Awareness of footballers’ brands is low

Most young people do not know which sports brands sponsor which of the country’s football stars, despite the millions of pounds spent on advertising and promotion, according to research carried out for Marketing Week.

Youth tracking research company ROAR (Right of Admission Reserved) spoke to 1,000 16 to 24-year-olds and asked them to match 11 premiership players, England coach Glenn Hoddle and Inter Milan star Ronaldo with their sponsor.

The player most closely associated with the correct brand was Eric Cantona, with 48 per cent of those asked identifying him as a Nike-sponsored player. But Cantona actually retired from Manchester United and football last summer.

Second came Ian Wright, with 45 per cent of respondents picking him out as another Nike footballer. Third came Reebok’s Ryan Giggs who was identified by 33 per cent.

However no other footballers achieved more than 30 per cent.

ROAR concludes that “levels of association between the brand and the footballer are low”.

News analysis, page 19