World Cup Fiasco - Public Unable to Recall Sponsors

LONDON, July 26, 2010 - The latest poll by global reputation auditors Echo Research, conducted
the day before the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony on June 11th and repeated
after the World Cup Final on 14th July, shows that the British public remain
uncertain which companies sponsored the tournament.

The month-long tournament has also reinforced the British public's belief
that sponsors are motivated less by concern for football, South Africa and
its people or issues of health and well-being, than by hard-headed commercial
goals such as getting their name or logo on television.

CONTINUING CONFUSION OVER WORLD CUP SPONSORS

The 1,002 adults polled across Britain following the World Cup Final
struggled to correctly identify eight World Cup sponsors (Coca-Cola,
McDonalds, Visa, Adidas, Budweiser, Sony, Emirates, Hyundai) from a list of
well-known brands. No sponsor was correctly identified by more than half of
those polled, with recognition highest for Coca-Cola (48%) and McDonald's
(40%). Even after the tournament, one in five (20%) of the adults polled
incorrectly identified Nike as a World Cup sponsor.

Two sponsors actually saw recognition FALL significantly between the
opening ceremony and the Final: Coca-Cola (48%, down from 57%) and Adidas
(25%, down from 29%). Only two sponsors, Emirates (up from 12% to 17%) and
Hyundai (up from 10% to 15%) secured improvements from low pre-tournament
levels. According to Matt Painter, Research Director of Echo Research, "this
shows how unconnected organisations are when they sponsor major events -
they're getting visibility for their brand on television, but not working
these big ticket items effectively in the media through both paid for and
non-paid-for channels, nor are they engaging the public through social media
discussions. With so much 'noise' going on, companies have to work harder
than this to ensure better bang for their bucks."

Sponsors' Motives

The tournament has also reinforced the British public's scepticism about
sponsors' motives. When asked to select reasons why a company would sponsor
the World Cup, fewer than one in ten (9%, down from 13% pre-tournament)
agreed it was "because they care about football and its supporters" and one
in twenty (5%, down from 9% pre-tournament) "because they care about issues
of health, fitness and well-being". Despite extensive on-the-ground
sponsorship activities in South Africa, there was no significant change in
the proportion agreeing that it was "because they care about South Africa and
its people." By contrast, 85% of those polled agreed it was "to get their
company name or logo on television," up from 81% pre-tournament.

METHODOLOGY

Pre-tournament Internet Omnibus survey of 1005 GB adults aged 16-64
weighted to represent the adult population, conducted 9th-10th June 2010.
Post-tournament Internet Omnibus survey of 1002 GB adults aged 16-64 weighted
to represent the adult population, conducted 13th-15th July 2010.

Significance calculated at the 95% confidence level.

ABOUT ECHO

Based in London, Paris, New York and Singapore, Echo Research provides
independent reputation analysis through stakeholder surveys and media
analysis for FTSE and Fortune 100 organisations, the public sector and
not-for-profits. Winners of some 75 industry awards for excellence in
research, Echo has provided research and counsel for corporate sports
sponsorship to Barclays Bank, Barclaycard, Lloyds Banking Group and JPMorgan
Chase, among others.

For further information:

Matt Painter, head of Research - +44(0)20-7608-1113,
mattp@echoresearch.com; Or Ben Lloyd, Senior Director - +44(0)-20-7608-1113,
benl@echoresearch.com

Matt Painter, head of Research - +44(0)20-7608-1113,
mattp at echoresearch.com; Or Ben Lloyd, Senior Director - +44(0)-20-7608-1113,
benl at echoresearch.com