Sustainability Meets the Super Bowl

14 Jul 2010 – Kyle Whitaker

If you were among the 700 million expected viewers to tune into this weekend’s World Cup final between the Netherlands and Spain, you probably noticed a few unfamiliar corporate logos plastered on the sidelines. After all, the first half of action was a real snoozer, right? There was plenty of time to browse.

Among them – Yingli Solar, a Chinese solar panel company that has invested millions of dollars to stand among the eight official sponsors of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. As such, Yingli’s advertisements were placed next to those of established international brands like Budweiser and McDonald’s. Kind of an odd juxtaposition when you consider that McDonald’s has been hosting World Cups longer than Yingli Solar has been in business. No pressure, Yingli. None at all.

Anyways, Yingli has attracted loads of media attention, in part because (1) few Westerners have heard of the company [yet], and (2) it is the first Chinese company to sponsor a World Cup. Ever. Interesting, to be sure, but what is perhaps more striking is the fact that Yingli is the latest example of companies taking the “Super Bowl approach” to sustainable branding. In other words, companies are investing millions of dollars for massive, global exposure and putting their sustainability bona fides on center stage.

So what’s next?

Well, in my opinion, there are a couple of interesting implications that we should all keep an eye on as sports fans turn their attentions next to the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

First, and I apologize for stating the obvious, but more sponsors will incorporate sustainability messaging into their staggeringly expensive advertising campaigns. It’s inevitable, given the recent success of Coca-Cola’s green campaign at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, Audi’s Green Police commercial which debuted during the 2010 Super Bowl, and Yingli… basically just being itself – a solar panel marketer sandwiched between beer and fast food brands – at the World Cup.

In turn, the hosts of international events will increasingly build sustainability into their hosting plans and relationships as well. Again, looking forward to the 2012 Olympic Games, organizers in London are positioning their official corporate sponsors – including British Telecom, EDF, and interestingly BP – as sustainability partners, not just as sources of revenue.

Now, here is the major point, in my opinion. A grand finale, if you will. The marriage between sustainability and the Super-Bowl approach will turn up the heat on greenwashers and heavily favor companies that are true sustainability leaders and companies with disruptive, sustainable technologies. In part, this is because at-risk companies – like BP – will struggle to play both offense and defense (i.e., pay to mitigate crises and invest proactively for positive exposure).

As a case study, it will be interesting to see how BP’s sponsorship plans change / evolve as we all move forward. Despite the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, BP executives say the company intends to honor its $58 million commitment to sponsor the London Olympics. Chump change when you consider that BP has already spent $2 billion responding to the massive ongoing oil spill which began on April 20.

But can they keep it up over the long-term? I’m inclined to believe that their logo will be replaced by that of a more sustainable competitor. Good news for us all, don’t you think?