Dubai: The FIFA World Cup has boosted companies' advertising spending by 20 to 40 per cent — and the spike started two months before the football games start, FIFA partners and sponsors said.

Sony, one of the official World Cup partners, said it had set aside an advertising budget of $5 million for the Middle East and North Africa region alone.

This represented a 20 per cent increase in ad spending, Sony Gulf General Manager Mathew Mathai said.

"It is very important to us because it is the world's biggest sporting event," Mathai said.

"Everybody is watching it, so our brand prominence shoots up. It definitely gives the brand a much more youthful character and gives our promotion some kind of excitement. It's a once-in-a-lifetime campaign."

Mathai said about 40 per cent of the budget was spent in April and the rest in May on the Sony Bravia TV ad campaign, sales promotion and prizes to send 560 people from 23 countries to South Africa for the matches.

Mathai said 50 per cent of the advertising budget would be spent on TV, 20 per cent would be spent on print, and the rest on cinema, online, and outdoor media.

"It is an opportunity to be very focused with our advertising at a global level and especially in the Middle East and Africa where people are passionate about football and the World Cup," Mathai said.

Hyundai, another official FIFA partner, said the World Cup had prompted it to spend 30 to 40 per cent more on advertising.

Hyundai Marketing Manager Omar Baddar said the company devised a separate "six-figure" budget for the event but would not disclose the exact amount.

Baddar said their partnership with FIFA was a "smart move" because of the games' wide audience reach, and potential for its brand and image to be uplifted.

"We realise football is the most popular game in the world now… Hyundai saw it will be associating itself with the World Cup to connect with their customers worldwide through this social game," Baddar said.

"It makes people closer to each other and gives hope for the children of the world to be famous and enjoy the satisfaction of the game either by participating or watching it."

He noted that the game was becoming "a kind of business" with different clubs and companies wanting to cash in. He said the bulk of Hyundai's World Cup-related advertising was spent on print, followed by radio and online.

Hyundai partnered with Dubai Mall to offer customers the opportunity to watch the games live at the mall's ice rink, together with a chance to win a Hyundai Genesis Coupe for shopping at the mall.

He said they also teamed up with Cinestar Cinema to broadcast the games in cinemas in Mirdiff City Centre, the Mall of the Emirates, the Marina Mall in Abu Dhabi, and Ajman City Centre.

Each mall will hold a car raffle, he said.

Baddar also said some of the games would be broadcast in 3-D.

Hyundai also partnered with Al Qasbah in Sharjah to show the games there and have a road show to test their cars.

Hyundai also ran an ad campaign in April and May to send 20 raffle winners and VIP customers on an all-expense-paid trip to South Africa to watch the games for four days, said Baddar.

McDonald's, an official FIFA sponsor since 1994, said it had been promoting the World Cup through its "player escort" programme which has sent four children from the UAE between the ages of six and 10 with their guardians to South Africa.

The winners will escort the football players onto the field before a match.

McDonald's also ran its FIFA World Cup Promotion programme for adults by giving football fans a chance to win a paid trip to the games.

"We do advertise our FIFA World Cup promotions and our association with the mammoth event aggressively on all mediums," McDonald's UAE Managing Director Rafic Fakih said. He declined to disclose the company's World Cup ad budget.

Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications Boutros Boutros said Emirates is also an official FIFA partner as it saw the "unforgettable festival of football in South Africa" as a way to "further increase the profile" of the company as billions of people across the globe watch the action.