EURO 2008: The Sponsors of the Turkey National Team

Date Posted: 10 July 2008

Turkey recently reached the semi-finals of Euro 2008. The Turkish National Team will be remembered for both excellent play and tenacious footballers.

June was an exciting month, not just due to the football, but also on behalf of communication and marketing for the event. Apart from supporting the team, it was a chance for the sponsor brands of the national team to strengthen their corporate images and brand perceptions.

There is no doubt that communication campaigns increase the “Buzz” around brands. In June, the change in brand perceptions of the sponsors are easily tracked with the “Buzz” measure on BrandIndex. The table below shows the monthly averages of “Buzz” scores for the sponsor brands.

The main sponsors of the national team in Euro 2008 were Turkish Airlines, Coca Cola, Mercedes Benz, Petrol Ofisi (a leading oil company in Turkey), Garanti Bank, TTNet (a broadband internet provider), Turkcell and Efes Pilsen.

According to BrandIndex data; Coca Cola was the biggest riser within the sponsor brands in the “Buzz” table. The brands’ average increased by +13 points and reached 25% in June.

Turkcell’s produced an emotional advert, depicting the Turkish population throwing support behind the national team. Turkcell has seen its “buzz” average score improve from 67% to 77% as a result and placed second in the table below. Turkish Airlines, the primary sponsor of national teams, said “We will not return without the cup!” in its advert. The advert enabled Turkish Airlines to place 3rd in the buzz table, with a 7 points increase.

Petrol Ofisi also launched an advert in support of the Championships. The brand achieved an increase in its’ monthly average “Buzz” score of 6 points in June.

Finally, Garanti Bank called the national team footballers “Turko” in its communication campaign during Euro 2008. The “Buzz” score for Garanti Bank increased from 65% to 70% and the brand ranked 5th out of the 8 brand sponsors here. These brands will be hoping to continue their improvements going forward.

Sedef Besen, BrandIndex Turkey

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