Century 21 Real Estate, the world’s largest residential real estate sale’s organization and ranking top in brand recognition, has announced that a two-year sponsorship with U.S. Soccer, which will be highlighted by the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. The Olympics will run from July 27, 2012, through Aug. 12, 2012.
The company chose soccer, said Century 21 Real Estate’s chief marketing officer, Beverly Thorne, because it’s a global sport. And as a global real estate company, it was good opportunity to reach the estimated 275 million worldwide soccer fans, she said.
Also, said Thorne, soccer is the No. 1 women’s sport in the U.S. and allows the company to engage with soccer moms, who, she pointed out, have a significant role in homebuying.
The marketing campaign, which will feature TV ads, co-branding of the U.S. Soccer logo, field signage, print ads in the U.S. men’s and women’s programs, and possibly more, is a continuation of Century 21 Real Estate’s "Smarter, Bolder, Faster" marketing campaign launched with TV ads during this year’s Super Bowl.
Details of the two-year agreement are still being worked out, said Thorne. Specific TV slots for the Olympics are being finalized, but the ads will be similar to the Super Bowl’s, highlighting the traits of Century 21 real estate agents.
Some of the ads will be new, and the company will also be rerunning ads that aired during the Super Bowl, which featured agents competing against and besting U.S. Olympic speedskater Apollo Ohno, Hall of Fame football player Deion Sanders, and real estate mogul Donald Trump at their own games.
The U.S. Soccer women’s team. Photo courtesy of Michael Janosz/isiphotos.com.
The campaign will continue after the Olympics with U.S. Soccer-related TV spots on NBC, NBC Sports, NBC Universal, ESPN and ESPN2, along with other radio and industry advertising not related to U.S. Soccer.
The U.S. men’s soccer team lost to El Salvador a few weeks ago, which kicked them out of qualifying for this summer’s Olympic Games. The U.S. women’s team was No. 1 in the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament held in January in Vancouver, Canada, and is ranked No. 1 in the FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) Women’s World Rankings.
