Hearts, Minds and Bottom Lines

Whether it is Brazil’s five World Cup triumphs, Cuba’s Olympic boxing gold medals, the West Indies’ global dominance of test cricket in the 1970s and 1980s, or Argentina’s World Cup victories in 1978 and 1986, the passion for sports stretches across the Americas. For fans around the region, sports serve as an escape from their everyday lives, regardless of their politics or economic circumstances.

It should come as no surprise that the business world has noticed. In 2010, PricewaterhouseCoopers predicted that the money spent on gate revenues, sponsorships, media rights fees, and merchandising in Latin America will reach $3.1 billion by 2013, a 4.3 percent compound annual growth rate since 2009. Funds invested in sponsorships alone of teams, events and athletes will increase by 2013 to $817 million. Global sports spending, according to the same study, is projected to rise to more than $133 billion by 2013, from $114 billion in 2009. And global sponsorship monies are expected to reach $35.2 billion by 2013 from $29.4 billion in 2009, a 4.6 percent compound annual increase.

The figures make clear that sports have become big business in Latin America. And as Brazil prepares to host the world’s largest sporting events—the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics—the business is about to get a lot bigger.

But do marketing firms really understand what drives fans? What shapes fans’ attitudes toward teams and individual athletes? Can these attitudes be harnessed to promote brands and companies? In today’s global sports environment, the quantification and measurement of attitudes toward sports represents a high-stakes enterprise—and a competitive one.

It’s no surprise that Brazil, preparing to host two of the world’s biggest sporting events, has become a test laboratory for marketers.

Read More: Americas Quarterly
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