Coca-Cola Most Recognised World Cup Sponsor
As England tries to forget their team's customary exit on penalties, and the World Cup draws to a close, Coca-Cola is emerging as the brand most associated with the global football tournament, according to new research from Ipsos. Seventeen per cent of the GB public spontaneously associate Coca-Cola with the World Cup, and that figure jumps to 29 per cent amongst football fans.
Coca-Cola is, of course, one of the official sponsors. Another of these, Budweiser, rises above the clutter of other brands to achieve second place in terms of association amongst the general public, (14 per cent). However, among fans Bud even outstrips Coca Cola --the beer brand is spontaneously associated with the World Cup by one in every three, 34 per cent, of GB football fans.
Bud's substantial increase among football fans highlights the benefits of combining event sponsorship with significant support marketing, in Bud's case their sponsorship of ITV's World Cup coverage as well as spot ads and sales promotion.
Other brands gaining some link to the World Cup are Adidas, Carlsberg, Carling, and MasterCard --all brands spontaneously associated with the World Cup by five per cent of the GB public. Amongst football fans, these association levels double. Adidas and Carling were associated with the tournament by nine per cent of GB football fans, with 10 per cent for MasterCard and 11 per cent for Carlsberg.
Raising The Stakes
While cutting through the clutter of World Cup media activity is never easy, this year's sponsors are already exceeding the levels of public recognition they received in the UK during the 2002 tournament. Coca-Cola, for instance, was leading with 14 per cent brand association at the mid-point of the tournament four years ago, and Budweiser was at a mere two per cent.
Another official FIFA sponsor, Adidas, was more successful in gaining association ahead of rival Nike four years ago than it has been in the 2006 World Cup. Whereas Nike and Adidas are virtually neck-and-neck with five and four per cent of GB adults associating the respective brands with the tournament, four years ago Adidas had successfully achieved seven per cent of the public's recognition, while Nike, not an official sponsor, remained at two per cent.
2002 World Cup brand association 17th May - 13th June
| Brand | UK Public |
|---|---|
| % | |
| Coca Cola | 14 |
| McDonald's | 5 |
| Adidas | 7 |
| Carlsberg | 3 |
| Budweiser | 2 |
| Nike | 2 |
| Mastercard | 4 |
| Umbro | 2 |
2006 World Cup brand association 19th May - 15th June
| Brand | UK Public | High interest in football |
|---|---|---|
| % | % | |
| Coca Cola | 17 | 29 |
| McDonald's | 4 | 7 |
| Adidas | 5 | 9 |
| Carlsberg | 5 | 11 |
| Budweiser | 14 | 34 |
| Nike | 4 | 6 |
| Mastercard | 5 | 10 |
| Umbro | 3 | 3 |
| Carling | 5 | 9 |
Source: Ipsos Sponsortest. Base: All adults aged 16-64. Base Size 400.
Sponsortest is conducted weekly on Ipsos's face-to-face in-home Omnibus Service, Capibus
Ipsos Sport & Sponsorship is Ipsos's specialist social and commercial sports research team. The team combines the expertise of Ipsos-ASI communications research team with MORI's social sports research team to form one the leading sports research brands in the UK.
