Burson Marsteller's African Affiliate Arcay Communications are producing a blog throughout the 2010 FIFA World Cup, today, Chairman Robyn De Villiers, previews 'Football Tuesday'
It’s Football Tuesday!
For months and months South African companies have been supporting the Football Friday initiative and having their staff come to work on Fridays dressed in football gear. We do it too. Tomorrow it will be Football Tuesday for all supporters of Bafana Bafana (our boys)! We are going to start work at 07:00 so that we can close our offices at 15:00 in time to head off to watch the critical match. It is a long shot – we have to score 5 goals against France! – but we have so much spirit that we might just do it. This weekend’s newspapers were full of positive messages about the World Cup to date. We all have to be part of it. The stadium and the fan parks will be packed tomorrow. And we’ll be blowing them vuvuzelas!
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
Monday, 21 June 2010
An Insight From South Africa
Destiny Gillbee a Senior Consultant at Arcay Corporate Communications, Burson-Marsteller's African affiliate, provides an insight into the first week of the 2010Fifa World Cup.
It’s the first week of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and you can definitely feel the energy in the air across South Africa. After years of preparation, which included building extensive transportation infrastructure and spectacular stadiums, the first day of the World Cup finally arrived. It was awe inspiring. The country just about came to a standstill as companies closed their doors early and excitement built up in every individual. As part of the build up we were entertained with dancing and singing, South African’s favourite pastime, as the opening ceremony provided a feast of colours and sounds that represent our nation.
For the first time in the history of South Africa as I know it, the entire country was united in blowing vuvuzelas, singing the national anthem with overwhelming pride and we all screamed our lungs out for our team, Bafana Bafana. The whole country rocked with passion as they scored the first goal of the game. The opening match set the scene for the rest of this week as the stadiums have filled up with passionate supporters and those unable to attend the matches have turned to their television screens.
I’m based in Johannesburg and the city is buzzing with excitement – flags are flying high from vehicles and buildings, and all conversations, whether with friends or strangers, have focused on the World Cup. With all this excitement in the air, I’m starting to become a fan of the sport. Yes, I’m a late bloomer but I’m not a sports person.
It’s the first week of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and you can definitely feel the energy in the air across South Africa. After years of preparation, which included building extensive transportation infrastructure and spectacular stadiums, the first day of the World Cup finally arrived. It was awe inspiring. The country just about came to a standstill as companies closed their doors early and excitement built up in every individual. As part of the build up we were entertained with dancing and singing, South African’s favourite pastime, as the opening ceremony provided a feast of colours and sounds that represent our nation.
For the first time in the history of South Africa as I know it, the entire country was united in blowing vuvuzelas, singing the national anthem with overwhelming pride and we all screamed our lungs out for our team, Bafana Bafana. The whole country rocked with passion as they scored the first goal of the game. The opening match set the scene for the rest of this week as the stadiums have filled up with passionate supporters and those unable to attend the matches have turned to their television screens.
I’m based in Johannesburg and the city is buzzing with excitement – flags are flying high from vehicles and buildings, and all conversations, whether with friends or strangers, have focused on the World Cup. With all this excitement in the air, I’m starting to become a fan of the sport. Yes, I’m a late bloomer but I’m not a sports person.
Thursday, 10 June 2010
24 Hours and Counting
The FIFA World Cup™ begins tomorrow and in the tradition of all good sporting pundits I am about to make a bold prediction on who will be celebrating come July 11th.
My congratulations go to.......Nike! That’s right, this World Cup is a battle of sponsors and kit manufacturers.
Looking at the usual main contenders, anyone offering outrageous deals if England win the World Cup should be safe. So that’s bad news for anyone who has taken up Nationwide or Currys on their World Cup promotions. Sadly the genius of Rooney and the discipline of “Mr Capello™” won’t make up for our traditional shortcomings in technique and failure from the penalty spot.
So who else might triumph in South Africa? Well let’s start with the defending Champions, Italy. An ageing squad and defeat in a warm up match against Mexico suggests the Azzurri could be heading home sooner than their 2006 odyssey, all of which is bad news for fans of skin tight kits!
With Italy out of the way, how about Germany, the other traditional European powerhouse? A constant threat at major international tournaments, this one seems a step too far, deprived of their talismanic captain Michael Ballack, Germany look ill equipped to progress past the quarter finals, meaning adidas will have to look to its other teams for success.
Up first, Argentina. Guided on the pitch by the finest player of his generation Lionel Messi and managed by possibly the greatest player of all time, Diego Maradona, surely the Argentineans must be one of the favourites? Sadly, anyone who saw them in qualifying will know that even Messi’s genius cannot counteract Diego’s tactical frailties; if they do triumph in South Africa, Messi’s reputation will be surely verging on that of his manager, especially if he helps them past our final two candidates...
A final between five time champions Brazil and reigning European Champions Spain, is undoubtedly football purists’ dream ending. If the Nike laden Brazil team have trimmed down on flair for this tournament, they still possess stars such as Robinho and Kaka to maintain Brazil’s tradition as entertainers. Spain’s technical superiority over the past three years has set the world alight, their combination of quick passing and lethal finishing has set opposition pulses racing at a similar rate to that of another famous team wearing the adidas three stripes, the Total Football playing Dutch of the 1970’s.
Meanwhile, Nike has one ace up its sleeve that no-one else can lay claim to. It is the sponsorship of club side Barcelona. Even if Spain or Argentina does triumph at the World Cup, the stars of their respective teams will be donning the famous Barcelona kit with the Nike logo emblazoned on it next season. The thought of Xavi, Iniesta and David Villa (to name but three) combining for their national side and returning to play for the same club team is a kit manufacturers dream! And for the football fans it’s not a bad prospect either.
David Godfrey
My congratulations go to.......Nike! That’s right, this World Cup is a battle of sponsors and kit manufacturers.
Looking at the usual main contenders, anyone offering outrageous deals if England win the World Cup should be safe. So that’s bad news for anyone who has taken up Nationwide or Currys on their World Cup promotions. Sadly the genius of Rooney and the discipline of “Mr Capello™” won’t make up for our traditional shortcomings in technique and failure from the penalty spot.
So who else might triumph in South Africa? Well let’s start with the defending Champions, Italy. An ageing squad and defeat in a warm up match against Mexico suggests the Azzurri could be heading home sooner than their 2006 odyssey, all of which is bad news for fans of skin tight kits!
With Italy out of the way, how about Germany, the other traditional European powerhouse? A constant threat at major international tournaments, this one seems a step too far, deprived of their talismanic captain Michael Ballack, Germany look ill equipped to progress past the quarter finals, meaning adidas will have to look to its other teams for success.
Up first, Argentina. Guided on the pitch by the finest player of his generation Lionel Messi and managed by possibly the greatest player of all time, Diego Maradona, surely the Argentineans must be one of the favourites? Sadly, anyone who saw them in qualifying will know that even Messi’s genius cannot counteract Diego’s tactical frailties; if they do triumph in South Africa, Messi’s reputation will be surely verging on that of his manager, especially if he helps them past our final two candidates...
A final between five time champions Brazil and reigning European Champions Spain, is undoubtedly football purists’ dream ending. If the Nike laden Brazil team have trimmed down on flair for this tournament, they still possess stars such as Robinho and Kaka to maintain Brazil’s tradition as entertainers. Spain’s technical superiority over the past three years has set the world alight, their combination of quick passing and lethal finishing has set opposition pulses racing at a similar rate to that of another famous team wearing the adidas three stripes, the Total Football playing Dutch of the 1970’s.
Meanwhile, Nike has one ace up its sleeve that no-one else can lay claim to. It is the sponsorship of club side Barcelona. Even if Spain or Argentina does triumph at the World Cup, the stars of their respective teams will be donning the famous Barcelona kit with the Nike logo emblazoned on it next season. The thought of Xavi, Iniesta and David Villa (to name but three) combining for their national side and returning to play for the same club team is a kit manufacturers dream! And for the football fans it’s not a bad prospect either.
David Godfrey
Monday, 7 June 2010
Ambush Marketing an Own Goal?
Five days to go and excitement ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ is reaching fever pitch. On billboards, radio and TV there are a multitude of reminders that the world’s biggest single sport competition is about to begin. For all those working in the sponsorship world the issue of ambush marketing has once again raised it’s head. Picture the scene – you’re the head of a major multinational brand who has paid millions of pounds to associate with an event like the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ and you see this ad from Kit-Kat during the half-time interval of the cup final. Have a break? More like a breakdown in this instance. Unfortunately this is the dilemma that sponsorship managers across the globe are increasingly facing as brands become ever cuter in their attempts to circumvent the laws around ambush marketing. Sure deodorant recently launched a neat sweepstake competition where fans could win a money prize based on a tournament taking place in South Africa this summer that is clearly the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ despite the fact that it is never explicitly mentioned.
Defined by the International Olympic Committee as ‘all intentional and unintentional attempts to create a false or unauthorised commercial association’, it was not until the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 that brands began to get injunctions to help protect their sponsorship asset against guerrilla activities. In today’s sponsorship environment legal contracts prohibiting endorsement are the new norm. However, in some cases this can create a negative perception of an official sponsor who are deemed guilty of adopting a heavy-handed approach. Witness the level of criticism that FIFA faced in 2006 when they stepped in and forced thousands of Netherlands to remove orange lederhosen trousers simply because they were sponsored by Bavaria beer, a rival to Budweiser the ‘official’ beer of the 2006 World FIFA World Cup™.
For sponsors a key question worth considering is whether they want to be associated with a sport or an event? In the context of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ results from one recent survey suggest that the general public are often unclear on who actually are the official sponsors of a tournament. Coca Cola may run a competition whereby fans can win tickets to the big tournament but Pepsi’s elaborate on-pack promotion starring the likes of Torres, Messi and Drogba is equally attention grabbing.
In an ideal world you would have all these things – FIFA World Cup™ assets; superstar players as your ambassadors and prizes that appeal to even the non-football fan. However, budget constraints mean this is often a rarity. So which to choose? They all have their positives, but for the football fan there’s really nothing like being there for the live action and seeing history made....
Eamonn Collins
Defined by the International Olympic Committee as ‘all intentional and unintentional attempts to create a false or unauthorised commercial association’, it was not until the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 that brands began to get injunctions to help protect their sponsorship asset against guerrilla activities. In today’s sponsorship environment legal contracts prohibiting endorsement are the new norm. However, in some cases this can create a negative perception of an official sponsor who are deemed guilty of adopting a heavy-handed approach. Witness the level of criticism that FIFA faced in 2006 when they stepped in and forced thousands of Netherlands to remove orange lederhosen trousers simply because they were sponsored by Bavaria beer, a rival to Budweiser the ‘official’ beer of the 2006 World FIFA World Cup™.
For sponsors a key question worth considering is whether they want to be associated with a sport or an event? In the context of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ results from one recent survey suggest that the general public are often unclear on who actually are the official sponsors of a tournament. Coca Cola may run a competition whereby fans can win tickets to the big tournament but Pepsi’s elaborate on-pack promotion starring the likes of Torres, Messi and Drogba is equally attention grabbing.
In an ideal world you would have all these things – FIFA World Cup™ assets; superstar players as your ambassadors and prizes that appeal to even the non-football fan. However, budget constraints mean this is often a rarity. So which to choose? They all have their positives, but for the football fan there’s really nothing like being there for the live action and seeing history made....
Eamonn Collins
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