Sponsorship & Marketing
Features
Chinese athletes to benefit as government heads off potential for endorsement disputes in Olympic year
Regulation has limited the extent to which China’s sporting stars can capitalise on their sporting prowess via commercial deals. But recent rule changes by the General Administration of Sports offers new possibilities. Chen Yaolin investigates.
Minamino signing helps Liverpool on long road to catch United in Asia
Signing Japanese international Takumi Minamino will be a boon for Liverpool's commercial activity in Asia, but the club's strategy to become number one in the region goes beyond a single signing. John Duerden reports.
Dan Haddad | Liverpool takes a chance on Nike in search of sales growth
Dan Haddad, head of commercial strategy at Octagon UK, looks at the potential upside for Liverpool in opting to switch kit supplier rights from New Balance to Nike.
Ajax’s Champions League run boosts visibility, but growth is underpinned by creative commercial team
Ajax's global popularity outstrips all of its domestic rivals, allowing the club to position itself as a brand platform for the Netherlands and beyond. Its chief commercial officer, Menno Geelen, tells Adam Nelson about the effects of Ajax's surprising run to the Champions League semi-finals, and how a creative commercial department has helped the club compete at the highest level.
Automated production and user-generated content will help FIH monetise new OTT service
Fifa's former director of marketing and current FIH chief executive Thierry Weil looks back on a year in which the hockey federation launched its own OTT platform and outlines his plans to monetise the new service. Ben Cronin reports.
BSC Young Boys connect with Huawei
Swiss Super League football club BSC Young Boys has agreed a kit sponsorship deal with Chinese telco Huawei
Infront and Bundesliga’s Mainz agree six-year extension
The Infront agency has renewed its exclusive agreement with FSV Mainz 05 to sell sponsorship and pitchside advertising rights, along with hospitality packages
BetPlay acquires title rights to Colombian league and cup competitions
Colombian football's top division (Dimayor) has signed up online gambling platform BetPlay as title sponsor in a four-year deal
Spartak Moscow aids China strategy with ZTE sponsorship
Russian Premier League football club Spartak Moscow has agreed a sponsorship deal with Chinese telco ZTE
2019 – a year in sport business
Four Inside Track contributors from around the world reflect on what they saw as the key industry developments of 2019 .
Wizards deploy multi-pronged strategy to develop Japanese fandom
In just a short amount of time, the Wizards have put themselves in prime position to become the NBA's most-popular team in Japan following the arrival of Rui Hachimura. Bob Williams discovers how they have done it.
Focused activations | Ben Stokes’ tweet helps Specsavers make the most of its ECB partnership
Opticians brand Specsavers used its title sponsorship of this summer’s Ashes series to focus on the resonances between its products and Test cricket, while a quick response to a Ben Stokes tweet showed the value in reactive marketing. Adam Nelson reports.
‘Team China’ brand sets high partnership price, targets $400m in quadrennial revenue
China’s General Administration of Sport has announced a new collective brand for all of China’s Olympic and Paralympic sports teams: "Team China". Zhang Dan investigates the new marketing initiative.
Beijing 2022: two years away but political and commercial challenges abound
The organisers of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics have adopted a less-is-more approach to their domestic sponsorship programme. Zhang Dan reports on their progress in becoming the first city to host both the summer and winter Games.
What happens when Asia’s sporting legends retire?
The legends of Li Na, Kim Yuna and Lee Chong Wei have all retired and their absences leave gaping holes in their sports back home, one that sponsors and associations are keen to fill as quickly as possible.
“Our share of voice during the Women’s World Cup was extraordinary,” Adrian Farina, head of marketing, Visa, Europe
Visa’s head of marketing for Europe, Adrian Farina, has credited Uefa’s decision to unbundle the sponsorship rights for its men’s and women’s tournaments, saying that it provided the ‘trigger’ for the bra…
How Tokyo 2020 smashed the domestic sponsorship record for the Olympics
In the second of a trilogy of interviews with the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, SportBusiness spoke to Masahiko Sakamaki, the executive director of the committee’s marketing bureau.
“It’s like a wave that hits you” | British Olympic federations on their commercial preparations for the Games
British Gymnastics chief executive Jane Allen, British Swimming chief executive Jack Buckner and UK Athletics chairman Chris Clark discuss their organisations' plans for the final run-in ahead of Tokyo 2020 and explain how to ensure a strong commercial return from the Olympic Games.
Yao Ming’s CBA juggling act gets a boost from NBA travails
After the Morey tweets, sentiment in the Chinese basketball sponsorship marketplace has swung the CBA’s way, making it easier for its leadership to focus on raising the quality of its core product: the league. Chen Yaolin finds out more.
SportBusiness Soccer goes live to open new era for football sponsorship
SportBusiness Soccer has gone live with leading clubs from Europe’s major leagues already signed-up as clients.
Aston Villa looking to turn fan engagement into commercial revenue with new loyalty card scheme
Data-led fan engagement platform Fortress and Barclays have developed a new universal payment scheme at Aston Villa FC, aiming to deepen the connection between a club and its fans and open up whole new commercial revenue opportunities in the process.
Liverpool v New Balance: six things we learned
Liverpool FC’s legal dispute with New Balance has provided unprecedented insights into the minutiae of a modern Premier League kit supplier agreement. Ben Cronin looks at some of the details from the case and examines what they say about the club and the brands involved.
How oil giant Shell is using Nissan’s Formula E team to reposition itself for the energy future
Kevin McCullagh looks at oil company Shell's entrance into the realm of electric motor racing and how it is marketing its diversification into electric vehicle charging and other ‘new energy’ products.
Asia’s sport climbers looking forward to going mainstream after 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Sport climbing’s 22 Asian federations are waiting for the big bucks to roll in after the sport gained Olympic recognition with a spot at the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics. SportBusiness takes a closer look at sport climbing’s sponsorship situation.
“It’s a playground for us” | How SAP’s sponsorship of the WTA is driving innovation in technology and sport
Adam Nelson takes a closer look at how, through its sponsorship of the Women's Tennis Association, SAP's technology aims to analyse in-match performance.
BWF and Total’s para-badminton partnership shows the way forward for parasport
Parasport hasn’t always been able to garner the sponsorship it needs, despite the best efforts of its international and regional organisers. Total’s sponsorship of BWF’s Para-Badminton World Championships is a good case-study of how a win-win solution can be found.
The NBA’s burnt bridges in China won’t be mended easily
Despite NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s best efforts, the wound from Daryl Morey’s pro-Hong Kong protest tweets will have lasting repercussions on the future of basketball in China, not least among fans and sponsors. Industry insiders in China tell SportBusiness about Chinese sentiment on the ground.
Q&A | Chrissy Fice, brand director, Vitality UK
Health insurance provider Vitality has developed a reputation for promoting participation and inclusivity in sport through its extensive sports sponsorship portfolio. Chrissy Fice, brand director for Vitality UK, explains the company’s sponsorship strategy.