Star Power Kickoffs for Advertisers

This summer, the world's top soccer players will gather in South Africa to compete in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It is an international event filled with raw emotion, superstar power and advertising opportunity. But what do you need to know to link all three together for one knockout brand building campaign?

It is a very common advertising strategy to sign up big named sports personalities to tie the brand into the event. It is a logical conclusion that while millions watch and cheer on their favorite teams and player, they'll be more inclined to notice ads which feature said sport celebrities. But how effective is it as a strategy?

Ipsos ASI probed that very question. Four years ago, our researchers took a look at the advertising surrounding the previous FIFA World Cup, hosted in 2006 by Germany. In comparing, measuring, and analyzing eight ad campaigns from eight different brands - all featuring soccer celebrities - we've gathered some key lessons for advertisers interested in building and supporting their brands through event-specific celebrity advertising.

The Soccer Star

With our measure of eight advertisements for eight brands featuring ten soccer stars, a few lessons become abundantly clear.

Ads featuring soccer celebrities achieve a higher Visibility for their brands than other celebrities, but in general, their performance on Brand Linkage and Persuasion to drive sales is only average.

That is not to say the idea is a complete miss. When compared to all other ads, those that feature soccer celebrities do offer certain strengths - but they come with weaknesses. They offer strong performance on Reach and Visibility, medium performance on Brand Linkage, but when it comes to Persuasion, the results are weak.

Featuring soccer celebrities in your ads will give you an advantage in standing out amongst the crowd, but they are not guaranteed to drive sales.

An Emotional Game

Sport elicits tremendous emotional response. And even if you know little about the game of soccer, you definitely know about the passions it ignites amongst Europeans and Latin Americans.

The same holds true in advertising. The potential of the celebrity to create emotions is relevant for the success of the ad. If you have a soccer celebrity who stirs up negative emotions, it is going to be difficult to create an ad that triggers positive emotions. But a celebrity with a much more positive image is going to create better opportunities for creating ads that elicit a positive reaction.

Two Halves Make a Match

Advertising is a bit like a soccer match. Each soccer match has two halves; in advertising, the two halves are Reach and Response.

To achieve a strong Reach for your ad, kick it off with a high profile celebrity in a good execution to lend high Visibility to your ad. Then score big by making your brand the star of the ad, ensuring high Brand Linkage.

Then in the second half, elicit a strong Response with a solid message that is believable, relevant and different. And round it out by eliciting positive emotions that leave your audience feeling good about your brand.

And just like in soccer, advertising has winners and losers. With a sound game plan, a strong team, and good research, your advertising can be a champion.