Viva announces global marketing campaign – 10/03/2010
Visa, a FIFA partner and the preferred card of the 2010 World Cup, announced an extension of its first-ever global FIFA-themed marketing campaign, Go Fans. The global campaign, which originally debuted in Latin America in 2009, includes Go Fans was developed to connect with football fans worldwide to drive preference for and usage of Visa products, promote Visa’s association with the 2010 World Cup and reinforce the ways in which Visa enhances the fan’s World Cup experience.
Parliamentarians have signed a giant soccer ball with messages of hope for the 2010 World Cup. The Hyundai soccer ball arrived at the Parliament. Hyundai is FIFA’s official transport partner. National Assembly speaker Max Sisulu, Deputy Speaker Nomaindia Mfeketo, Secretary to Parliament Zingile Dingani, Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation Chairperson Butana Khompela, Members of the Committee and LOC as well as 2010 boss Danny Jordaan signed the ball.
Adidas has released it’s fourth quarter results which show profits dipped 64% because of weaker sales and writedowns in the company’s China business. In a company online report, is says income fell to 19 million euros (25.9 million), or 9 cents a share, from 54 million euros, or 27 cents, a year earlier. The German-based company reports it sales slid 4.5% to 2.46 billion euros. Business Day reports that Adidas says its now pinning its hopes on profits generated linked to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
In celebration of the 2010 World Cup, Budweiser is casting ’Bud House,’ a Web-based reality show that will feature a house full of ’passionate’ soccer fans, one from each of the 32 qualifying countries and, very likely, beer. The LA Times reports that the project is looking for both male and female soccer fans to live together under the watchful eye of the Internet audience. Budweiser has promised ’luxurious accommodations, thrilling excursions’ and a once-in-a-lifetime chance for soccer fans.
The excitement of watching the 2010 biggest soccer feast at home becomes a reality on February 28 when MTN gives away the first apartment in their Goal for Goals 2010 World Cup promotion, notes a New Vision report. The winner of the first of 12 fully furnished apartments at the ’World Cup Village’ in Namungoona will be announced during a draw. Other winners will walk away with prizes ranging from home theatre systems to fridges, among others. It will run for 12 weeks
The campaign to recruit 1 200 kids to walk hand-in-hand onto the pitch with football stars during the 2010 World Cup gathered steam with visits to selected McDonald’s outlets. Sunday World reports that official ambassador for the Player Escort Programme, soccer legend John ’Shoes’ Moshoeu, visited several McDonald’s outlets, including Southgate and Maponya Mall in Soweto, as part of a drive to heighten awareness about the programme. The former Kaizer Chiefs midfield maestro handed out entry forms to excited children and mingled with fans and admirers.
Budweiser looks to capitalise on its official status – 19/02/2010
Budweiser has handed out a six-figure PR brief in an attempt to capitalise on its status as official beer sponsor of the 2010 World Cup. Brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev has turned to Lexis to position Budweiser as the brand that delivers ’a great 2010 World Cup experience’. The consumer agency triumphed after a keenly fought eight-way pitch. Budweiser marketing director James Watson said Lexis would work with the brand’s other marketing agency partners to try to connect with consumers before and during the tournament.
The new jersey to be used by Bafana Bafana during the 2010 World Cup will have a star symbol on top of the South African Football Association emblem. The Sowetan reports that the assurance was made by SAFA president Kirsten Nematandani after meetings with technical sponsors Adidas. SAFA and Adidas discussed the absence of the Protea emblem on Bafana replica jerseys. Many South Africans are unhappy that replicas of the new home jersey, launched in November, do not have the Protea emblem.
World Cup sponsor FNB has officially unveiled two 11 metre Makarapas at its head office in Johannesburg as part of a makeover to Bank City in the spirit of the 2010 World Cup. The makarapas rest on 20 metre high spheres in the Piazza at FNB Bank City and were made from over 500 metres of steel tubing and more than 100 litres of paint, notes a SA Good News report. According to the project managers they are a feat of engineering and creativity.
Visa, FIFA’s exclusive Financial Services Partner, has announced a ’Go Fans’ promotion offering Visa cardholders the chance to win the trip of a lifetime to experience the 2010 World Cup of South Africa. From January 15 to February 28, Visa cardholders will enter into a prize draw every time they make a purchase using their Visa card to stand a chance of winning a trip to the 2010 World Cup.
Kick Off has teamed up with Castrol, the world-leading lubricants company and sponsor of the 2010 World Cup, to give one lucky winner the opportunity of a lifetime to challenge Cristiano Ronaldo. To provide a unique insight into what makes Ronaldo the most skilful player in the World, Castrol have created a fantastic night-time event in Madrid where winners will get the chance to push themselves to the limit and go head-to-head in a one-off challenge against the Real Madrid star and Castrol Brand Ambassador.
2010 World Cup sponsor MTN said it had launched a content portal to enable its more than 100 million users to watch near live match highlights of the finals on their mobile handsets. According to Business Report, MTN is one of the sponsors of the tournament, giving it exclusive mobile content rights. The portal called MTN Play, would enable MTN users to also watch video clips of their favourite teams and follow their teams’ performance during the tournament.
Goodwill Ball road show hits SA streets – 04/02/2010
The Hyundai Goodwill Ball road show is taking 32 giant footballs, one for each team that will play in the 2010 World Cup, to participating nations to collect thousands of fans’ signatures. The road show is part of the motor manufacturer’s extensive football sponsorship, and according to Hyundai, has become a key event for the company, notes a Media Club SA report. The company says that 609 Hyundai passenger cars and vans will be made available for the use of FIFA officials, teams, organising committee members, match officials, and the press.
New York-listed renewable energy company Yingli Green Energy has become the first-ever renewable energy company to be a sponsor of the 2010 World Cup, as well as being the first Chinese company to seal a global sponsorship deal with the football governing body, notes an Engineering News report. ’I am extremely pleased that Yingli has chosen to support 20 centres for 2010, the official campaign of the 2010 World Cup, by providing solar panels and committing to our efforts to create a better environment, as embodied by our "Green Goal" concept,’ said FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
Somali-born hip-hop artist K’naan, who fled the war-torn country for a new life in Canada and turned to rap to learn English, will be one of the stars of this year’s 2010 World Cup.
According to a report on the News24 site, the 31-year-old musician and political campaigner on African issues has signed up to be the face for giant drinks company Coca-Cola at the June and July event in South Africa. Emmanuel Seuge of Coca-Cola said at the annual Midem music industry fest that the company had set out to find an African-born musician and chose K’naan because of his background and musical journey.
With the 2010 World Cup less than 150 days away, FIFA partner Hyundai is spreading football fever around the world with the launch of its Goodwill Ball roadshow. As part of the roadshows 32 Goodwill Balls, each representing a qualifying country, will embark on individual journeys, travelling across their respective countries ahead of the tournament in June, notes a Sunday World report. The giant balls measure a whopping 4m in diameter. They will collect messages of hope and goodwill from dignitaries, celebrities, football stars and citizens alike. South Africans will be the first to sign their ball when the campaign is launched on Saturday in Jozi.
East Londoners will have the chance to sign a piece of what will become a giant 60m by 48m Bafana Bafana World Cup jersey next week. The Daily Dispatch reports that the giant jersey will adorn the pitch at the opening game of the 2010 World Cup. The jersey is an Adidas initiative in partnership with the national Department of Education, called ’Unite Mzansi Unite’. It was launched in November last year. The jersey, which started making the rounds in Johannesburg, landed in Nelson Mandela Bay last week. Apart from the residents in host cities, those living in other cities and small towns would also be able to sign it.
ComutaNet and McDonald’s team up for 2010 - 15/01/2010
In a bid to re-in force McDonald’s commitment to a balanced active lifestyle, McDonald’s initiated the Player Escort Programme in which it has the exclusive right to select 1 408 children for the 2010 FIFA World Cup to participate in the global sporting event. During the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the lucky South African children that have been selected from this Player Escort Programme will travel to a pre-determined soccer match with a parent or guardian and experience a unique side of the tournament; walking onto the pitch hand-in-hand with their football heroes.
PUMA and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) were joined on Thursday by the Indomitable Lions - Cameroon’s national football team - with team captain Samuel Eto’o, to announce a strategic partnership to support biodiversity worldwide and specific initiatives in Africa. The ’Play for Life’ partnership will support the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity by raising awareness about habitat and species conservation among football fans and the general public during worldwide football events, including the Orange Cup of African Nations in Angola later this month and international friendly games leading up to the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa.
Lucozade Sport announces 2010 sponsorship – 17/12/2009
Lucozade Sport has announced that it will be joint sponsors, alongside Hyundai, of ITV’s World Cup 2010 coverage. Foodbev.com reports that Lucozade Sport, the official sport drink of Team England, and Hyundai, the official car partner of the 2010 World Cup, will be ITV’s exclusive joint broadcast, online, interactive and mobile sponsors. The fully integrated package includes sponsorship of all live coverage and tournament highlights across ITV’s channels. Caroline Hipperson, marketing director Lucozade Sport, said: ’As the official sports drink of the England team, our objective is to fuel the players to World Cup success in 2010.’
Sony Ericsson is shunning traditional television and billboard advertisements and will pin its hopes on the boom in social networking in its first major foray into soccer sponsorship at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. According to Business Report, the mobile phone handset maker, whose parent company Sony has a $305-million (R2.3 billion), tier-one sponsorship agreement with FIFA until the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, believes interaction through sites such as Twitter and Facebook is the best and most intimate way of reaching out to the fan. However analysts say that at a time of plummeting television advertising rates and the relatively uncharted territory of basing such a campaign on social networking, success could be a difficult task.
An unforgettable sporting experience of a lifetime awaits Canadian football fans, following the launch of Emirates’ 2010 World Cup travel packages. News Wire reports that as an Official Tour Operator for the tournament, Emirates, is offering a number of tailor-made travel packages that include flights, accommodation, ground transportation and match tickets. The award-winning airline also unveiled its unique ’follow-your-team’ component of the tour package, which is testament to the airline’s commitment to the beautiful game and its followers. Emirates packages guarantee fans gold-dust tickets for each of their team’s matches, right up to the final on July 11.
German sports apparel producer Adidas is hoping its sponsorship at the 2010 football World Cup and new products associated with the tournament will help slow sales in 2009 pick up next year. In its latest financial statement, the Adidas Group reported Q32009 sales of $3.2 billion, down 7% year-on-year. Operating profit fell 29%. The Times reports that the 60-year-old company is rolling out a mammoth marketing campaign for the tournament. The 2006 World Cup in Germany gave Adidas a huge sales surge, selling over 15 million balls around the time of the tournament. The company, which has produced the match ball for every World Cup since 1970, says pre-sales of the 2010 ball have already exceeded that volume.
As excitement builds in anticipation of the 2010 World Cup, Sony Ericsson, the Official Mobile Handset for the tournament introduces a new way for soccer fans in the US to get behind their team online through a unique social networking initiative.
The Sony Ericsson Twitter Cup will see the 32 teams competing in the 2010 World Cup, battle it out in an online tournament where the fans decide who will win, notes a TickerTech report. Fans will be able to participate in this exciting competition either online or via their mobile handset. The tournament kicked off on December 4. To get team U.S.A. through each round, fans need to show their support by Tweeting. The team with the most Tweets in each round will prevail and go on to the next stage, regardless of how the real team fares in South Africa.
As the primary transport sponsor for the 2010 World Cup and a FIFA partner, motor company Hyundai Automotive South Africa has been commissioned to supply a minimum requirement of 64 luxury coaches – two coaches for each of the 32 teams in the 2010 World Cup. Engineering News reports that this has provided a good advertising platform for Hyundai’s new Universe luxury coach range, the only bus range it intends supplying for the sporting event – which is providing an opportunity to launch the Universe coach into right-hand-drive markets. The 39-seat Universe luxury coach range is purpose-built for team and VIP transport, including comfortable seating, a toilet, a 4 × 2 chassis and a 380-hp engine.
At least 25 matches at next year’s 2010 World Cup in South Africa will be broadcast in 3D in a historic media rights agreement signed between FIFA and Official Partner Sony. Although the next generation technology is already available at movie theatres in certain parts of the world, it will be the first time it will be used in sport, and football. This groundbreaking deal means that viewers watching the matches on Sony’s 3D products will experience the sheer immediacy and visual clarity of the action as if they were on the pitch themselves. FIFA is working on whether a live right will be offered in the coming months.
Business as usual for local operations during final draw – 24/11/2009
The City Of Cape Town has re-committed itself to allowing local businesses operate as normal during the Final Draw of 2010 World Cup on December 4th. Bush Radio reports that this follows media queries regarding FIFA’s Rights Protection Programme. The city however caution that businesses should not infringe on the intellectual property rights of FIFA’s sponsors, partners and affiliates of the tournament. The city’s director of communications Peter Cronje says it is universally accepted that sponsorships are the lifeblood of events like the World Cup. ’Sponsors therefore need to be given fair exposure and be protected against exploitation,’ Cronje said.
A team of young, soccer stars have received a helping hand to get them fighting fit for the field. Bush Radio reports that the Lucky Stars from Gugulethu, Cape Town, have been sponsored by Mywage, the Southern African organisation dedicated to salary transparency, decent work for decent wages and career advice. Each of the 15 boys was given a full soccer kit, while coach Johannes Makiti received a special manager’s jacket. In addition, the team was provided with 20 footballs, soccer cones, bibs and a keeper’s kit. The sponsorship comes amidst the build-up to the 2010 World Cup.
Bafana Bafana have a new home jersey that was launched by their sponsors Adidas at the Market Theatre in Newton, Johannesburg. The jersey, which will be worn by the national team at the 2010 World Cup, is the sixth home jersey since 1997 - Adidas launches home jerseys for Bafana every two years, while the away jerseys are launched every year, notes a report on the IoL site. It will be worn for the first time when Bafana play Japan at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday. This jersey comes in two varieties, the ’Techfit skin-tight’ version and the ’Formotion," which is made to fit naturally with the body of the player wearing it.
Adams & Adams Attorneys, on behalf of the SA Football Association (Safa), lodged a sponsorship complaint against an advertisement by 2010 World Cup sponsor Continental Tyres which appeared at the Contipartner website home page ’www.contipartner.co.za’. The advertisement complained of refers to ’...I am a South African soccer sponsor’ and used child in a Bafana Bafana jersey stating that he wants to be a ’South African soccer sponsor’. The complainant submitted that the advertisement constitutes ambush marketing by Continental Tyres SA in that Continental Tyres SA is not a partner of Safa and has no right to associate itself with national team. The Complainant submitted further that the depiction of the child wearing a Bafana Bafana jersey and the statement by the actors to the effect ’I am a South African soccer sponsor’ creates an impression that Continental Tyres SA is associated with Bafana Bafana, the South African national team, when in fact that is not the case.
