Consumer recognition of the FMCG brands sponsoring the Euro 2024 football tournament is low, a new study has found, with minimal difference between recognition of brands associated with the tournament, and those that aren't.
The study, by Sellex, found that while 28% of consumers correctly named Coca-Cola Zero as an official sponsor, 23% also thought that rival Pepsi Max was a sponsor, when this is not the case.
Elsewhere, 31% correctly identified Adidas as an official sponsor, but 30% named Nike, which is not associated with the tournament. Visit Qatar, another official sponsor, was acknowledged by 17% of respondents, while Emirates Airlines, which is not, was named by 25%.
Other official Euro 2024 sponsors recognised by consumers included Lidl (identified by 14% of respondents) and Booking.com (14%), while Budweiser (22%), Samsung (21%) and Bet 365 (15%) were all named by respondents, despite not having an association with the tournament.
Over a quarter of those surveyed (26%) said that they didn’t know whether any of the brands were official sponsors or not. In addition, the older the respondent, the less likely they are to acknowledge official sponsors linked to the tournament, the study found.
Brand Sponsorship
According to Anthony Carr, managing director of Sellex, the study raises questions about how effectively brands are planning, deploying and measuring the impact of their sponsorships.
“We continually see patchy execution and availability across many brands, regardless of their status," he said. "Unfortunately, execution of sponsorship like this is a great example of failed ‘strategy to execution for so many brands."
Retail Boost
Elsewhere, the presence of England and Scotland in the tournament is likely to provide a spending boost to retailers, according to the British Retail Consortium’s Consumer Sentiment Monitor, supported by Opinium.
It surveyed 2,000 UK shoppers, and found that 13% of people plan to spend more on groceries, beer, wine and spirits, and takeaways, while watching the tournament. In addition, 9% plan to host or attend gatherings with family and friends to watch matches.
“British retailers could score a hat-trick, with boosts to groceries, electronics and official merchandise," commented Kris Hamer, director of insight at the British Retail Consortium. "After sluggish spring sales, shoppers are expected to kick off their summer spending at the Euros."
A separate study, carried out by Germany's HDE retail association in May, suggested that Euro 2024 is likely to generate additional retail sales of around €3.8 billion in the country.
