Man City put Snapchat eyes behind the match day scenes
December 21 – Manchester City have pushed the digital and social media boundaries further with the introduction of a matchday Snapchat host.
Football Marketing
Tsingtao signs on for another four years of AFC Champions League
December 19 – Chinese brewer Tsingtao has renewed its sponsorship of the fast developing and increasingly commercial AFC Champions League for another four years, no figure was announced for the deal.
Orange stays a CAF sponsor in time for AFCON kick-off in Gabon
December 19 – Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) has renewed telecoms giant Orange as a major sponsor of its competitions for another eight years. The deal has been finalised just a couple of weeks before the start of the Total Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Gabon in January.
Liverpool close in on 30m Facebook mark while Instagram powers on
December 16 – Instagram continues to be the social media growth engine for Premier League clubs with new followers up by 376,700 over the past week, a 40% increase on the 273,100 rise the previous week. In contrast week-on-week growth of Twitter followers and Facebook like were down across the league.
Barca joins Man Utd on Deezer music streaming platform
December 16 – Music streaming platform Deezer is hoovering up the world’s biggest club football brands. Hard on the deals of the announcement of a deal to become Manchester United’s official music partner earlier this week, it has now unveiled FC Barcelona as a partner.
Nike swoosh in to secure French deal for another 12 years
By Samindra Kunti
December 15 – US sportswear brand Nike has strengthened their European foothold extending their partnership with the French Football Federation until 2026. Nike this week also confirmed a £400 million 12 year renewal of their deal with England.
Visit Orlando signs on for ICC’s summer extravaganza
December 15 – The International Champions Cup (ICC) – the growing pre-season tournament that sees many of Europe’s elite clubs compete in a semi-formal club competition around the world in showcase matches – has signed tourism marketing body Visit Orlando in a multi-year partnership.
Twitter stats: Gunners misfire as Leicester find voice and followers
December 14 – Premier League Twitter activity was up this week across all clubs, to a total of 4,760 tweets compared to 4,290 last week. With three games to market in eight days and the clubs keen to move their Christmas merchandise. the increased level of activity is not surprising.
‘Not-fit-for-purpose’ FA seals £400m Nike deal
By Paul Nicholson
December 14 – The timing is interesting, if not ironically amusing. In the week that three former chairman of the English Football Association and two former chief executives wrote to parliament saying the governing body was not fit to govern, Nike confirmed it has extended its partnership with the FA for an additional 12 years through to 2030.
DFS operator Oulala raises new money as it drives its white label solution
December 14 – Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) operator Oulala.com has closed a second round of funding of €1.35 million from private investors.
Barcelona flies high with two Chinese deals and bids to keep Qatar Airways on-board
By Paul Nicholson
December 13 – Barcelona have added two new Chinese partners while ‘soon-to-end’ shirt sponsor Qatar Airways has confirmed that it is still in discussion with the club over commercial opportunities once Rakuten take over as the new main sponsor next season.
Man Utd tunes up sponsor portfolio with Deezer global deal
December 13 – Manchester United has unveiled digital music platform Deezer as its exclusive music streaming partner in a global deal.
Bundesliga updates logos to strengthen brand identities
December 13 – Germany’s Bundesliga is tweaking its brand look, modifying its distinctive white silhouetted player on the red background to clearly identify three different brand ‘divisions’ within the organisation.
Heineken refreshes its Man City deal
December 12 – At Manchester City they call it ale, and if you want one in the Etihad stadium it will be a Heineken brand. The Dutch brewer have renewed their 20-year beer and cider sponsorship of the club for an undisclosed term or amount.
Social media: Facebook booms, Man Utd dominate but Hull City slip out the picture
December 9 – Premier League clubs’ Facebook growth continues to increase week-on-week for a third week running with a jump of 332,800 this week from 314,000 last week and 301,000 two weeks ago.