Big Firms Gear Up for Sports Marketing
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
South Korea’s leading business conglomerates are putting more and more efforts into sports marketing in a bold step to raise sales on global markets. Such moves are likely to be reinforced further ahead of the Olympic Games in Beijing this summer.
According to noted marketing research firms in the United States, Hyundai Motor’s recent Super Bowl advertisements yielded the highest positive impact on the brand among consumers.
Nielsen Online MegaPanel Survey’s post-game study showed that some 43 percent of respondents had improved their opinion of the South Korean brand, the highest of any automotive advertiser.
Hyundai Motor also garnered a 45-percent increase in net brand improvement for its ``Genesis’’ luxury sedan, the highest figure of about 30 Super Bowl advertisers, according to comScore’s 2008 Super Bowl post-game survey.
``Our goal was not necessarily to entertain, but to inform, build awareness and position the car. We wanted to be thoughtful,’’ said Joel Ewanick, vice president of Marketing for Hyundai Motor America. ``The ads needed to break through the clutter, give the viewer a quiet moment and differentiate Hyundai from what other companies were doing and it clearly worked.’’
Sports marketing refers to the specific application of marketing principles and processes to sport teams, leagues and events and the marketing of non-sports products such as beer through association with sport.
For Hyundai Motor, which has had concerns over the ways to improve brand recognition among consumers abroad, it was a moment to confirm the new possibility of sports marketing through the Super Bowl experiment.
A commercial for the biggest event of the National Football League (NFL) in America ― Hyundai Motor’s ad cost about $3 million (roughly 2.85 billion won) ― is deemed as ``sort of gambling’’ in the industry since it could result in rather negative effects.
Kia Motors, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor, has also exerted continuous efforts for sports marketing. Kia Motors America is an official sponsor of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the U.S.
Kia Motors has long been a sponsor of the Australian Open as well. In 2008 alone, the sponsorship for the prominent tennis tournament is expected to create over $500 million worth effect of media publicity. Last month, the company extended the sponsorship until 2013.
Publicity Through Sports
Sports marketing is not dominated by automakers, nor is it limited to sporting events. Some company’s sponsor football teams, while others join the marketing of non-sports products through associations with sport, like the Beijing Olympics.
Samsung Electronics, the world’s top memory chipmaker, has sponsored Chelsea Football Club of the English Premier League. And the firm has recently opted to take the word ``Mobile’’ out of the ``Samsung Mobile’’ logo printed on the uniform of the team.
``It is our strategy to boost the brand image itself among overseas consumers, as recognition of our mobile handsets has been enhanced a lot through past marketing activities,’’ said a Samsung Electronics official.
Kumho Tire, which declared yet more aggressive global management this year, has enjoyed a sizable profit as an official partner of Manchester United Football Club, also in the Premier League, since last year.
Global enterprises now see the 2008 Olympic Games, set to kick off in Bejing on Aug. 8, as the peak of this year’s sports marketing.
Samsung Electronics, which began its ``Olympics marketing’’ about a decade ago, was chosen as the only official sponsor from South Korea. But other groups are also preparing for the big event.
For example, LG Electronics, which has been sponsoring China’s national table tennis team, is planning a special promotion in the country during the summer games, though it is not an official sponsor.