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BUSINESSES have not realised the urgency of taking part in branding opportunities linked to the Fifa 2010 World Cup.

Lebo Biko, managing director of the local arm of marketing consultancy BBDO Consulting, said there are many promising opportunities for non-sponsors to showcase their brand to the world, but time is of the essence.

There is concern that marketing efforts have not sufficiently taken off to excite South Africans about the event. There also appears to be confusion about who is responsible for marketing strategies and implementation.

Most tickets to the World Cup thus far have been sold to people overseas.

Biko said it was impossible to ignore the impact of the global recession, but it was encouraging that so many foreigners had bought tickets and are still prepared to come.

“The World Cup is a tool to help accelerate your business objectives, whether internal or external,” he said.

Biko warned that ambush marketing by non-sponsoring companies would not be tolerated by Fifa.

Ambush marketing involves either pretending to appear to be a sponsor [what Lufthansa did in Germany in 2006] or going straight for a competitor and targeting its space.

For instance, Dutch beer maker Bavaria had hundreds of people who turned up at one of the World Cup games dressed up in branded clothes from that company, while Budweiser had paid heavily to be the sponsor. Fifa forced these fans to change.

BBDO said projected benefits for South Africa include about 415000 new jobs and an additional R55.7-billion to gross domestic product next year. About R2-billion spent on new stadiums will benefit low-income households. Two million international tourists are expected between 2007 and 2015, R11.7-billion investment on transport infrastructure, R25-million in sports development and R212-million in school and community sport.

Dunja Kartte, director of projects and knowledge development at BBDO Consulting, said companies are holding back at the moment because of the financial situation.

(Source: Thetimes.co.za)