As marketing around the '14 FIFA World Cup in Brazil "revs up, one of the biggest headaches for FIFA ... is protecting its six global partners, eight global sponsors and eight local supporters from competitors who break the rules," according to Claudia Penteado of AD AGE. Global partners, who are "in the priciest of the three tiers," are paying an average of $30.8M each per year, and range from adidas at $44M down to Visa at $22M. The global sponsors pay an average of $14.6M, while the supporters pay about $8M each. FIFA has dispatched its Brand Protection Legal Counsel Vincente Rosenfeld "to do more than 30 seminars at events all over Brazil to explain the marketing rules." Meanwhile, agencies like AlmapBBDO have lawyers who "help clients that aren't World Cup sponsors -- such as Volkswagen, Havaianas and Pepsi -- launch marketing efforts without breaking the rules." But Brazil's "irrespressible ad community is likely to keep FIFA busy," as marketers in the country "are fond, for instance, of putting up huge TV screens outside live events." FIFA "bans such giant screens near soccer stadiums for non-sponsors" (ADAGE.com, 12/10).
