Sponsoring Global Sports Events

Hyundai Motor, sponsor of FIFA, UEFA & the NFL

Hyundai Motor Co. has been intensively conducting its marketing programs by sponsoring a variety of international sports events including those held by such major international sports organizations as FIFA (Federation of International Football Association) and UEFA (Union of European Football Associations).
The fifth-largest automaker in the world has been a sponsor of a total of 20 soccer events under FIFA around the world including the South Africa World Cup finals this year and others held since 2007 based on the sponsor contract signed with FIFA through 2014. The Korean automaker’s objective is certain: to boost its global brand image, providing a marketing tool for its global dealers during the contract sponsorship period, taking advantage of its rights such as those to use FIFA logos and various marks for events sponsored by FIFA, the right to install A-Board at soccer fields where FIFA sponsored soccer games are played, along with the rights to call itself a FIFA partner and an official sponsor.
In the meantime, the motor company also wanted to take advantage of the UEFA events to boost its brand image in member countries of the European soccer organization, which include most of the soccer-loving countries with large auto markets in Europe including France, Germany, Britain, Spain and Italy, among others.
The company wanted to strengthen its global image in those countries and also provide marketing support to its car dealers in those countries. The company initially signed a sponsorship agreement from 2007 to 2009 and extended it to 2017 to retain the rights to put A-Boards at soccer fields where UEFA games are held, the rights to use UEFA soccer event marks, the right to be a co-operator of EURO 2008 games’ live TV broadcasting and the priority rights to buy tickets to UEFA soccer games and other welcome facilities.
Hyundai Motor America has decided to air its ads during the next four TV broadcasts of the Super Bowl, the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL), officials of the automaker’s U.S. subsidiary said. They said details of the plan are being worked out as to the frequency of the ads and the contents.
The Super Bowl has been regarded as one of the largest sports events in the world, comparable to the World Cup final, and reaches a great number of football fans in the United States and the world. The live telecast of the Super Bowl in February by the CBS television network caught the eyes of some 165 million viewers in the United States alone.
The prices for ads during the event are steep, in line with its high popularity. CBS charged $3 million for a 30-second ad during the live broadcast of the game in February and Hyundai expects to spend $10 million for eight ads during the 2011 Super Bowl. Officials feel it is well worth every penny as the viewers feel the companies that advertise during the Super Bowl are top global companies.
FIFA’s Technical Study Group (TSG) announced recently the short list for the Hyundai Best Young Player Award, consisting of the three best young players in this year’s FIFA World Cup. The three young players nominated for the award are: Thomas Mueller of Germany, Giovani Dos Santos of Mexico and Andre Ayew of Ghana.
The award continues the tradition of officially recognizing the positive impact made by young soccer players and is open to all participating players under 21 as of July 11, 2010. The final winners were selected by the FIFA TSG and announced on FIFA.com after the 2010 FIFA World Cup final. The winner received the coveted Hyundai Best Young Player Award trophy and an all-new Hyundai Tucson ix35.
The Hyundai Best Young Player Award is one of the official FIFA awards and is selected by the TSG, a FIFA-appointed group of top soccer coaches and analysts, whose director Jean-Paul Brigger is a former Swiss international and Swiss domestic league champion with FC Sion and was the country’s player of the year in 1992. nw

(Clockwise) Vice Chairman Chung Ui-son, 3rd L, raises his right arm leading a recently rally by Hyundai Motor to recapture the company’s honor.; The Hyundai Best Player Award trophy presented to the best player at South Africa World Cup final this year.; A Hyundai sedan presented to FIFA for its use at South Africa World Cup final.