Multimedia boost for World Cup advertisers

According to an article circulated by Project 2010 on Thursday, 8 April 2010, Mark Greatrex, senior vice president for global still beverages at Coca-Cola, owner of Powerade, said that major sporting events, big-event television, are a wonderful platform. "We are making a big deal of the FIFA endorsement in every touch point," he said.

The brand's "Keep Playing" initiative will embrace countries that deliver over 90% of its volume sales, ranging from the US, Mexico and Brazil to South Korea, the UK and Germany.

Many of the ads featuring in this effort will carry a tagline stating Powerade was "chosen by FIFA to hydrate the 2010 FIFA World Cup players."

It has manufactured branded bottles for use by players during matches, and taken up pitch-side billboards in the stadiums hosting games.

Meanwhile, Annheuser-Busch the "official beer supplier" of the World Cup, is planning a web-based reality series in the style of Big Brother promoting the Budweiser brand.

The "Bud House" will contain 16 men and 16 women, who will be chosen through competitions run by individual brands, with these consumers appearing in "webisodes" each day during the event.

"This is American Idol meets Survivor meets football," said Chris Burggraeve, chief marketing officer, "Being a digital campaign means we can connect with more consumers in more countries with a depth that is unprecedented."

Hyundai-Kia, the Korean carmaker, has taken on the status of the exclusive global automotive sponsor of the World Cup, having previously placed a particular emphasis on this sort of arrangement in the US.

Earlier this year, the firm linked its brand with the coverage of the Super Bowl shown on CBS and the broadcast of the Oscars on ABC.

In a similar fashion, the organisation will be the only operator from the automotive industry to sponsor World Cup matches on ABC and ESPN, a deal which extends to print, online and radio as well as TV.