Issue 8, vol. 2 - June 2006

"He shoots, he scores" takes on an entirely new meaning this week and it has nothing to do with the start of the Stanley Cup finals. Although the Edmonton and Carolina faithful are salivating over the start of hockey's Holy Grail, it seems miniscule in comparison to the start of another tournament...the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

An anticipated 300 million plus viewers globally are expected to tune in to each match over the course of the month-long event. Numbers that the National Hockey League could only dream about! An estimated total global audience of 32 billion viewers are set to tune in to all of the action from Germany this June and July.

The World Cup has become one of the most coveted events on the global stage - some say that it is topped only by the Olympic Games (others say that it tops the Olympics). Global brands and marketers are more than aware of this fact and have seized the opportunity to showcase their wares in full view of a global market. Brands such as adidas, Coke, MasterCard and Hyundai are amongst an elite group of official FIFA World Cup sponsors. In total FIFA has 15 sponsors each pitching in an estimated $50 million US. In addition to these rights fees, it is expected that these brands will spend an additional $1 billion US to leverage their sponsorship spends.

According to a recent article in the National Post, adidas alone is expected to spend $185 million US to activate and protect their rights. Protect you say? You bet! Just because adidas International is a FIFA sponsor, it does not prohibit non-official sponsors and manufacturers of competitive sportswear and shoes, like Nike, from capitalizing on the event. Can you say ambush? It seems like adidas is prepared for the battle both on the field and off and have activated a variety of integrated advertising and marketing plans globally, in Germany, as well as right here in Canada.

Come June 9th the games will begin in soccer stadiums across Germany but the games between marketers, brands and consumers began the day that Korea and Japan said good-bye to the 2002 tournament.

This April, we asked young Canadians how much they care about various sports headlines of the last few months. The World Cup, still months away at the time of asking, was second only to the hockey playoffs in overall interest.

It is worth noting the interest in the World Cup in Quebec. Consider that yet another reason to target soccer as a marketing vehicle. People care about this event and are passionate about it. Look around: you'll notice more soccer jerseys, national flags and other signs of allegiance to sport or country.

The favourites for the tournament, according to odds makers, are five past winners, Brazil, England, Italy, Germany and Argentina. We're excited about The Netherlands and the Czech Republic, with Ivory Coast as a potential upstart. This tournament will be interesting for its high profile off-the field issues (Is Beckham being traded? Will Rooney or Reyna Play? Did Buffon fix matches?), the imbalanced pairings (at least two of the eight groupings could be called a "Group of Death") and the fact that Germany will make a remarkably strong host, with great facilities, easy to reach venues and an abundance of fans. If you don't have an allegiance to a team and want to catch the spirit we humbly suggest that you look for ethnic restaurants, bars and community centres around your town and support whatever team the locals support. Immerse yourself in it. You'll be overwhelmed by the fun.

Youthography helped adidas make the connection with Canadian soccer fans with the adidas World Cup Soccer Tour.
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