The value of sports tournament sponsorship "is thrown into question by research showing the brands most associated with Euro 2016 are not necessarily its sponsors," according to Simon Gwynn of CAMPAIGN LIVE. In a poll of 1,000 U.K. people with an interest in the tournament, marketing tech firm RadiumOne found that "six of the top ten most associated brands were not sponsors."
The list "is topped by sponsors Coca-Cola," which 12% of those polled linked to the competition, and adidas, on 10% -- but Nike is only just behind on 9%, despite having no commercial connection.
MasterCard, Heineken, Visa, Barclays and Budweiser also appeared in the top 10, despite "not sponsoring the European Championship." The other two official sponsors making the top 10 cited brands "were Carlsberg and McDonald’s." Another three -- tire maker Continental, Turkish Airlines and Azerbaijan's national oil company SOCAR -- "did not even appear in the 24 names spontaneously offered." RadiumOne’s European Managing Dir Rupert Staines: "With only three weeks left until the tournament starts, sponsors still have much work to do to activate their investment in terms of consumer association. Particularly as non-sponsors are achieving a significant ‘halo’ effect from other football-related sponsorships" (CAMPAIGN LIVE, 5/19).
