Respected online journal, FT.com, reports that FIFA’s commercial partners are achieving outstanding results during the world’s largest event – the FIFA World Cup. Africa is seen as a largely untapped market and major marketing spends on the World Cup (whilst not by any assessment a local initiative) are seen as an ideal conduit to gaining a foothold in the host continent.

FT.com cites the following preliminary feedback from key tournament sponsors:

* Visa says spending by international visitors on Visa branded payment cards was 65% higher in the first 3½ weeks of June, compared with the same period of 2009

* Adidas has won back marketing ground from Nike, one of its main rivals, since the World Cup began. Researchers, NM Incites, has found that adidas’ share of internet blogging and tweeting about the competition has risen, while Nike's has fallen

* Emirates says that its sponsorship deal with FIFA has been "worth every cent", allowing it to reach 2 billion people. An Emirates spokesman said, "To get the same kind of exposure online that we get from the World Cup sponsorship, for example, would cost about $3 billion,"

The tournament’s six major partners are estimated to have paid on average more than US$100 million, contributing a major portion of the event’s total sponsorship revenue, estimated to be in the vicinity of US$1 billion.

There is no doubt the World Cup has achieved a new benchmark for commercial partnerships; all the more meritorious given that sponsorships were negotiated during the period of uncertainty created by the Global Financial Crisis. Creative activations, a proactive approach to outlawing ambush marketers, a massive worldwide audience across all continents and an untapped local frontier capable of rapid sales growth have all contributed to the success stories of the World Cup’s major partners.

Looking to the future, should Australia’s bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup be successful, marketers will be presented with a whole new set of challenges; not the least of which is a time zone that is less than optimal for a massive portion of the global audience.