World Cup 2010: Getting the most from sponsorship

2010 World Cup sponsors

The 2010 World Cup will be one of the most watched events this summer. As such, getting the rights for sponsorship of the event is a huge deal for a company. For those selected, it is possibly the largest publicity event for their company.

The 2010 World Cup in South Africa will be insured for more than GBP£6.2 billion according to Lloyd's of London, the world's biggest insurance market; FIFA, national teams, broadcasters and other businesses that have a financial interest in the tournament's success have all taken out insurance policies.

FIFA's decision to rework its World Cup sponsorship strategy has been hugely successful as the IEG Sponsorship Report says that the tournament has generated US$1.6 billion between 2007 and 2010 as opposed to US$584 million between 1999 and 2002.

FIFA introduced a three tier sponsorship system with the levels being FIFA Partners, FIFA World Cup Sponsors and National Supporters, eufootball.biz states.

Only six companies can join FIFA's official partnership, which grants rights to sponsor entire football games organised by the international football organisation during the eight-year period, whereas eight companies can become official sponsors for World Cup finals.

FIFA Partners

Partners received exclusive marketing assets and international rights to various FIFA activities including the World Cup and other competitions and this was the top tier. FIFA's six partners are Adidas, Coca-Cola, Emirates Airlines, Hyundai-Kia, Sony and Visa and they an annual fee in the range of US$24 to US$44 million.

World Cup sponsors

The eight companies, Anheuser-Busch InBev's Budweiser, BP Castrol, Continental tires, McDonald's, MTN, Mahindra Satyam, Seara and Yingli Solar, are at the World Cup Sponsor level and pay anywhere from US$10 to US$25 million in annual fees. These companies have acquired the rights to the event at a world-wide level and they also have chosen marketing assets, secondary media exposure and the assurance of category exclusivity.

National supporters

National Supporters, BP Africa, FNB, Neo Africa, Prasa and Telkom, have the right to promote an association with FIFA World Cup in the host country. They pay US$4.5 to US$7.5 million for category exclusivity, domestic media exposure among other things.

TV sponsors

The 2010 World Cup has lured companies who are hoping to boost revenues after two slow years, yet it's predicted that broadcasters will struggle to make a profit.

The massive viewer ratings make the tournament tempting to broadcasters, but they have paid US$2 billion for television rights, a figure which is up 50 percent on the last World Cup in Germany in 2006, according to media research group Screen Digest.

"The World Cup is more than ever the biggest show on earth... Advertising sells at a premium, but paradoxically it is not always profitable for many broadcasters," said Vincent Letang, Screen Digest's head of advertising research to Reuters.

French broadcaster M6 did not bid for rights to the 2010 competition and rival TF1 has sub-licenced some matches to Canal+ after neither recouped costs for the 2006 World Cup, according to Screen Digest.

Letang says TF1 might expect a 20-30 million euro (US$24.5-US$36.8 million) surge in advertising sales and Britain's ITV a 30 million pound (US$43.8 million) boost. Gains will depend though on the fate of the national soccer teams, given viewers and brands lose interest if the side is knocked out.

Rise in sponsorship

Sponsors too have paid more for the 2010 World Cup - an 80-percent increase to some US$1 billion, according to Nigel Currie, a director at the European Sponsorship Association.

FIFA's "partners" have paid some US$100 million each.

Coca-Cola, granted the right to take the World Cup trophy on a global tour, has declared its World Cup campaign will be the largest it has ever mounted.

But Emmanuel Seuge, director of sports and entertainment marketing at Coke, said the company was seeking "more for less," adding that the marketing campaign would be US$45 million lower than it might otherwise have been due to savings.

The FIFA World Cup has boosted the advertising market with an increase of 20 percent in the spending over the last month, said industry professionals.

World Cup viewing was likely to be up five percent from 2006. Television is traditionally the main medium to make profit from the World Cup advertising, with about 60 percent of the budgets set for TV.

Michael Nammour, Media Buying Director, Mediaedge:Cia, said to Business 24-7, "TV usually receives the largest share of FIFA advertising. Al Jazeera Sports Channel, the owner of the exclusive rights for the 2010 FIFA world Cup broadcast in the region, is taking the largest chunk of advertising, including official world cup sponsors.

Meanwhile, other TV stations have devised various ways to attract advertisers either by setting special studios for games commentaries, or by launching competitions for viewers with prizes including sponsoring a trip to the final World Cup game."

Mathew Mathai, General Manager of Sony Gulf, said Sony's budget for the FIFA World Cup in the region alone is amounting to US$5 million. Sony is one of the official sponsors of FIFA, with a partnership contract of US$305 million, according to the Sony's official blog.

The largest ad spend is expected to come from sectors such electronics, fast food, telecommunications and the hospitality.

What about Nike?

It's not only the companies who have paid to advertise for the 2010 World Cup who are attempting to cash in. There's Nike who aren't an official sponsor, but have released a star-studded ad that you would think is an official advert.

It shows that a company can draw attention to itself and associate itself with the 2010 World Cup without paying the hefty price-tag. Adidas may be an official sponsor and the leading brand in the world when it comes to sales of football-related clothing and gear, but it looks like Nike has won this battle.

Jodie Humphries

Jodie Humphries graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA Hons in Creative Writing in 2008. She has worked for GDS Publishing for the digital group since July 2009. She has previous experience with writing for the web, running her own website since April 2007.

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