Posts Tagged ‘world cup’

It is coming- the most watched event in the entire world…NO not the American Idol season finale, but FIFA’s 2010 World Cup, taking place in South Africa.  Yes, soccer…..a sport that has a high level of participation for kids in the U.S. but has shown little ability to reach Americans as a major television event, even with a solid U.S. Team and David Beckham’s arrival to the U.S. professional league MLS (Major League Soccer).

How will most Americans even know that there is a major sporting event taking place starting June 11?  Of course the answer is advertising, as it is for every major sporting event from the Super Bowl to the Olympics.  And the wave of advertising has begun.

In Latino communities, the billboards have been springing up, such as this one from Verizon in San Francisco’s Mission District, which reads, “Para ver 64 partidos en vivo, quieres 3G de Verizon” (To see 64 games live, you want Verizon 3G).  The major marketing publications such as Advertising Age are also getting into the act, with discussions about major investments by such advertisers as Nike, whose World Cup ad, as cleverly pointed out by Ad Age, uses the images of major players playing for teams sponsored by Nike without mentioning the World Cup (Nike is not even a sponsor).   You can see the Nike commercial at Ad Age, as well as read the publication’s review of the ad.  Since this is a global sporting event, we expect to see some very interesting advertising and are looking forward to an entertaining Mundial.

For myself and most of the people I know, 2010 offers a plethora of top level sporting options.  Whether they are the annual events such as the Super Bowl, March Madness, Stanley Cup Playoffs and World Series or the upcoming Winter Olympics and World Cup,  this year is going to require numerous hours in front of the television with some frosty malted beverages.

While this is exciting for sports fans in a year of economically squeezed ad budgets, event organizers and their sales teams are scrambling to maximize their ad revenue.  Some larger sponsors such as McDonald’s, Visa, and Coca-Cola are high level participants in both the Olympics and the World Cup. However, it will take more than that to make the games a success for NBC.

The world economy, location, and weather are just among some of the challenges facing the event organizers this year.  For marketers, stretching budgets for traditional large markets such as the United States, or emerging powerhouses such as Brazil or China, is quite a bit easier than for markets not considered to be as powerful such as Canada and South Africa.  Additionally, the fact that both events are occurring in the same year means that many sponsors who would like to participate in both will be forced to choose.

More about the advertisers participating can be found in this article from Advertising Age.  Otherwise for all of us spectators it is going to be a very exciting year.  Go USA!