Nielsen Monitor-Plus reports on World Cup Soccer.

Soccer fans across the world enjoyed the “kick-off” of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, on Friday, June 9, 2006, where Germany, the host country, took on Costa Rica. The World Cup is scheduled to air on ABC, Univision, ESPN, ESPN2, and Telefutura over the next month, as teams fight to make it out of the first round and ultimately to the championship game on July 9. As World Cup fever continues to rise, Nielsen Monitor- Plus takes a closer look at the top product categories, top advertisers and average costs for a 30-second commercial in past World Cup games along with top brands for the two opening day games of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

2006 FIFA World Cup – Costa Rica vs. Germany and Ecuador vs. Poland

Top Brands

ESPN2 and Univision each carried the opening day games, and although the games were the same, the commercial activity was different. T-Mobile and Budweiser Beers were the only brands to have ads on both networks. Adidas was the top brand on ESPN2, while Miller Lite and AT&T were the top brands on Univision. Some of this year’s opening day advertisers — Canon, Hyundai, Miller, Verizon, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Home Depot — have been top advertisers in past World Cups as well.

Since the clock never stops during a soccer game, the commercial activity for both games on ESPN2 and Univision took place during half-time. ESPN2 carried, on average, 9 minutes of commercials and promotional announcements in each game for a total of 18 minutes. Univision carried, on average, approximately 7 minutes of commercials and promotional announcements in each game for a total of 14 ½ minutes. In addition to the traditional advertising detailed above, both networks featured onscreen sponsorships and billboards throughout the stadium.

How Many People Watched?

The opening game of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where Germany defeated Cost Rica, 4 to 2, had an average of 1.4 million U.S. viewers on ESPN2 and 2.1 million viewers on Univision. ESPN2 had 1.7 million viewers compared to Univision’s 1.9 million for game 2, as Ecuador triumphed over Poland 1 to 0. The ratings data were provided by Nielsen Media Research.

Product Categories for 1994-2002

Although the FIFA World Cup only takes place every four years, Nielsen Monitor-Plus has seen some trends in the products advertised. The Automotive, Soft-Drink and Sporting Footwear industries have maintained a strong presence during the World Cup games over the years. They were each among the top product categories during the 1994, 1998 and 2002 games. Telephone Services has also been a top category over the years, however, the specific offerings have changed. Long distance services were advertised in 1994. In 1998, the focus changed to general telephone services, and in 2002, wireless services. While Credit Card Services was the top product category in 1994, Sporting Footwear took its place in 1998, followed by Automotive and Beer in 2002.

Top Advertisers

Canon, Anheuser-Busch and SABMiller were the top advertisers during the 1994, 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cup, respectively. Canon had a strong presence during the 1998 World Cup as well, but decreased its ad activity in 2002. Coca-Cola has consistently been one of the top advertisers in each of the past three World Cup games, while McDonald’s, Nike and Mastercard were among the top advertisers in two out of three of them. Interestingly, the US Government was a top advertiser during the 1998 World Cup, advertising for city, state and federal initiatives.

2002 FIFA World Cup Brands by Media Type

When looking at the 2002 games across national television, it is apparent that the list of top advertisers varies across broadcast, cable and Spanish-Language TV, as reported by Nielsen Monitor-Plus. The top brands advertised on the Disney broadcast and cable networks (ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2) were Budweiser Beer and Nike Sports Footwear-Men. Miller was among the top brands on the Spanish-Language Univision networks (Univision, Telefutura). Other advertisers were Subway Restaurants on ABC, and McDonald’s on Univision/Telefutura. Chevrolet was a top advertiser on broadcast TV, while Volkswagon and Hyndai were top advertisers for cable TV and Spanish-Language TV, respectively. Nike allocated advertising dollars for its men’s
footwear line across all networks, both English-Language and Spanish-Language.

Average Cost for a 30-Second Commercial

While the cable networks aired the most commercial units during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the majority of
advertising dollars were placed in broadcast and Spanish-Language TV. Further, the average cost for a 30-second
commercial on a cable network is less than the average cost to advertise on a broadcast or Spanish-Language
network.

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