Interview with Derek Carstens: 2010 FIFA World Cup OC Chief Marketing Officer

1. What has been your marketing strategy to attract visitors and investors to South Africa in 2010?

The initial focus was on the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and successfully hosting that tournament in the build up to 2010. It was very important to be confident in our product and that confidence was sought through the success of the Confederations Cup. We were very happy with the hosting of the event, in terms of organisation, ticket sales, attendance and fan behaviour.

The provision of information on tickets has also been crucial. We were happy with the Confederations Cup where our ticket sales matched those of Germany and sales are already building for 2010 and will accelerate as teams qualify.

On the international marketing side, we are working very closely with South African Tourism and the IMC, both of whom are using the World Cup as a focal point of their respective marketing efforts. We work with the South African embassies abroad as well as international delegations of journalists, who we host on a regular basis.

We also look at specific countries as they qualify. We have hosted events in these countries and the aim here has been to raise the profile and awareness about the event and to welcome them to our country.

The Final Draw is our next big event as this is when the event is actually shaped in terms of groups and match schedules.

The last leg of the marketing strategy, kicking off next year, will be a nation-building drive to create hype domestically and in other parts of Africa. We want the world to be left in no doubt that this is an African event and African people are excited and eager to welcome the world in a uniquely memorable way.  Here we will specifically seek to change the so called “Third World” perceptions based on the technical expertise of the country and the warmth and authenticity of our people.

2. With less than a year left until the 2010 World Cup, what are now your biggest challenges?

The biggest challenge is to meet people’s expectations for the event. The budget for this World Cup is limited and we need to very strictly stick to it.

A first key challenge and goal will be to sell as many tickets as possible. In order to do this it is critical to build hype about the event as well as provide information about the ticketing process. We will also involve the corporate sponsors as much as possible, so that we compliment each other’s goals and make the event a real success

3. Having hosted the Confederations Cup earlier this year, what lessons have been learned?

In terms of transport and offering certain services like park-and-ride, we learnt what was needed to manage the pressure points. We also learnt that rail is the most under-marketed and under-utilised transportation service. We will be looking to market this more strongly for 2010.  We also anticipate that the arrival of the BRT will be a major benefit.

In terms of security, we had the first experience of the Organising Committee Security, the stadium security and the police all working together. There were some hiccups but we are confident fans will have will have a safe experience when the World Cup comes around. Our big event track record to date is unblemished and we intend building on that.

Hospitality was also a major lesson, where we found out the demand for food and beverage was actually higher than we initially thought. We will look to improve the services here. We also found that the informal traders outside the stadiums played an important role and we will look to further encourage them to provide services to fans on their way to the stadiums.

4. Have you been able to resolves the issues with regards to accommodation and Fifa’s Match accommodation agency?

There is no shortage of beds in South Africa, but Match are still looking to get more establishments registered with them for their specific purposes. They have about 45 000 beds at present and they need approximately 10 000 more beds.

5. Do you expect visitor numbers to drop in light of the financial crisis?

Despite downward economic trends, we anticipate visitors from new tourism markets. While we might get a decline in the number of European numbers, we are confident of getting large numbers of new visitors from new countries such as South America and the USA.

It will depend on exactly who qualifies but we are already seeing large numbers of ticket sales from the sides who have qualified. The USA has become the second largest ticket purchaser, after South Africa and President Obama has expressed his interest in attending the tournament.

Lastly, the number of African visitors is a largely unmeasured statistic but we recently hosted a delegation from West Africa, with a strong Cote de Voire influence, who are planning to bring down 10 000 fans for the World Cup. We predict that the number of African people visiting the country will be significant but will again be largely driven by the qualifying teams.

6. How best do you think South African businesses should market themselves before, during, and after the World Cup?

South African businesses need to take it upon themselves to make their own opportunities. The spotlight is on South Africa and the World Cup will present many money-making opportunities. The point is for businesses to use their own ingenuity and get the ball rolling as soon as possible. The businessman who patented the ‘Kuduzelas’ went to FNB with his idea and is now sitting pretty, with a huge order from the bank and future sales, which can only be positive.

7. How do you intend to ease the fears of foreign visitors concerned about crime in South Africa?

We try to distinguish between event security and general security. To date South Africa’s security record at major events is impeccable, with a successful Rugby World Cup in 1995, Cricket World Cup in 2003, the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Champion’s Trophy this year, as well as the Confederations Cup, the World Summit on Sustainable Development and many more.

We are also going to be bolstering the security with 41 000 extra policemen, thousands of new CCTV cameras and special event security. One of the challenges is actually to make the security unobtrusive so that fans can actually enjoy the experience

In terms of public transport security, the Department of Transport and SAPS have comprehensive plans in place to secure safe passage.

The best advert is firsthand experience and thus far the IPL and British Lions tour were both virtually incident free. This means that people are heading home happy and spreading the word about how good their experiences were in South Africa.

8. As a result of the 2010 World Cup, what tangible benefits do you see for Africa more broadly?

Tourism is potentially the single biggest growth point because of the massive exposure Africa will get to a global audience building up to and during the World Cup. The World Cup is a great way to shift people’s perceptions of Africa in terms of both our efficiency and safety.

We believe that the experiences of new visitors interacting with African people will help to change perceptions and make Africa a more visited continent. Investment appeal will also increase, based on the sheer technical competence of the country.

9. How do you believe South Africa will measure the financial costs and benefits after the World Cup is finished?

The infrastructure is the first long-term benefit, particularly in terms of transport infrastructure, including the upgraded airports, new roads and new public transport initiatives, such as the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system and the Gautrain.

Secondly, the amount of Forex that will be injected into the country will help boost the economy.

The tourism industry will obviously also gain massively from all the new visitors and all hospitality businesses will be serving hundreds of thousands of new visitors.

One of the greatest long-term benefits, although a bit more difficult to quantify, will be the increased capacity of various businesses, sectors and individuals. Having to organise this massive event will leave behind skills and expertise in the country, which will be invaluable in the future.

I would also like to think that our construction companies are particularly well positioned to help Brazil build their stadiums for both the World Cup in 2014 and the 2016 Olympics. They have state of the art expertise and have done an outstanding job in building our world class stadiums well within the time frame for the event.

10. What do you see as being the 2010 Soccer World Cup legacy?

In short: social cohesion. We have a country where we have a successful, functioning democracy and a successful economy. What we now need is a more cohesive society. Finally, we have already seen a lot of South Africans returning to the country from abroad and we hope that this trend will continue as their skills are needed here at home.