I've kept pretty quiet about the Bavaria ambush at this month's World Cup - between the hundreds of the stories already out there on the subject, the misinformation and misdirection put out there but those in the know, and claiming to be in the know, and wanting to see how everything played out prior to commenting, I thought it best to bite my lip and see what more the Finals may have in store for us.
However, one thing about the Bavaria case which has interested me since it first made news, but hasn't yet received any major coverage, is the impact the media circus surrounding Bavaria's ambush, and FIFA and the South African government's subsequent legal action, has had on Budweiser's sponsorship?
As nearly every media report on the Bavaria ambush made mention, Budweiser is the official beer sponsor of the World Cup, and they've paid a massive amount of money for those rights. But what impact has the added exposure in the media, and constant affirmation of Budweiser's official status, had on their ROI? Moreover, would such a study reveal an unintentional impact of ambush marketing not previously suggested in the academic world? Past thought and opinion - particularly the opinion held by those within the major sports federations and commercial rights holders - has been that ambush marketing has a parasitic effect on sponsors, that it devalues their association and their investment by confusing consumers and distracting from the official sponsors who fund these mega-events.
If as I suspect, however, Budweiser's sponsorship has ultimately benefitted from the added media coverage, exposure, and identification in the media, could this Bavaria promotion not ultimately have benefitted the Anheuser-Busch brand in some way? How many who witnessed or have followed the Bavaria story confused the Dutch company as official sponsors? While the campaign certainly distracted from Budweiser's sponsorship, the media has ensured that their association has remained in the spotlight.
It would be interesting to know the impact of such campaigns when dealt with in this way. The media coverage benefitted both Bavaria and Budweiser ultimately, providing exposure above and beyond what either company had bargained for. Due to the heavy-handed way in which South African government handle ambush marketing, Bavaria equally emerged as a sympathetic figure in the press, and the women arrested as victims of the law. Certainly there's more than meets the eye to this story...
