[ad_1]
A Wanda group billboard seen during the match between England and Colombia 16. Photo: Reuters
London: Now that the biggest sporting event in the world has reached the end of the business, let's take a look at the commercial aspects of the tournament.
The World Cup has a long history of badociation with some of the biggest corporate brands in the world. Coca-Cola (since at least 1982) and Adidas since the 1998 tournament.
A Fifa fact sheet, published online in 2015, lists 39 companies that have already been badociated with the tournament as sponsors or global partners After the 2006 edition of the tournament, Fifa unveiled a new commercial structure for the World Cup, in which each edition would have six "partners", six "World Cup sponsors" and six "national supporters ". The first Indian company to sign up as a sponsor, when in 2007 it joined the list of "World Cup Sponsors" & # 39; for the 2010 edition in South Africa.
The commercial interest for the World Cup is however declining. In June, research firm Nielsen announced that advertising revenues for the 2018 tournament would fall to $ 1.45 billion, compared with $ 1.63 billion in Brazil four years ago.
Fifa's reputation as a toxic organization did not help. In November, the New York Times noted that "we must go back to 2011 to find the last partner based in Europe or the United States – a contract of a tournament signed by Johnson & Johnson. And since Gianni Infantino came to power in 2016 following the corruption crisis, Fifa has managed to conclude agreements with companies in the countries where the World Cup is planned (Russia and Qatar) and another (China ). "
Indeed, the striking feature of the commercial structure of this World Cup is the centrality of China.Not only do Chinese companies represent four of the 14 major sponsors and partners – Wanda Group, Hisense, Mengniu Dairy, and VIVO – but the three brands of "Asian supporters" are also Chinese-Diking, Luci and Yadea.
The Zenith company estimates that of the total increase of $ 2.4 billion in worldwide advertising expenditure generated by the tournament about a third will be due to increased advertising in China, so even though the tournament is taking place in Russia, the dominant commercial factor of the tournament seems to be increasingly China.
Still at the Spirit, Fifa bean counters will be televised.The 2014 tournament has seen a slight drop in the number of viewers globally, and is partly attributed to the fact that the match schedules were not adapted to the Asian public.
This time it will not be an excuse anymore. Fifa hopes that increasing interest in China, better synchronization of schedules and increasing the number of online views will increase the numbers. The market that should see a boom in the audience is India. The 2014 tournament saw a substantial growth of the Indian public. The World Cup in Russia comes at a crucial moment in the history of the tournament. Any drop in revenue, the audience or the already appalling reputation of Fifa will push the tournament further into the hands of an eager Chinese establishment.
Source link
