The last 18 months have been hard financially for consumers and brands alike.
Marketing budgets have been stripped back and non-necessities questioned. Across the board, there was concern about how long the financial crisis would last. “Brands who weren’t in partnerships were putting a pause on investing in new partnerships,” says Louise Johnson, CEO of sports marketing agency Fuse.
“And brands that were already invested were doing less with what they were doing, and focusing on ‘less is more’,” she adds.
However, this looks to have changed. “I’ve definitely noticed in 2024 more brands coming into partnerships, brands who haven’t been in sponsorship for, like, 10 years,” says Johnson.
Fuse has had more briefs and more pitches in 2024, she adds, which reflects the increasing drive for brands to get involved, or re-involved, in the sports space.
Brands now think sport can help them modernise and “build trust back”, says Johnson. Plus, as media continues to fragment, connecting brands with culture through sport is a “great way” to go about it.
The Men’s World Cup in 2022, followed by the Women’s World Cup last year, were marquee moments for sport, and moving into 2024’s big summer, “marketers are being more optimistic,” says Johnson, while still being “very cautious” with their budgets.
“I definitely feel people are leaning into partnerships and sponsorships as a way to drive their brand, not just through traditional media and marketing channels,” she adds.
The summer of sport kicks off in earnest on 14 June with Euro 2024 – and brands across Europe and in the UK will be tapping into ‘football fever’.
The tournament itself only lasts for four weeks. But with anticipation already building for one of the most competitive tournaments in a long time, fans and marketers’ attention will really dial up after the Uefa Champions League wraps up on 1 June, before the tournament kicks off in Munich. Essentially offering brands a six-week condensed period of activity around the tournament.
Euro 2024 gives brands a valuable opportunity to reach an inflated football audience – not just ‘core’ football fans but also ‘mass-eventers’ – those who only tune in to the major tournaments. Major tournament match viewing figures feature highly in most watched programmes across the year, and I fully expect this to be the case in 2024.
With potential economic benefits for the UK should England and Scotland progress, brands will also be hoping for competing nations to reach the later stages, ensuring Home Nation fan interest remains high for as long as possible.
Brands will generally fall into three key categories: official tournament partners, official partners of competing nations (England and Scotland) and ‘ambush’ brands; those with no official partnerships but leveraging football hype moments through their communications and marketing.
Whichever category brands fall into, there will undoubtedly be a lot of noise and clutter to cut through. So, any campaigns during this period will need to stand out in a busy marketplace.
Official Uefa Euro 2024 partners have invested heavily in their associations, so expect an upweight in activity and integrated campaigns across all marketing channels, leveraging their official association and tournament IP. These brands will take a longer-term approach to their marketing activity.
Lidl, for example, has already launched its new sponsorship platform, ‘We’re On Your Team’. Hellmann’s, the official BBQ partner of Euro 2024, has announced Jack Grealish as the face of their campaign, activating through the line and even creating the ultimate ‘Grealish Burger’. And official Euro 2024 partner HiSense, recently announced that Spanish goalkeeping legend Iker Casillas has joined Manuel Neuer as a brand ambassador.
Partners of competing nations will lean into the excitement, passion, ambition, and national pride they share with the fans. They’ll leverage their exclusive access to key players to drive association and deliver their brand messages. We’re expecting partner activity to really kick off in early June – so keep your eyes peeled.
Ambush brands will be taking a slightly different approach. While these brands won’t be able to leverage any specific tournament or team IP, we expect big brands to lead with general football creative across all comms and all channels throughout the tournament.
Natural football ‘brands’ (e.g. Nike, Puma) and those who can tap into the cultural moment and fan behaviours (e.g. beer, food takeaway services) will upweight their activity during the tournament. These brands will often use high-profile ambassadors to cut through the noise, using their association with fan’s favourite players to stand out from the crowd. For example, Nike’s 2022 FIFA World cup 2022 ad and Pepsi’s recently launched 2024 ad.
In the UK, linear TV is going to be an important channel for all brands to target, specifically advertising around the big matches on ITV. Every match will be broadcast on free-to-air TV which has unrivalled audience reach. And major tournament moments regularly feature in the annual top 10 most-viewed broadcasts. The Euro 2020 final between England and Italy attracted over 31m viewers in the UK. But this huge reach comes at an inflated cost. If England progress through to the semi-finals, brands should expect to pay well over £600k for a premium half time 30s ad spot.
While TV advertising will predominantly focus on the key moments around big matches, brands will revert to social media for their always-on activity. Again, paid social costs are likely to be inflated during the tournament period, and brands will be competing to break through in a cluttered space.
We’ll also see a lot of ‘tactical’ media spend from brands, particularly across out of home advertising (OOH) where I expect to see many brands leading with football creative across the UK’s most impactful, high-value media sites throughout the tournament – whether they are official partners, nation partners or brands tapping in to ‘football fever’.
FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) brands and retailers will look to maximise points of sale – from on-pack ticket promotions to brands leveraging their partnership rights (e.g. Bud Light and England, Coca-Cola and Euro 2024) or supermarkets pushing ‘the ultimate viewing’ deals for football fans and families.
Euro 2024 promises to be an exciting tournament and offers a major marketing moment for brands. Whether you are a football fan or not, there will be no escaping ‘football fever’ – I for one cannot wait!
With the Cannes Film Festival about to begin, we interviewed Louise Johnson, a member of the jury for the Entertainment Lions for Sport category at Cannes Lions 2024. In addition to its role on the jury, Fuse, the agency led by Louise, is expanding into Brazil, marking an exciting new chapter in the company’s history.
Louise Johnson is the CEO of Fuse, a leading global sports and entertainment marketing agency within Omnicom Media Group. With more than 20 years of experience in the field, Louise has worked on both the client and agency side, managing Vodafone’s global portfolio that included Ferrari F1, McLaren F1, Manchester United FC, David Beckham and the UEFA Champions League, operating in more than 100 markets. Under his leadership, Fuse has tripled in size, with a team of 250 people serving 10 of the world’s top 30 brands. The agency has negotiated over $1.1 billion in rights over the past six years, making it one of the largest and most respected in the industry.
Louise Johnson: Since the inception of the Entertainment Lions for Sport category four years ago, the ambition has been to embrace purpose and inclusion. And these demonstrations of inclusion continue to be important. However, I believe we will also see a return of sports jobs that entertain audiences by connecting with lifestyle and humor. With brands fighting for attention and looking to credibly connect with culture, I expect more cross-cultural activations in sports involving music, fashion and film.
Louise Johnson: The Festival aims to celebrate creativity that harnesses fan culture and the power of sports and esports to connect people to brands. In judging entries, we strive for excellence in innovative creativity within the sports and esports ecosystem, through the effective use of strategic planning, sponsorship, brand management, media, entertainment, and/or talent. Participants should focus on highlighting their creativity and ability to connect with fans to stand out.
Louise Johnson: Bringing esports into the Entertainment Lions for Sport category is a positive step towards making the sport more inclusive and accessible for everyone. This highlights alternative ways of engaging in the sports landscape and helps diversify the application pool and areas that brands can address in their campaigns. The lines between sport and entertainment are increasingly blurred, with the sporting event itself being a small part of a larger fan experience. With over 3 billion players globally, esports creates a vast and interconnected audience, providing ample opportunities for brands to innovate and engage with specific communities.
Louise Johnson: In recent years, we’ve seen the advent of partnerships, rather than sponsorships. It’s a way of working that benefits both sides equally, creating a strong legacy, impacting important change, and generating a significant return on investment. Last year’s Grand Prix deservedly went to Michelob Ultra and FCB for the DreamCaster campaign. This campaign allowed a blind basketball fan to fulfill their dream of narrating a live game to millions of people in the U.S., showing how the sport can create valuable real-life impacts.
Louise Johnson: From my perspective, the Festival continues to work its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy. Within the Entertainment Lions for Sport category, there is a specific category for this theme. This includes creative work led by brands that utilizes sport to address and confront disparities based on sex, sexuality, disability, age, race, ethnicity, origin, religion, or other status within a sports or sports-related community. I hope to see very strong work in this space in 2024.
Louise Johnson: In addition to the criteria set by the organizers, my jury and I will be looking for unique ideas that are relevant to the real world. This includes ideas that connect different sports fans across diverse regions/cultures and that can align with the values and purposes of a brand or organization. While the work needs to add value to the end consumer or the business, it would be great if there’s an entertainment factor too – after all, we’re in the entertainment category!
Louise Johnson: Artificial intelligence is still the buzzword and has already shaped some impactful work. If we look at last year’s winner – generative artificial intelligence helped a blind man narrate a basketball game. In addition, AI was incorporated into the process of creating Orange’s ‘Les Bleues’ revealing advertisement during the UEFA Women’s Euros last year, helping to highlight the necessary progression in attitudes towards women’s sport. While it clearly has wide-ranging benefits for sports marketing, brands need to be careful about how they engage with AI and ensure they are not completely eradicating human creativity. A new aspect of this year’s awards is an AI notice, which I hope will be a transparent and effective way to see how AI has been incorporated into the entries
Louise Johnson: São Paulo is the center of sport in Brazil, and having a Fuse office there will allow us to capitalize on the region’s fastest-growing sports sponsorship market. In addition to supporting brands and rights holders, we also aim to increase local participation in sport, from the grassroots to the professional level. Over the past ten years, Brazil has hosted two of the world’s biggest sporting events – the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. With confirmation that the FIFA Women’s World Cup will also be held there, there are many untapped opportunities in this territory, ripe for innovation.
Louise Johnson: We cannot ignore that women’s football in South America is still developing, but it is evident that Brazil is going through a clear movement to expand and professionalize women’s leagues, bringing the region closer to the infrastructure of the US and Europe. With the confirmation of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Brazil is experiencing a special moment with its venues, brands, sponsors and sports rights holders, all looking forward to the joy that the Cup will bring. This will also generate an excellent opportunity for Brazil to connect and relate to a significantly larger audience. In addition, Formula 1 recently extended its contract with the São Paulo Grand Prix until 2030, showing that the motorsport market in Brazil is profitable. It is the fourth largest motorsport market in the world and Lucas di Grassi, one of the country’s greatest racing drivers, is supporting the electric revolution in Brazil. We can see a lot of opportunities for new entrants in the sponsorship scene, and with sustainability at the top of global agendas, we’re likely to see an increase in these types of sports around the world.
Louise Johnson: Luiz has extensive experience in sports advertising and marketing, with almost two decades in the industry. He was previously Marketing Director at São Paulo Futebol Clube and, most recently, led the sports division of the Outpromo media agency, OMG Brasil. Leveraging their expertise will ensure that Fuse is at the forefront of sports sponsorship in Brazil.
Louise Johnson: The new office opened with a strong customer collection that includes insurance company Ezze Seguros, betting companies KTO and F12Bet, online sticker store Panini, the Brazilian Olympic Committee, payment wallet company Pay 4 Fun, and brewery Heineken. Fuse’s Brazil office will focus on offering partnership consulting, rights consulting, activation, measurement and effectiveness in sports and entertainment to clients. In addition to these services, Fuse Brasil will launch a sales and rights consulting offering, Fuse Ignite, designed to enhance rights holders’ sponsorship proposals.
Louise Johnson: Fuse is part of the Omnicom Media Group, and in addition to our deep understanding of what brands want in terms of sponsorship, we benefit from the group’s broader media, data, and business intelligence capabilities. The result is that our clients benefit from truly integrated thinking, suited to modern marketing.
Louise Johnson: In addition to Brazil, we now have offices in Chile, which is extremely exciting. In 2025, we plan to expand into other markets in South America that are strategically important to our industry. We are excited about the positive impact our presence in Brazil will have on the sports marketing and entertainment industry in the region.
Louise Johnson: Not only do we have great talent in Brazil, but Fuse is fortunate to be part of the Omnicom Media Group. Already one of the fastest-growing sports and entertainment networks, this connection to the broader OMG allows us to bring truly integrated thinking to customers’ sports and entertainment partnership needs, while ensuring a significant impact on brand image and business bottom lines.
