AMBUSH MARKETING

Presented by: Felix Hofer Hofer Lösch Torricelli

THE CONTEXT

Top entertainment & sporting (and other) events –receive broad (frequently global) media coverage* –target unimaginable audiences** –result in unique showcases for global brand exposure –attract marketers and move enormous business interests –exercise irresistible appeal towards smart guys (eager to take advantage of the events' resonance without big sponsorship spending) *Soccer WC 1974 TV audience for the final game: 600 mln. - in 2006: 1,2 bln. - **Broadcasting rights in 1974: 11,8 mln. $ - in 2006: 1,3 bln. $ Soccer European Championship 2004: global TV audience 9 bln. FIFA Soccer WC 2006: global audience 30 bln. - final match, 1 bln.

THE FIGURES

PAST EVENTS Seoul1988$338 million Barcelona1992$700 million Turin2006Main sponsor: $52 million each NBC – Exclusive broadcast rights: $613 million FIFA World Cup Germany 2006Official Partner: $59 million each National Sponsor: $16.9 million each

FUTURE EVENTS Beijing (2008) – Summer Olympic Games –OC has already taken in $1 billion in sponsorship fees, $1 billion to follow 10 Beijing partners 5 Beijing sponsors 30 Beijing Suppliers & Licensing program Vancouver (2010) – Winter Olympic Games –expects $1.345 billion in revenue TV: $600 million Local sponsors: $396 million Tickets: $218 million Slice of TOP: $131 million

THE DILEMMA Those figures irresistibly attract companies not involved as Official Sponsors Everybody wants to benefit from broad interest and extensive media coverage around the major sports events. Organizers and Official Sponsors of those events try to defend their economic interests and prevent ambushers from getting a free footboard ride.

The Smart Guys and some of their tricks….

Soccer European Championship 2000

Athletics World Championship 2001

WHY?

MORE FIGURES Brand Perception Official Sponsors Smart Guys US Survey among TV viewers of 1992 Olympic Games McDonald’s 37% Wendy’s 57% FIFA Soccer WC 1998 Adidas 35% Nike 32% UK Survey among adults on Euro 2004 Tournament Official Sponsors’ brands: (£10 million each) – Canon, Carlsberg, Coca-Cola, Hyundai, JVC, Mastercard, McD’s, T-Mobile Slightly over 1%

THE REACTION

The Atlanta Games: A watershed Official Sponsors furious about ROI Organizers’ and International Associations’ credibility questioned The system’s future in danger Strict Rules, Specific Laws, Sanctions for closing loopholes Official Sponsors benefit from special rights

THE 2006 EXPERIENCE

“The periodical Winter Sports main event, organized every four years and recently held in a City in Northern Italy” i.e. The 2..6 W..t..r O..py.s in T.r.n

The Specific law No. 167 of August 17th, 2005 The Law: –Prohibits: publication, commercial distribution & sales of products or services with distinctive signs likely to suggest the existence of a licence, authorization or other form of association, explicitly bans “ambush marketing” (i.e. “activities for profit performed in parallel to those properly licensed or authorized).

The Specific law No. 167 of August 17th, 2005 The Law: –Provides (aside from ordinary remedies available for TM infringement, unfair competition and misleading advertising): administrative sanctions (fines) from Euro up to Euro , enforcement through Financial & State Police and competent Legal Authorities, possibility of obtaining seizure of all infringing products, protection coverage until December 31st, 2006.

How did it work? At sports venues: –Special sponsor brand protection teams asked reporters: to cover the logos on their laptops with black electrical tape, to strip of logos from their beverage bottles, or to put them under the desk. Logos on porcelain in venues’ restrooms were also tape covered

How did it work? Despite huge efforts some teams run afoul Logo on the helmet, duly covered Logo on the jacket of the new women downhill Champ is infringing.

What about the Smart Guys? Somebody got away with ambush tactics….

The TARGET Express Train A moving billboard Spectators approaching the sports venues travelled on trains: –depicted all over with red and white bull’s-eye logos –were welcomed on board of the “Target Express” by young, not unattractive Italian men –when leaving at stations connecting to Olympic locations, were provided with special gadgets (logoed wooden train whistles, small airhorns, large r&w foam gloves shaped as hands) –were greeted with the slogan “Target helps you express your passion. Get ready to make some noise!"

FIFA SOCCER WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006 GERMANY

Strong legal protection through: no specific law, but strict application of ordinary rules: –TM protection –Copyright provisions –Civil law (unfair competition Act) constant monitoring special legal action team (18 FIFA lawyers + UEFA squad + outsourcing): –2500 infringements registered worldwide (since program's start) –1000 violations in 2006 (600 of them in Germany) event venues surveillance.

Protection thought to cover: Logos Mascots Ball Cup FIFA Soccer World Championship Germany 2006 FIFA Soccer World Championship 2006 FIFA Soccer World Championship FIFA WC Germany 2006 FIFA WC 2006 and their German equivalents

HOW DID IT WORK? Ad ban in a certain zone around stadiums for non sponsors Temporarily abandon of usual sponsors' names (e.g. AOL Arena, Frankfurt, Allianz Arena, Munich) First instance court in Stuttgart blocked use of “Soccer 2006” First instance court in Leipzig halted use of “WC 2006” Identical decisions issued by courts in Hamburg and Nuremberg Special Teams carefully monitored people heading to the stadiums

HOW DID IT WORK? Berlin Tourism Marketing was told by FIFA not to decorate its booth at an international conference with the 32 WC finalists flags. But FIFA received a major legal set back by a decision of the German Federal Supreme Court (BGH) stating that “WC 2006” and “Soccer WC 2006” were not covered by TM protection.

BEER COMPANY 1000 Dutch team fans blocked outside the stadium and forced to remove orange clothes featuring the logo of a beer company (not sponsor). Some of them assisted in underwear.

THE SMART GUYS MADE SOME HOME RUNS AS WELL…

Sunset Apparel

KOREAN ELECTRONICS COMPANY A Korean electronics maker succeeded in sponsoring a special WC supplement in a men's weekly magazine. None of FIFA's official TMs was shown, nevertheless the company's logo associated to pictures of international top football players easily may have induced readers to assume a sponsorship relation between the Korean company and the World Cup.

LUFTHANSA National carrier Lufthansa invited passengers to share its passion for the Soccer WC and depicted a football on the nose of a significant number of its planes. Emirates (official sponsor) was not exactly happy, but LH got away with it.

AMBUSHING IN A HYPERMARKET IN BANGKOK?

CHIPS Chips associated with German sausages and a football, definitely Yes!

SMARTEST OF SMARTS

SWISS TOURISM BOARD Targeted a female public (the so-called “Soccer widows”) through 35 second commercials intended to attract them to Switzerland while their male partners indulge in Soccer madness. The “Get Natural” campaign –invited the targeted female public “Dear girls. Why not escape during the summer’s World Cup to a country where men spend less time on football and more time on you?” –featured:

The “Get Natural” Campaign A bare-chested farm boy moving hay Mr. Switzerland milking a cow A gondola operator, two lumberjacks, a mountain climber & a ferry sailor

UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES

FOR THE SMART GUYS :15th Asian Games in Doha 2007:Cricket World Cup West Indies 2008:Beijing Olympic Games 2008:UEFA Soccer European Championship (jointly organized by Austria & Switzerland) 2010: Winter Olympic Games, Vancouver 2010: Soccer WC in South Africa 2010: Commonwealth Games, New Delhi 2011:Rugby World Cup, New Zealand 2012: Olympic Games in London 2015: Cricket World Cup, New Zealand

Felix Hofer Hofer Lösch Torricelli Florence