It may seem a little early to be judging feedback on the FIFA-World Cup sponsorship, but according to an exclusive Marketing poll, carried out by Lightspeed Research, brands have yet to benefit from their sponsorship of the World Cup.
The mobile research, conducted in the UK during the England vs USA game last Saturday, shows that 88% of respondents did not feel that their opinion of the official sponsors had changed as a result of their link to the World Cup. Only 8% claimed that sponsorship had a positive effect on their view of the brands, while 84% were no more likely to buy a brand in the future as a result of its sponsorship of the tournament.
There is also confusion over which brands are official sponsors. For example, 30% of consumers wrongly believe that Mastercard is a partner, compared with 37% for Visa, which is supporting the World Cup. Nike benefits from a halo effect from the event despite its lack of official standing; 29% of respondents thought the brand was a World Cup sponsor. Coke’s sponsorship was the most-recognised (65% of resp ondents), while just 23% were aware of airline Emirates’ involvement.
