Man Utd tread a new global path with Apollo deal
September 8 – Manchester United have upgraded regional partner Apollo Tyres into their ‘Global Tyre Partner’ in a new three-year deal.
Football Marketing
Stoke City hire Rippleffect for digital revamp
September 8 – Premier League Stoke City has signed sports digital agency Rippleffect to rework its digital platform including the club’s main website (stokecityfc.com) and online retail store (scfcdirect.com).
Twitter ranking: Bournemouth jump up table, Arsenal close in on 8m mark
August 7 – With the international break it might be reasonable to assume a drop-off in Twitter activity, and in terms of tweets across the Premier League that was the case with the total number dropping to 2,412 against 6,214 the previous week. But the number of new Twitter followers across the league was up.
UAE Exchange banks on Asian national teams to expand its brand
September 5 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has added a second new sponsor partner in a week in the form of UAE Exchange, a global remittance, foreign exchange and payment solutions provider.
UAE Exchange has signed on for a five-year deal with the AFC who last week added Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer to its sponsorship portfolio agreeing a four-year deal for the AFC’s national competitions including the 2018 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Final Round (that starts tonight),
Tag Heuer expands in Asia adding AFC to its sponsor roster
September 1 – Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer has expanded its sponsorship portfolio into Asia agreeing a four-year deal with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It will become the Official Timekeeper & Official Watch of the AFC’s national competitions including the 2018 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Final Round (that starts tonight), the 2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup and the AFC Asian Cup in 2019.
Man City look to Africa and sign Star as Nigerian beer partner
September 1 – Manchester City has expanded its regional sponsorship agreeing an ‘Official Beer Partner’ deal with Nigeria’s Star brand, owned by Nigerian Breweries.
Twitter tables: Man Utd growth slows, Burnley could try harder
August 31 – Manchester United’s rate of Twitter growth slowed last week against the previous week, from 85,000 new followers to 70,500. In contrast Manchester City grew their weekly new followers to 22,100 and can be expected to grow again on the back of exciting Premier League performances.
CBF signs with Konami, but looks to launch a virtual Brasileirão for gamers
August 31 – The Brazilian FA, the CBF, and Japanese video games maker Konami have struck a two-year partnership deal for the Pro Evolution Soccer video game.
Banc of California grabs LAFC stadium naming rights
August 30 – Los Angeles’s new MLS franchise LAFC will kick off with a $100 million naming rights sponsor for its $350 million new stadium. The 15-year deal with Banc of California is a record naming rights deal for soccer in the US.
Man Utd top Twitter growth chart, almost doubling against Arsenal
August 25 – Manchester Utd stretched their lead over Arsenal at the top of the Premier League Twitter followers ranking by more than 38,000 followers last week. Their additional 85,700 followers was more than double that of third placed Chelsea, almost triple fourth placed Liverpool, and more than fives times local rivals Man City.
Bayern launch new apps and tap into club video content for global audience
August 25 – Bayern Munich have launched their new apps for the 2016/17 season. The German giants have been increasingly embracing digital platforms and recently launched their season on their Facebook platform rather than via a more traditional TV broadcast based media day.
Betway break West Ham sponsorship records, Brady promises cash will go into squad
August 24 – Premier League West Ham United have extended their main sponsorship with online bookmaker Betway for a further three years in what the club says is the largest sponsorship in its history.
LeSports test PPV model for Serie A in China
August 24 – Chinese broadcaster LeSports is testing the pay-per-view model on broadcasts of some of Italy’s Serie A matches in China.
Football takes gold in the Twitter Olympics
By David Owen
August 23 – Football has emerged with the gold medal in the Twitter Olympics, with Neymar Junior’s decisive spot-kick in the penalty shoot-out against Germany generating more Tweets per minute than any other piece of Rio 2016 sporting action.
West Ham beat Man Utd to top attendance table but not all is bubbly at Olympic Park
By Paul Nicholson
August 23 – West Ham topped the attendance chart for Round 2 of the Premier League season in the first league fixture at their new 60,000 all-seat stadium. Well, almost all-seat.