Full house and full coffers
Screen advertising The European Football Championship offers new opportunities for advertisers: Local companies are now also getting their chance at public broadcasting venues.
Screen advertising The European Football Championship offers new opportunities for advertisers: Local companies are now also getting their chance at public broadcasting venues.
Marketer Publisuisse has announced that it will market the screen advertising in the so-called UBS arenas during the 2008 European Football Championship. The major bank, sponsor of Euro 08, will be showing the football matches on the big screen at 17 locations. The Biel-based company Perron8 is organizing the fan events. SRG signals must be used to broadcast the football matches, as SRG is the official broadcaster for Switzerland, designated by Uefa as the host broadcaster, in accordance with the requirements of the European Football Association. According to the agreement between the partners involved, namely Uefa, SRG and the event agency Perron8, this regulation applies exclusively to the actual broadcast, i.e. to the football matches themselves - but not to the supporting program. In the arenas, a separate program with atmospheric images from the venue, background reports, summaries and interviews can therefore flicker across the screen. Publisuisse markets the advertising on the screens in the context of these programs. One restriction is that the ten minutes before and five minutes after the match, as well as the half-time break, are reserved for Uefa sponsors.
Additional advertising opportunityBut won't the advertising customers of the SRG programs pay twice if they have to book separate advertising for the screenings on big screens? "No," answers Manuela Gerber, Project Manager Uefa Euro 2008 at Publisuisse. "This is an additional offer that we can make to the Swiss advertising industry." The advertising on the screens in the arenas has nothing to do with the TV advertising in the SRG programs: on the one hand, advertisers can reach their target group at home, and on the other hand, other target groups at public viewing, i.e. watching the games together outside the home. As these are totally different offers, there are also no advertising combinations for the SRG programs and the UBS Arena.
Publisuisse assumes that home use and public viewing are different audiences. Gerber does not expect football fans to watch all matches outside the home, but estimates that they will use the offerings in the arenas as an additional option. Based on experience from the 2006 FIFA World Cup, a younger audience with a high proportion of women can be expected to visit the UBS arenas, who are unlikely to watch the individual matches only at home.
Publisuisse markets the arenas nationally, regionally and locally. Manuela Gerber assumes that advertising in the UBS Arena could also be of particular interest to customers who do not usually advertise on TV, as well as to local companies that would not advertise on regional TV. "The arenas offer both the baker in Thun and the garage owner in Lugano the opportunity to advertise around the Uefa Euro 2008," explains Gerber.
Large crowds expectedThe UBS arenas hold a total of 114,000 people per game. The arenas vary in size and can accommodate between 4,000 and 10,000 spectators. Gerber cannot make any precise predictions as to how many people will watch the games at home and how many at public events. Publisuisse will carry out a performance review and provide the clients with exact attendance figures after the matches.
The Mediapulse research service estimates that up to 20 percent of viewers also watched matches outside the home during last year's World Cup (see box). The composition of the audience is likely to change for the upcoming Euro 08: The championship at home and the large number of fans traveling from abroad could lead to even greater popularity for big screen screenings. Last year, the World Cup already provided Swiss television with dream ratings. It achieved a market share of 67.9 percent for the final match. However, the most popular matches were those involving Switzerland, which attracted up to 1.7 million viewers. However, these figures only apply to those football fans who watched the matches at home. Until now, the use of public viewing has not been measured precisely. However, the advertising industry will probably have to come to terms with the fact that at least part of the public viewing offer is no longer free.
According to a survey conducted on behalf of Mediapulse, four out of five Swiss people watched the Football World Cup on television in 2006. 17% of these viewers also watched matches outside their own homes, i.e. at friends' houses, in restaurants or in front of large screens. For matches involving the Swiss national team and various matches in the final round in particular, up to around 20% of additional viewing took place outside of private households. The Telecontrol measurement system used in television research in Switzerland only records TV usage in private households. In order to obtain more precise data on the viewing of World Cup broadcasts in public areas, the results from Radiocontrol research were therefore used. According to Markus Jedele, Head of Television Research at Mediapulse AG, the research company is currently examining whether it will measure the use of public viewing next year during Euro 08. A decision should be made by the end of the year.
Marketing in the host cities Basel, Bern, Geneva and Zurich will also act as so-called host cities during Euro 08, independently of the UBS arenas. Werbewoche has asked who will be responsible for marketing the advertising blocks during the public screenings of the football matches in these cities.
Western Switzerland is ahead of the game: a contract was signed with the Geneva-based company Nepsa back in 2005. This company takes care of the fan zone and the marketing of advertising time. Offers are currently available from
the Uefa sponsors, who have the right of first refusal. Negotiations with other advertising partners will then begin.
In Basel, the Euro 08 project management will market the advertising blocks of the Uefa sponsors itself in a first phase. From October at the earliest, the remaining screen time will be sold to other partners in a second phase, including four Host City sponsors yet to be defined. According to project manager Christoph Bosshardt, it is not yet clear who will take over this marketing on behalf of Host City.
The project management in Zurich also does not yet know who will be responsible for marketing the advertising blocks in the official fan zone. The EM 08 Zurich association will be founded on August 23, 2007 and the operator of the fan zone will be determined in September or October.
In Bern, it has also not yet been decided who will be responsible for marketing the advertising blocks, according to Marcel Brülhart from the Euro 2008 Bern project.
Carole Scheidegger
Marketer Publisuisse has announced that it will market the screen advertising in the so-called UBS arenas during the 2008 European Football Championship. The major bank, sponsor of Euro 08, will be showing the football matches on the big screen at 17 locations. The Biel-based company Perron8 is organizing the fan events. SRG signals must be used to broadcast the football matches, as SRG is the official broadcaster for Switzerland, designated by Uefa as the host broadcaster, in accordance with the requirements of the European Football Association. According to the agreement between the partners involved, namely Uefa, SRG and the event agency Perron8, this regulation applies exclusively to the actual broadcast, i.e. to the football matches themselves - but not to the supporting program. In the arenas, a separate program with atmospheric images from the venue, background reports, summaries and interviews can therefore flicker across the screen. Publisuisse markets the advertising on the screens in the context of these programs. One restriction is that the ten minutes before and five minutes after the match, as well as the half-time break, are reserved for Uefa sponsors.
Additional advertising opportunityBut won't the advertising customers of the SRG programs pay twice if they have to book separate advertising for the screenings on big screens? "No," answers Manuela Gerber, Project Manager Uefa Euro 2008 at Publisuisse. "This is an additional offer that we can make to the Swiss advertising industry." The advertising on the screens in the arenas has nothing to do with the TV advertising in the SRG programs: on the one hand, advertisers can reach their target group at home, and on the other hand, other target groups at public viewing, i.e. watching the games together outside the home. As these are totally different offers, there are also no advertising combinations for the SRG programs and the UBS Arena.
Publisuisse assumes that home use and public viewing are different audiences. Gerber does not expect football fans to watch all matches outside the home, but estimates that they will use the offerings in the arenas as an additional option. Based on experience from the 2006 FIFA World Cup, a younger audience with a high proportion of women can be expected to visit the UBS arenas, who are unlikely to watch the individual matches only at home.
Publisuisse markets the arenas nationally, regionally and locally. Manuela Gerber assumes that advertising in the UBS Arena could also be of particular interest to customers who do not usually advertise on TV, as well as to local companies that would not advertise on regional TV. "The arenas offer both the baker in Thun and the garage owner in Lugano the opportunity to advertise around the Uefa Euro 2008," explains Gerber.
Large crowds expectedThe UBS arenas hold a total of 114,000 people per game. The arenas vary in size and can accommodate between 4,000 and 10,000 spectators. Gerber cannot make any precise predictions as to how many people will watch the games at home and how many at public events. Publisuisse will carry out a performance review and provide the clients with exact attendance figures after the matches.
The Mediapulse research service estimates that up to 20 percent of viewers also watched matches outside the home during last year's World Cup (see box). The composition of the audience is likely to change for the upcoming Euro 08: The championship at home and the large number of fans traveling from abroad could lead to even greater popularity for big screen screenings. Last year, the World Cup already provided Swiss television with dream ratings. It achieved a market share of 67.9 percent for the final match. However, the most popular matches were those involving Switzerland, which attracted up to 1.7 million viewers. However, these figures only apply to those football fans who watched the matches at home. Until now, the use of public viewing has not been measured precisely. However, the advertising industry will probably have to come to terms with the fact that at least part of the public viewing offer is no longer free.
According to a survey conducted on behalf of Mediapulse, four out of five Swiss people watched the Football World Cup on television in 2006. 17% of these viewers also watched matches outside their own homes, i.e. at friends' houses, in restaurants or in front of large screens. For matches involving the Swiss national team and various matches in the final round in particular, up to around 20% of additional viewing took place outside of private households. The Telecontrol measurement system used in television research in Switzerland only records TV usage in private households. In order to obtain more precise data on the viewing of World Cup broadcasts in public areas, the results from Radiocontrol research were therefore used. According to Markus Jedele, Head of Television Research at Mediapulse AG, the research company is currently examining whether it will measure the use of public viewing next year during Euro 08. A decision should be made by the end of the year.
Marketing in the host cities Basel, Bern, Geneva and Zurich will also act as so-called host cities during Euro 08, independently of the UBS arenas. Werbewoche has asked who will be responsible for marketing the advertising blocks during the public screenings of the football matches in these cities.
Western Switzerland is ahead of the game: a contract was signed with the Geneva-based company Nepsa back in 2005. This company takes care of the fan zone and the marketing of advertising time. Offers are currently available from
the Uefa sponsors, who have the right of first refusal. Negotiations with other advertising partners will then begin.
In Basel, the Euro 08 project management will market the advertising blocks of the Uefa sponsors itself in a first phase. From October at the earliest, the remaining screen time will be sold to other partners in a second phase, including four Host City sponsors yet to be defined. According to project manager Christoph Bosshardt, it is not yet clear who will take over this marketing on behalf of Host City.
The project management in Zurich also does not yet know who will be responsible for marketing the advertising blocks in the official fan zone. The EM 08 Zurich association will be founded on August 23, 2007 and the operator of the fan zone will be determined in September or October.
In Bern, it has also not yet been decided who will be responsible for marketing the advertising blocks, according to Marcel Brülhart from the Euro 2008 Bern project.
Carole Scheidegger
