Advertisers Kick it Up For the World Cup

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Adidas officials say sales of the new World Cup soccer ball, called TeamGeist, have reached 10 million since December, and estimate they will sell another five million by the end of the year. "This is the biggest campaign we have ever done," says Adidas Chief Executive Herbert Hainer. "Our strategy is to dominate the World Cup."

GLOBAL GROWTH.

For U.S. companies, the World Cup is a golden opportunity to build brand awareness abroad. Although the sport continues to gain popularity stateside, the U.S. fan base remains comparatively small. The 2002 World Cup final between Germany and Brazil attracted 1.1 billion viewers worldwide, but only about 3.9 million Americans tuned in, according to Nielsen Media Research estimates.

That huge international audience is the reason Anheuser-Busch (BUD) is spending more on World Cup advertising and marketing than it did for this year's Turin Olympics or the Super Bowl. "The power of the World Cup we feel helped grow the image and awareness of Budweiser globally," says Tony Ponturo, vice-president of global media and sports marketing for Anheuser Busch.

The brewer of Budweiser beer is just one of a list of U.S. giants that has shelled out between $40 million and $60 million for the privilege of becoming an official 2006 World Cup sponsor. Others are MasterCard, Gillette (PG), Yahoo! (YHOO), McDonald's (MCD), and Coca-Cola (KO). Being a World Cup sponsor can be lucrative if managed properly, marketing experts say.

SWEET DEAL.

Take MasterCard. As an official sponsor, MasterCard will be the only credit card accepted at any of the World Cup-sponsored stadiums and venues, says Jeffrey Bliss, president of Javelin Group, who was chief marketing officer for the 1994 World Cup in the U.S. MasterCard is guaranteed transactions at the 12 stadiums.

The same holds true for Coke, which will be the only cola sold at the matches. "It's a really good deal," says Bliss. So much so, that Fédération Internationale de Football Assn. (FIFA), the governing body of the World Cup, has upped the price of sponsorship to as high $200 million per company over eight years, say people familiar with the matter.

It isn't just sponsors that could score big from the tournament, though. Makers of mobile phone and service operators are rolling out new gadgets and tailored services for World Cup-mad customers. T-Mobile (DT), the "official mobile sponsor," is offering to beam World Cup video highlights directly to your mobile phone about one hour after each match.

KEY MARKETS.

Also, T-Mobile customers in Germany for the tournament will be able to gain access to essential travel, ticket, accommodation, police, and other practical information through their handsets. Samsung, the Korean phone maker, has created a limited-edition mobile phone, the E370, which is the British national team's official phone. It comes preloaded with the distinctive three-lions wallpaper, and video clips of soccer star David Beckham's free kicks and other glorious moments in English soccer history.

European, Latin American, and Asian broadcasters also are betting big on the World Cup. The matches will be televised in 189 countries, and U.S. sponsors will be directing their marketing dollars mostly to the key markets in Europe and Latin America. In contrast, the U.S. TV market is small but growing. ABC (DIS) and ESPN paid a combined $40 million for the U.S. English-language rights and will air all 64 matches.

EN ESPAÑOL.

The two broadcasters expect the tournament to draw a bigger audience in the U.S. this year. The reason: better viewing times from the German time zone (the previous tournament was co-hosted by Korea and Japan) and high expectations for the U.S. national team. The Americans reached the quarterfinals in 2002 and they are fielding an even stronger team this time. ABC and ESPN have reupped for eight more years, agreeing to shell out $100 million for the U.S. broadcast rights in 2010 and 2014.

The stakes are also high for Spanish-language broadcaster Univisión (UVN), which holds the Spanish-language World Cup rights in the U.S. The network paid $150 million for rights to the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and has sold about $130 million in ads for this year's tournament. Officials expect ad revenues to climb to $180 million and total viewership to reach 50 million, up from 35 million four years ago.

It's no wonder then that Univisión is shelling out $325 million for the 2010 and 2014 tournaments. Seems that for companies, the price of admission is getting richer every day.

Holmes is a correspondent in BusinessWeek's Seattle bureau .