Football fever is upon us once again as one of the biggest competitions in international football is currently ongoing: the UEFA European Championship 2024.
Also known affectionately amongst football fans as the “Euros” or “Euro Cup”, this competition features 24 of the most prominent European footballing nations vying for supremacy and is the most watched football tournament in the world besides the FIFA World Cup, with previous finals such as Euro 2016 being watched by a global audience of 600 million viewers.
The 2024 Euro Cup started on the 15th of June, with the much-awaited finals scheduled to be held on the 15th of July between the footballing giants of Spain and England – two of the most popular national football teams in the world who will undoubtedly have hundreds of millions of fans supporting them even beyond the borders of the European continent.
Seeing all the attention surrounding one of the most watched football tournaments in the world, we couldn’t help but wonder how much awareness was gained among us Malaysians and how the brand segment stood out. Naturally, we had to take our own dive into the numbers surrounding the Euro fever…
Malaysian Awareness on Euro 2024
When it comes to which segment of Malaysians are aware of the Euros happening, we found that 48% of all Malaysians were aware of the ongoing competition, with Penang seemingly being the most football-crazy part of the country as 95% of all respondents in Penang were aware of the Euros.
The Euro Cup also seems to be more popular with younger segments as the average age of all those who are aware of the Euros age 34.8 years old, with just over half of all respondents between the ages of 18 and 39 years old being aware of the competition.
When looking at the awareness by gender, there was only a 3% difference in the awareness of males and females, with 48% of all males being aware and 45% of all females being aware. This would suggest that despite sports viewership being generally associated with the male demographic, football culture in Malaysia is prominent enough for it to be highly popular with the female demographic as well.
Which Source Provides Awareness for the Euro 2024?
When it comes to where Malaysians get their info and media about the Euros from, social media comes in as the number one source with 40% of all respondents using it as a source of info/awareness. While this is no surprise with the current prevalence and accessibility of social media, what turned out to be somewhat surprising was Astro and Mainstream News outlets such as TV3 accounting for the 2nd and 3rd most popular sources. This shows that certain “traditional” media sources still maintain relevance and popularity among Malaysians, even outranking more modern sources which one might expect to be more popular such as YouTube and the official Euro 2024 website. This might also be due to the fact that licensing issues make it difficult for Malaysians to access high-quality Euro Cup content through YouTube and the internet, with Astro and local TV outlets still being the most convenient way to enjoy official, high-quality coverage of the competition.
Awareness of Segment Sponsorship
Naturally, a sporting event of this scale comes with an enormous audience of viewers whose attention will be desired by a myriad of sponsors, but what kinds of brands are making the biggest impression on Malaysian audiences?
Based on our research, automotive brands are gaining the most attention from viewers with 40% of Malaysians being aware of automotive brand sponsorship during the Euros. This points toward a memorable campaign by electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, who is one of the official global partners for the UEFA Euro 2024.
The second most prominent segment within the attention of Malaysians is accommodation, with 20% of viewers being aware of this segment of sponsorship thanks to Booking.com, the official accommodation partner for this year’s competition.
Amongst the various segments and sponsors featured in the Euros and its surrounding media coverage, non-alcoholic beverages, watch brands and health-related brands round out the top 5 most prominent segments of which Malaysian viewers are aware.
With the final showdown of the Euro Cup 2024 being eagerly awaited by a legion of football fans and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris being just around the corner as well, this year is shaping up to be full of massive opportunities for brands to gain exposure and build their brand equity in the eyes of audiences numbering in the hundreds of millions.
If you would like to take a deeper dive into the numbers and marketing opportunities surrounding the Euro Cup 2024 or other major football and sporting events, feel free to contact us at theteam@oppotus.com
