Adidas hopes that being the only official sponsor of World Cup 2006 from the sports-equipment industry will further strengthen its brand image.

Rojanasit Meenijacin, communications manager for Adidas (Thailand), could not have been happier when Adidas was selected to be one of the 15 official sponsors of the tournament, which is watched by billions.

Fifa usually selects only one company from each industry to be an official sponsor.

In providing sponsorship, Adidas has insured that its logo will be prominently displayed at all 12 football fields in 12 cities hosting the entire 64 matches. The company is also authorised to tie its local marketing campaigns in with World Cup theme and products.

In Thailand, Adidas has joined forces with well-known sport retailer Supersports to showcase 10 footballs actually used in previous competitions and display a giant football at Supersports branches with the same design as the one used in this year's tournament.

Rojanasit said official sponsorship was also a great opportunity for Adidas to strengthen fans' loyalty and attract new customers by selling sport products with similar designs to the ones used in the tournament.

Separately, Adidas also pro-vides sponsorship to six national soccer teams and will produce related products on a commercial basis.

However, Adidas's competitors - Nike, Lotto, Joma, Umbro, Marathon and Puma - are not

concerned with the company's official sponsorship of the tournament.

"Yes, it's showtime for Adidas, but there are still many ways

to draw crowds during the tournament," said Nusaree Faeng-thong, marketing manager of German Sport and Lifestyle Co Ltd, authorised distributor of Puma.

Adidas's competitors have already sponsored other well-known national teams, such

as Brazil, England, Switzer-

land and Sweden, arranging marketing campaigns related to the tournament to boost brand awareness.

Porntip Wattanapholmongkol, managing director of Wise Winner Co Ltd, manufacturer and distributor of Umbro, said international marketing surveys showed the tournament should boost growth in the sport-product sector 50 per cent globally.

And World Cup fever has spread upcountry. In Nakhon Ratcha-sima, children and adults alike are snatching up sportswear resembling the uniforms of their favourite participating teams. Children's clothing is priced at Bt140 to Bt160, while adults' clothing goes for Bt220 to Bt250.

Champ, a major sport-product shop in the province, stocked more than 30,000 pieces of team clothing. "I believe we'll have sold out of everything before the first kick-off," said manager Charnchai Buasuang.

He said Adidas's white Geitzer ball had been a hot-selling item. His shop ordered 200

priced at Bt690 each, and only 10 remain.

"The Bt1,200 trophies are another best-seller. They've been bought up mostly by pubs and other entertainment venues here in town, to promote the event. Only 12 are left out of 100 originally," he said.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation