Brand
'Messi' unblemished by poor World Cup
Send a link to a friend
[June 22, 2018]
By Alastair Macdonald
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Lionel Messi may be
heading home early from the World Cup after flops on the pitch for
Argentina yet he will remain a ubiquitous presence in Russia and
around the world as the face of dozens of brand marketing campaigns.
For while sporting success in a single tournament is a matter of
contrasting luck and split seconds -- Messi striking a penalty at
the Iceland goalkeeper, arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal
burying one in the Spanish net -- results in Russia will do little
in themselves to damage brand "Messi", nor perhaps much to enhance
the global standing of Ronaldo's "CR7".
"Messi's brand won't be badly affected by that performance as his
track record is otherwise consistently excellent," said Allyson
Stewart-Allen, chief executive of International Marketing Partners
in London, after Messi's second poor showing, in a 3-0 loss to
Croatia, left Argentina facing an early exit.
"Messi is one game-changing performance away from reminding the
world why he is still one of the most sought-after brand ambassadors
on the planet," said Andy Sutherden, global head of sports and
partnership marketing at Hill and Knowlton Strategies in London. The
World Cup was just "a short-term blip," he said.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Jun/22/images/ads/current/Mcquellons_sda_daily_HI-2015.png)
While Ronaldo, who has built up an image of arrogant power with Real
Madrid, has carried the Portuguese national team to the verge of the
second round by scoring all four of their goals, Messi, the modest,
dribbling genius of Barcelona, has been conspicuous by his inability
to contribute for Argentina.
On Football Index, a trading game website where participants can buy
and sell players, Messi's price has fallen 4 percent since before
the tournament while Ronaldo is up 6 percent.
But in the real world, both the value of the player to club
employers and to marketing sponsors is less volatile.
"The financial value for the most established players is more of a
structural nature. There is not a big change if he scores a goal,"
said Raffaele Poli, head of the CIES Football Observatory in
Switzerland, who has analyzed transfer markets.
He values Messi at 184 million euros ($214 million), almost double
Ronaldo, who is three years older. Those values do not change
quickly, he said: "Next week, Messi scores a hat-trick and Ronaldo
misses a penalty. The market is completely logical."
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/062218pics/sports59.jpg)
Argentina's Lionel Messi reacts after conceding their second goal
scored by Croatia's Luka Modric. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Jun/22/images/ads/current/brickey_lda_061314.png)
ENDORSEMENT EARNINGS
Ronaldo's off-field earnings, notably around the CR7 logo combining
his initials and his shirt number, saw little clear drop after a
poor showing for Portugal at the 2014 World Cup.
A Forbes magazine ranking of athletes estimates Ronaldo earns $47
million a year from endorsements, ahead of Messi on $27 million.
Younger talents may be catching up and many of those can count on
the World Cup to boost their own brands.
"The number of casual fans around the world that the World Cup
touches does create a huge opportunity for these players to really
build their brand," said Matt Hill, senior vice president for global
sports consulting, at GMR Marketing in New York. "But it's the
emerging stars that really stand to gain the most."
The battle on the pitch is matched by battles for followers on
social media -- the biggest stars have hundreds of millions -- whom
brands with little connection to soccer want to reach.
Messi probably doesn't drink a lot of Mongolian milk but Chinese
dairy firm Mengniu is one of many willing to pay him to put his face
on World Cup adverts. Argentina may win or lose, but Messi's
"Natural Power" -- the slogan on that publicity campaign -- will go
on well past this World Cup.
(Reporting by Alastair Macdonald, editing by Neil Robinson)
[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Jun/22/images/ads/current/richardson_lda_060718.png)
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Jun/22/images/ads/current/ldn_business_directory_small_2016.png) |