Official World Cup Sponsors Show Higher Effectiveness with TV Ads

Although neither the the USA or England teams remain contenders for the World Cup, TV advertisers in the U.S. and U.K. appear to have scored with viewers during the first half of the tournament, according to a Nielsen analysis of advertising effectiveness in the two countries.

In the U.S, Nielsen monitored national advertising during weekend ABC and ESPN matches, plus all Team USA matches from June 11-26, and found that official sponsors connected better with World Cup fans. Nielsen data showed that the five primary World Cup TV sponsors (Adidas, AT&T, Budweiser, Hyundai and Sony) generated 55% higher Net Likeability on average compared to commercials from other, non-sponsor World Cup advertisers. The sponsors also generated 16% higher Brand Recall on average for their World Cup in-game/in-studio elements, such as the Hyundai “Halftime Report” and the Adidas “First Half Highlights,” versus their typical in-game sponsorship performance in other sporting events.

“Nielsen data clearly shows an advantage for U.S. sponsors who have had an expanded presence in the matches with in-game or in-studio elements,” said Alan Gould, CEO of Nielsen IAG, which measures TV advertising effectiveness and program engagement. “The presence of these elements, which are integrated seamlessly into programming, is likely bolstering the effectiveness of these brands’ traditional TV commercials that air around the matches.”

In examining ad performance of new campaigns launched by World Cup sponsors and non-sponsors since the start of the tournament, Nielsen data also showed that ads from Budweiser, M&M’s, Macy’s, Sony and Hyundai scored highest in Net Likeability, with the greatest percentage of World Cup TV viewers recalling the commercial, the advertised brand, and reporting to like the ad “a lot” or “somewhat.”

Even World Cup fans are not immune to the gender divide as Nielsen ad effectiveness data shows that some World Cup ads seemed to be more engaging to certain genders in the U.S. While ads for Nike and Hyundai generated the high Net Likeability for female World Cup TV viewers, ads from Adidas and Cisco were hits with male audiences.