A week after the commercial disaster that Cristiano Ronaldo hosted to Coca-Cola at Euro 2020, now it’s really about how sponsors develop and manage their relationships with footballers who don’t pay them directly.
Ronaldo’s brand humiliation of an $ 80 billion company
It wouldn’t have happened if it had been a Juventus press conference or if it had been an event where Coca-Cola paid the star direct.
There has always been some resentment from some stars to support their national federation through sponsorship activities during the international camp and these will certainly be compounded due to Cristiano’s commercial irresponsibility.
Shortly before the Euro 2016 in France, the Irish manager Martin O’Neill sent his players informed in the run-up to the tournament that they would expect increased media and commercial expectations from the FAI, their partners and the Uefa.
To communicate this directly, he asked me to contact the Irish squad on the matter so that there would be no surprise when the players were in the pre-tournament and tournament camps.
O’Neill was masterly at dealing with his players and the commercial demands placed on them, so the sponsorship and media side of things rarely became an issue.
He may not be any different from other managers who lead teams to the Euro, but the level of detail and preparation he went into regarding this non-footballing matter was exceptional and resulted in a smooth series of activations before and during the tournament.
In terms of players sponsoring partners who pay their national association, rather than the players themselves or their employers (clubs), I’ve always found that the bigger stars were more professional in their attitudes and attitudes.
You will always have outliers where one or two players openly refuse or ask if they can be excused and “do the next one” – not in a malicious or spiteful manner – and that’s fine if their profiles are not exceptional.
Young stars who join the roster always aim to please with youthful enthusiasm that usually fades when they return to the roster for the fourth or fifth time.
With every team taking part in Euro 2020, everyone was informed about the increased media and commercial requirements before and during the competition.
You will be informed by an increased number of national press beyond the pool of football writers, greater interest from international rights holders including the BBC and Canal +, greater engagement with Uefa.tv and the rights holders reporting their opponents in each game.
They are also made aware of green screen video and photo shoots for Uefa, suits of suits, and TV and digital broadcast advertising productions for partners, which can last a full day.
Players are advised that if they are Man of the Game or “Star of the Game” (sponsored by Heineken) they will be immediately removed from the field for a press conference. Players are told that they will win or lose. Uefa will ask a large number of them to present themselves in the “tunnel” with the rights holders for radio interviews.
And all of this is carefully handled so as not to increase the pressure on athletes who are already beginning to feel the weight of an entire nation’s expectations.
I have no doubt that Ronaldo’s implosion before Portugal against Hungary was a mix of brand warfare and commercial exhaustion, even for someone more used than anyone to high pressure situations.
It was all about money – Ronaldo had no problem with Coke in 2006 when he was their golden kid in a high profile campaign – or KFC, as was recently pointed out. His discomfort with certain brands, as well as with Paul Pogba (Heineken) and Manuel Locatelli – who also removed Coca-Cola bottles – is the beginning of a rethinking of sponsors and product placement.
It is certainly forcing UEFA to rethink, reminding the participating teams that “partnerships are an essential part of running the tournament and ensuring the development of football across Europe, including youth and women”.
A commercial partnership expert, Jill Downey, MD of Core Sponsorship, questions the practice of an Americanized concept of starring a product.
“There is a difference between having the right to do something and what is right,” she said. “In this situation, I understand Coke, a brand that has supported tournaments for decades. But just because it’s in the contract (making the product appear on the table) does that mean it should happen? Should it really be in the contract. It just doesn’t look right or comfortable, and when something doesn’t look right, it generally doesn’t.
“I just don’t think this tactic will go down as well with a European audience as it does in America, and I would like to know where the ultimately risky decision was made to put a product in front of a player (in the US or in Europe?) . Was there scenario planning for this type of situation? Any risk mitigation?
“Coke has every right to be a sponsor, they have a great history with football, they are part of the fun and joy of the tournament and they bring excitement to the experience.
“But in a press conference setting you get the feeling that such a placement is a bit of a shove in the face of the audience and it might lead fans to think, ‘Coke just doesn’t get us, but fair play to Ronaldo, him surely?’ does’?”
Downey, like the Financial Times, is skeptical that the incident had such a catastrophic impact on the value of Coca Cola – 4 billion a drop that accounts for most of the day’s losses ”.
It definitely looks like – a week after the branding humiliation – Coca Cola is stuck in a state of marketing paralysis and refusing to back away from its bottles and props on stage.
Coca Cola has the right to stand firm and demand full attention under their contracts with Uefa for props on tables, and they pay between 30 and 50 million euros for such privileged positioning. However, it could be easier if Coke opted for their Euro 2016 tactic of embedding their logo in the background, a move that wouldn’t guarantee another calamity.
While many hailed Ronaldo’s stance as noble and just, it was far from unprofessional and will have had an impact on his Portuguese association. Ronaldo was ultimately the player who effectively supported the announcement in a UEFA press release in September 2019 that the company would be “the official non-alcoholic sponsor for UEFA Euro 2020”.
Another important topic that makes brands and sponsors shiver in competitions are the domestic partners, who practically take a back seat after the competition has started. Outside of MatchDay -1 and MatchDay, local brands can be present on the training grounds and in the media center of the national teams.
However, on the evening before the game, when the training session takes place in the stadium, and during the game itself, logos, labels and all notices must disappear. In the case of the Irish team, the “3” logos and the “Celtic Pure” water bottles disappeared and the opportunities for big branding for these companies disappeared.
The bigger question for now is the use of props and how they will be handled in the future, and whether the use of US-style activations will even work in Europe.
Live press conferences on the euro are high pressure and deeply risky environments. It is extremely exhausting to put something in front of a footballer, as Coca-Cola has learned to their disadvantage.
- Ian Mallon was Director of Communications for the Republic of Ireland at Euro 2016 and is a strategic advisor at Uefa.
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