Brand Boost For Hyundai At World Cup

201008170000 No. 179

Brand boost for Hyundai at World Cup

Offenbach, August 17 2010

A number of reports have illustrated Hyundai’s success at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, with an increase in brand awareness and heightened web traffic resulting from the company’s involvement as an official partner of the tournament.

A study carried out by Echo Research found that Hyundai had the greatest boost in brand awareness of all the sponsors after the month-long tournament. Over 1,000 members of the UK public were polled before and after the event, and Hyundai achieved a five per cent post-tournament increase in awareness. Results were just as positive elsewhere: in the Netherlands, awareness jumped three-fold in the period from the opening match through to the final game.

Survey Sampling International’s (SSI) global panel identified that both men and women contributed to the rise in awareness of the Hyundai brand, with the most significant contribution coming from women aged 20 to 29 and men 30 to 39 years old.

During the World Cup Hyundai was the subject of almost five per cent of all online ‘buzz’ according to Nielsen McKinsey. This put Hyundai as the sixth ‘most-buzzed’ brand of all the official sponsors and partners of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. According to Experian Hitwise, Hyundai received a 10 per cent boost in online searches in the UK during the World Cup, comfortably ahead of the automotive sector which collectively rose by less than three per cent.

At a global level, Hyundai’s status as official partner to the event included worldwide advertising and the provision of over 600 vehicles to the tournament.

In Europe, Hyundai’s World Cup campaign was enhanced by numerous activities that encouraged fans to ‘Feel the Game’. Hyundai Fan Parks brought the spectacle to over
2.5 million fans across 20 locations in Europe on 60m²screens, with pre-match entertainment adding to the lively atmosphere.

The Hyundai Roadshow saw a convoy of 32 World Cup-liveried vehicles touring Europe, and fans were invited to see the latest models and take part in a wide range of activities and competitions. Many thousands signed the Hyundai Goodwill Balls, sending messages of hope to their nations’ teams competing in South Africa.

Allan Rushforth, Vice President of Hyundai Motor Europe, comments, “Hyundai’s ambition is to become one of the top-five carmakers in Europe, and we have made great steps to achieve this in recent years. Our high-profile presence across the continent during the World Cup has helped to further raise awareness of our brand, giving us a solid platform on which to grow our market share through sales of our Europe-focused vehicles.

“We are very proud of our long-standing relationship with FIFA and UEFA, and are honoured to be an official partner of the next FIFA World Cup hosted by Brazil in 2014. But first is the UEFA European Championships 2012 in Ukraine and Poland. This is sure to be another fascinating tournament, and Hyundai will once again put fans at the heart of the action to help them become even further immersed in the atmosphere.”

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