Emirates Airline "pulled out of its sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup because it no longer felt comfortable with the relationship and the deal did not create 'bang for your buck,'" according to Courtney Trenwith of ARABIAN BUSINESS. Emirates Group VP Gary Chapman, who also is CEO of dnata, said that "he believed sponsorship of World Cups of any sport were often not a good use of marketing budget because they provided little in return on investment."
Chapman said that "he was not involved in the Emirates-FIFA negotiations but understood the decision to end ties was a mix of discomfort with FIFA and a commercial decision." Chapman: "Whether it’s FIFA World Cup or Rugby World Cup, I’m not sure that the bang for your buck is that good [for sponsors], to be blunt. You don’t go on the shirt of anyone, so you don’t get that recognition. If you ask people to recall who are the sponsors of these events, you’d be surprised actually how many people can’t actually recall them."
Chapman, who negotiated Emirates’ sponsorship of the Rugby World Cup, said that "while he was initially sceptical of spending money on the sporting event, which will be held in the UK next year, a new model that included branding rights on referees’ shirts was a much better deal" (ARABIAN BUSINESS, 11/27).
