FIFA sponsors such as Visa, adidas, Coca-Cola and Budweiser appear to have "avoided major fallout" from FIFA's bribery scandal, according to Georg Szalai of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. More than a week after the arrest of high-level FIFA execs at a Zurich hotel, "American and British consumer perception of its sponsors has remained little changed, according to daily brand consumer perception research service YouGov BrandIndex." Perception data of the sponsors as of Friday showed "only small moves among U.S. and U.K. consumers." YouGov BrandIndex CEO Ted Marzilli said that U.S. consumer perception movement has "really been small" for sponsors. He said, "Adidas seems to have taken the relatively largest downturn since the scandal broke, but it's still on the small side. They've been at lower levels in the past." The 2018 World Cup, set to be held in Russia, has "suffered in
perception in the U.K.," though Marzilli said that, unlike in the U.S., consumer perception
of the 2018 tournament "has plummeted to its worst levels since November
2014 when Qatar was cleared to host the 2022 World Cup after FIFA's
ethics committee announced no rules were breached." Marzilli: "U.S. consumers probably see the World Cup as a seasonal event, and
FIFA is not as close to them as an organization as, let's say, the NFL
or MLB." Omnicom agency The Marketing Arm Senior VP of Sports Consulting Mary O'Connor said that sponsors should "see the FIFA scandal as an opportunity." O'Connor: "While a
crisis is never a good thing, it provides sponsors with an opportunity
to take the lead in driving change for good. And let's face it, FIFA is
in a full blown crisis right now. ... And while [football] remains the most watched game in the world, if
change doesn't keep coming quickly, the negative impact of a connection
to FIFA may not be worth the access to hundreds of millions of fans. But
this decision needs to be a thoughtful one, not one that is purely
reactionary." Since "actions are more powerful -- and more credible" than words, she suggests that "sponsors should call for an independent audit of business practices -- and in the spirit of transparency and accountability -- make the findings of that audit public." She said, "Sponsors can offer FIFA their expertise in developing effective
processes and procedures to help ensure a crisis like this never happens
again" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 6/8).
