Your client
as a Gold Cup sponsor
It's the one big soccer event of the Americas
By Diego Vasquez
Jun 21, 2010
Soccer is red hot right now in the U.S., with viewership for World Cup soaring over the 2006 tournament.
No wonder then that advertisers are suddenly eyeing the upcoming CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) Gold Cup, the biennial tournament for national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
It takes place next year, and organizers say that advertiser interest in the tourney has shot up since the World Cup kicked off.
That's not too surprising based on the Cup's results. ESPN and ABC have averaged 2.95 million viewers per game through the first 23 World Cup matches, up 71 percent from 1.72 million in 2006.
Soccer fans in the U.S. are attractive to advertisers because the vast majority are male and age 44 or younger.
The Gold Cup is also an international buy. It not only reaches American audiences but also those in Canada, Mexico and many Central American and Caribbean nations.
To find out how to get your client’s message seen at the Gold Cup, read on.
This is one in a Media Life series on buying out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.
Fast Facts
What
Sponsoring the biennial CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament, held in cities across the United States.
Who
Sponsorship and advertising at the Gold Cup is handled by Soccer United Marketing, which works with Major League Soccer, the U.S. Soccer Federation and the Mexican national team when it plays in the U.S.
How it works
The Gold Cup is the largest North American region soccer tournament, and sponsorship works similarly to big-time events in other sports, such as football’s Super Bowl or college basketball’s Final Four.
Like in those events, CONCACAF makes deals with a limited number of sponsors to keep clutter to a minimum and guarantee category exclusivity.
The most visible Gold Cup sponsorship is the signage that runs alongside the playing field. This sits in front of the thousands of fans in the stadium each game, and it’s also seen by TV audiences watching at home. The 2011 Gold Cup will be telecast in the U.S. on Fox Soccer Channel and Univision.
This signage is also visible during game highlights played on national and regional sports networks, as well as in still photos in newspapers, magazines and online.
Another key element of Gold Cup sponsorship is a presence in the tournament programs. Between 150,000 and 200,000 programs are printed during the event, and the ads in each program are usually seen by more than one person.
Brands can also sponsor specific aspects of the Gold Cup tournament. For example, Nike will be the official apparel provider for the 2011 tournament.
Sponsors can also run video spots on stadium scoreboards before, after and at halftime of Gold Cup games.
Finally, Gold Cup sponsors can use CONCACAF and Gold Cup logos in their own promotions, such as setting up a Gold Cup-themed display in retail stores or holding sweepstakes that revolve around the tournament.
Markets
Since the Gold Cup began in 1991, the U.S. has hosted all but two tournaments by itself and teamed with Mexico to co-host the other two. Organizers expect the U.S. will be the sole host next year as well, though markets for the 2011 Gold Cup have yet to be determined.
In 2009 markets hosting games included Los Angeles, Seattle, Oakland, Columbus, Washington, D.C., Houston, Miami, Boston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Dallas, Chicago and New York.
Numbers
Thirteen sessions at the 2009 Gold Cup brought in a total of 468,245 fans, for an average of 36,018 per game. Each session except the final included two games.
The most popular session was for a pair of quarterfinal games (Panama-Nicaragua and Mexico-Guadeloupe) at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium, which drew 82,252. The least-attended session was for two group games (Jamaica-Costa Rica and El Salvador-Canada) in Columbus, which drew 7,059.
The final between the U.S. and Mexico at Giants Stadium in New Jersey drew 79,156.
How it is measured
Game attendance is tracked to estimate impressions. Exposure on Fox Soccer Channel and Univision telecasts, as well as highlight reels, is also factored in.
What product categories do well
Frequent Gold Cup sponsors include home improvement, beer, auto, telecommunications, insurance and athletic apparel.
Demographics
Among adults who watched World Cup or international soccer in the past year, 70 percent are male and 30 percent female, according to Scarborough Research.
Sixteen percent are ages 18-24, 22 percent are 25-34, 24 percent are 35-44, 18 percent are 45-54, 11 percent are 55-64 and 9 percent are age 65 or over.
Thirty percent have an annual household income of $100,000 or more, with 17 percent between $75,000 and $100,000, 15 percent between $50,000 and $75,000, 17 percent between $35,000 and $50,000, 11 percent between $25,000 and $35,000, and 10 percent at $25,000 or less.
Making the buy
More extensive Gold Cup sponsorships, which can include stadium signage, program ads and retail tie-ins, are booked six to nine months ahead of the tournament. But it is still possible for brands to be involved in some way with just a month or two of lead time.
Pricing varies depending on the level of sponsorship, but even lower-level advertisers can expect to spend six figures.
Who’s already at the Gold Cup
Recent Gold Cup advertisers include Lowe’s, Miller, GMC, Sprint, State Farm, Telmex, Seccion Amarilla, Puma and Nike.
What they’re saying
“Increased awareness and TV coverage and demand for the World Cup will translate to demand for other soccer properties. And increased demand by fans leads to increased demand by partners. There’s a lot of soccer played between the four years of the World Cup.” –
Michael Gandler, vice president of business development at Soccer United Marketing
Web site info
Gold Cup
http://www.goldcup.org
CONCACAF
http://www.concacaf.com
Soccer United Marketing
http://www.sumworld.com
FIFA
http://www.fifa.com
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