TGI: Football Marketing

Marketers at FIFA partners across the world will be hoping to leverage their sponsorship investment when the World Cup kicks off in South Africa on Friday 11th June. The latest data from TGI Sport+ shows that 60% of British men and a quarter of British women plan to follow the tournament.

Pre-match

High levels of domestic interest are good news for a range of business sectors and belie the quieter build-up this time around. The guarded approach of the Capello regime may have disappointed the 37% of football fans who enjoy the build-up to a sporting event as much as the actual event, but it seems unlikely to dampen enthusiasm for the tournament. Forty per cent of British men are ‘very interested’ in football, making it by far the most popular spectator sport.

Hitting the target

Engagement with the World Cup is highest amongst those aged 25-34 and 45-54. Half of adults in the North West and 47% in London consider themselves ‘likely’ to follow the tournament, compared to just 35% in the South West. Almost all (99%) of those intending to follow the World Cup watch sport on television, 84% read about it in newspapers and 62% listen to sports coverage on the radio. Around half follow sport online and slightly fewer watch live sport at the pub.

Star players

Top football personalities generate huge interest. Almost six million British adults follow the career of David Beckham, five million follow Wayne Rooney and a further five million follow Steven Gerrard. Although fewer men now follow Beckham (3.2m compared to 3.7m following Rooney and 3.5m following Gerrard), the LA Galaxy and AC Milan star’s popularity is buoyed by the abiding interest of 2.5m women.

The keenest football fans – those ‘very likely’ to follow the World Cup – are 55% more likely to buy products from companies that sponsor sports events or teams. As sports fans everywhere focus on South Africa, corporate sponsors will be hoping that the magic continues to rub off.

Source: GB TGI Sport+ 2010 Q2
Base: Adults aged 15+