion and content globally.”

The management team in charge of England’s bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup is looking for a founding sponsor. The hunt is being headed by England 2018 director of partnerships Jonathan Gregory - who joined from Wembley earlier this year. England 2018 says it is already talking with a “number of potential partners” about getting involved in bring the tournament to England.

As with the Olympics, such a sponsor would only have rights up until the bid decision is taken. If England won the right to host  the event, the brand would then need to apply for the right to sponsor the event (unless the brand in question already had an arrangement with the event via FIFA). England is one of the favourites to win the event but faces competition from Australia, Russia and the US. A decision will be taken by FIFA in December 2010.

In the latest indicator that sponsorship is set to experience a tough run into 2010, there are reports from the US that brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev is planning to cut its Olympics-related marketing spending by up to 50%.

Although the company - which owns brands such as Budweiser - continues to be a major sports sponsor,  it is under pressure to cut costs by around $2 billion. With existing commitments to the FIFA World Cup and various US sports properties, it seems inevitable that its Olympics activation spend will have to share some of the pain.

Prior to the planned cuts, A-B spent between U$350-$400 million a year on sports sponsorships. Responding to questions about its Olympics investment - which is centred on the US Olympics team - A-B President Dave Peacock said: “For competitive reasons, we won’t comment on the details of these discussions. We are in negotiations, with no final decision made at this time. Anheuser-Busch continues to invest in sports sponsorships, which includes a four-year renewal of the US Olympic Committee and teams to 2012.”

One money-saving option is to drop exclusive arrangements - which attract a premium price. There has been talk, for example, that A-B rival Miller may be able to buy advertising airtime on NBC Universal TV networks during Vancouver 2010 and London 2012. Usually A-B negotiates category exclusivity to prevent rival brands doing so.