Fast-food giant McDonald's is paying Fifa "millions of rands" for the massive television coverage it will receive as a sponsor of the World Cup, and not for the right to supply hamburgers to soccer fans.
McDonald's South Africa said last week it had waived its exclusive right of supply at the nine stadiums and 10 fan parks, saying this would divert too many resources away from its 132 stores. It said yesterday it had to look out for its regular customers in restaurants and prioritise these over the World Cup as regulars might find alternative options at competitors.
The group did not disclose how much it had paid for its sponsorship.
Chris Moerdyk, an independent marketing analyst, said the marketing benefit for McDonald's had very little to do with supplying food at venues.
"This is all about the exclusivity to eyeballs," said Moerdyk. "All around each stadium, the names of the sponsors will be visible on billboards. It doesn't make sense to have a little stand serving burgers as well."
Moerdyk argued that McDonald's was not a catering organisation that could set up to cater for 80 000 people at a time. "There will be unbranded non-competitive food available at the stadia, so the fans will not starve."
Moerdyk thinks it is unreasonable for McDonald's competitors to expect the company to be able to fill the gap. "This brand has paid a fortune for the rights to a sponsorship of the event. The World Cup is not really about football, it's about big business."
But he added that Fifa's manner of dealing with advertising relating to the event was "despotic". Two weeks ago Fifa ordered budget airline kulula.com to withdraw an advert that said it was the "Unofficial national carrier of the You-Know-What".
Kevin Hedderwick, the chief executive of Famous Brands, which owns the Steers and Debonairs brands, finds the philosophy behind McDonald's decision incomprehensible. "I'm not sure that I would agree to a decision like this," he said, conceding that it was very difficult to set up a temporary facility and replicate exactly what is served in restaurants. "But I would capitalise on this opportunity.
"However one would have to think carefully about the chances of eroding brand equity as the short-term financial gains at an event like the soccer World Cup could never compensate for a ruined brand," he said.
Hedderwick said he would likely have narrowed the menu down to two or three different burgers, chips and cooldrinks if his firm were participating in the event.