FIFA World Cup May Score Marketing Goal Against Asia Cup Cricket

(Courtesy : Ecotimes). THE FIRST stab that soccer took at punching through cricket’s marketing hegemony in India four years ago may well turn into a decisive strike this time round.

The Fifa World Cup in 2006 was evenly matched against the India-West Indies series in terms of television ratings, with the soccer tournament drawing in 44.4 million viewers compared to the cricket contest’s 49.2 million.

But this edition of the Fifa Cup, which kicked off in South Africa last Friday, has a lot going for it than the Asia Cup cricket matches that begin on Tuesday. With hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of sales of World Cup replica shirts and merchandise to fans riding on the soccer tournament, sponsors have firmly planted the beautiful game in the minds of consumers. Through the huge

buildup to the tournament, companies such as Nike and Adidas have also ensured soccer’s pervasive reach from living rooms to the streets. A Nielsen Company survey says soccer sponsors are generating unprecedented brand awareness through their association with the tournament in India. The report says, football is the top non-cricket sport in India and the country boasts of 83 million viewers, with 55% of them glued in on leagues.

The beautiful game has attracted 60% more audiences in five years and three times the number of advertisers since 2006.

“Football will reign this season as the Indian market seems highly promising,” says The Nielsen Company.

Cricket, in comparison, appears to be on a sticky wicket. India’s tepid performance in the T20 World Cup, which received an average TRP rating of 3.98, and its equally dismal show in Zimbabwe have waned interest in the game, at least for now. And absence of stars such as Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh may work against the Asia Cup, say marketing experts, sponsors and broadcasters.

ESPN-Star Sports, the official broadcaster of the Fifa cup, has no doubts about that.

“Soccer fans will be glued to their television sets,” says Sanjay Kailash, executive vice-president of ESPN-Star Sports. ESPN Star Sports had acquired the broadcast rights of the tournament for a whopping $40 million two years ago.

Companies associated with the soccer cup believe that there is an unmatched interest in the tournament. Soccer, they say, will draw younger and newer audiences not just in metros but also smaller towns.

Sponsors and durable goods makers such as LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics and Sony Corp that are using the soccer tourney to launch a barrage of products, notably 3D television sets, swear by its marketing potential.

“Soccer this season will graduate from being a premium sport in India to gaining a more mass appeal and will probably will be a bigger hit among viewers than the Asia Cup,” says Adidas India CEO Andreas Gellner.

Media buyers, the group that secures ad spots for companies, agree. “With shorter versions of games becoming popular, football seems to have a upper hand not only among consumers but also advertisers,” says Praveen Sharma, COO of media agency Madison Media Plus that services sponsors such as Airtel and Coca-Cola.

Despite soccer fever in India scaling new heights, it may still be rich to say that cricket’s marketing potential is in danger.

Asia Cup official broadcaster Neo Channel, for one, sees no threat from soccer. The company is confident of cricket coming up trumps because it believes soccer will be mostly seen in urban cities and regions such as Kerala, Kolkata and Goa.

“Fifa will have group stage matches during the Asia Cup. So it is advantage cricket,” says Neo Sports COO Prasanna Krishnan.

The channel has already snapped up advertisers such as Tata Motors, Tata DoCoMo, Micromax and Airtel DTH that have bought slots of nearly 120 seconds for the tournament that ends on June 24. Having sold a 10-second slot for around Rs 2.5 lakh, Neo is looking to earn up to Rs 100 crore from the Asia Cup.

“The channel has already sold 80% of its inventory and the rest will be sold to spot buyers during the matches at a premium rate of Rs 5 lakh per 10 seconds,” says Mr Krishnan.

In any case, there would be duplication of audiences as was seen in 2006. At least 49% of TV viewers switched back and forth between the Fifa Cup and India-West Indies cricket then, say TAM ratings. This time too, it will be no different because the match timings of the Asia Cup and soccer matches are overlapping — cricket will begin at 3.30 pm and a few Fifa matches will kick off between 5 pm and 7.30 pm.

Advertisers such as Nokia, Micromax and Airtel DTH, present in both the tournaments, are not complaining. What matters to these companies will be the different ad slots.

“Football will get 30-second ad spots whereas cricket will get 150-second spots because of the longer duration of matches,” says Madison’s Sharma.

THE EYEBALL GAME While it’s early to say which game will come up trumps, duplication of audiences as was seen in 2006 is certain Match timings are overlapping — cricket matches begin at 3.30 pm while some Fifa matches kick off at 5-7.30 pm At least 49% of TV viewers switched back and forth between the Fifa Cup and India-West Indies cricket then, say TAM ratings

RATING RATTLE

9 JUN - 9 JUL 2006

FIFA World Cup 2006 Avg TVR %: 1.21 Total Reach: 1.21million

19 MAY - 29 MAY 2006

India vs West Indies ODI Series Avg TVR %: 3.63 Total Reach: 44.2 million

2 JUN - 2 JUL 2006

India vs West Indies Test Series Avg TVR %: 1.27 Total Reach: 49.2 million