All eyes on Africa

Johannesburg - When it comes to sponsorship of the two major soccer tournaments taking place in South Africa, the 2010 World Cup is undoubtedly the big enchilada.

With the Confederations Cup in full swing, sponsors have kicked into gear to take full advantage of their backing.

There were some exceptions such as Hyundai which sponsored soccer clinics to get even those people who were not football fans in the spirit of things.

"They focused on the big prize as the Confed is not considered as important, but I can't help thinking that there were missed opportunities," says Derek Carstens, marketing and commercial officer of the 2010 World Cup Organising Committee (OC).

Then the criticism that the sponsors did not do enough to promote the competition was warranted, but he dismisses such statements as naive.

South Africa against New Zealand attracted 6.1 million people to the small screen, while powerhouse Brazil more than doubled this. The Brazil and Egypt game saw 15 million viewers switching onto the tournament. When defending champs clashed with Italy, the numbers stood at 15 millon.

At this point, AdReview does not have the figures for the 2-0 drubbing of World Champions Spain by minnows the USA. Carstens believes the preliminary figures of global viewership go some way to showing they succeeded in positioning the competition as an event of stature.

The OC also came under fire for what was viewed as failed attempts to promote the tournament. He argues that what Fifa considers as marketing is not what is generally perceived as that; he considers the OC to have hit its targets.

The competition was always positioned as a rehearsal and opportunity for improvement, and some elements still need to be worked at. Ensuring stadiums and protocol routes was one on of the OC's responsibilities.

According to Carstens, the protocol routes will be taken into consideration earlier come 2010. Signage also has to be bettered. He adds that the inability to use street poles early because of the elections was a challenge, but radio and activation were largely used. These were aimed at educating the public about the cup: what it was, who was coming and would they be fielding the A or B teams.

Behaviour protocol was a major aspect of the education. Having rolled out a R15m campaign over eight months has worked wonders to get people excited about the games, according to Carstens.

Interacting with people in company canteens, offices and malls made an impact towards realising the objective of gaining cross-cultural support.

Locally, soccer is still considered a black sport so it was essential to get the support of other sporting codes to attract those who do not traditionally follow it. Looking at matches, there is a mix of hues in the stands with South African flags particularly in Bloemfontein when Bafana Bafana played Spain.

But even with the excitement generated, ticket sales for the World Cup are still slow. Carstens points out that having to buy tickets in advance is not gelling with the local propensity to leave ticket purchases for the last minute.

The application process for the tickets may be stalling the process, considering that most of those attending the Confed matches are in the R70-160 bracket for tickets ranging up to R600.

So will Fifa make a concession and have a stall where they can be purchased directly? It does not seem that way at this point, but the accommodation was made was made with just a month to go when sales stood at 34 000 for the Confed, 45% of those available.

Phase 2 of 2010 marketing begins in November, but besides activation playing a bigger role it is a matter of wait and see.

- Fin24.com