JM tends to look at the broader picture of running a football club and safeguarding its future, and his insights are always refreshing and thought-provoking. In this post, he analyses what is happening with regards to our club – as well as our competitors – linking up with a number of key sponsors/brands and fellow football clubs across Europe, and how this will position us better to have access to top talents from European top competitions in the future. Enjoy, TA. 🙂
The big benefits of sponsors and contact clubs networking.
The connections and network web that the senior management team and manager of Arsenal have painstakingly established with (and not losing their shirts and pants) a few key sponsors and contact clubs, is likely to bare big and juicy fruits for our club. These are the key connections:
- Emirates – a global airline brand under The Emirates Group, with shirt sponsorship deals with Arsenal, Real Madrid, AC Milan, PSG, Hamburger SV, which means the big 5 Europe leagues represented: PL, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Bundesliga;
- PUMA SE – a global sports brand under Kering, with kit sponsorship deals for: Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, VfB Stuttgart, Newcastle Utd, Leicester City, USPalermo, Rennes, Bordeaux, Feyenoord, Espanyol, Sporting Lisbon, Olympiacos etc, etc;
- Contact clubs this season – where players are sent out on loan: Hamburger SV, SC Freiburg, Olympiacos, LeicesterCity
What is seen on the front of each football jersey?
- Firstly, the enlarged wordings in the middle (of main shirt sponsor) – BIG global companies/corporations/establishments want their name to be promoted and recognised with sports; what better way than using football/soccer to do this (e.g. next time, the travellers would like to take Emirates airlines(Fly Emirates)/Qatar Airways/Etihad Airways; buy Samsung/LG products/android smart phones/LED flat-panel TVs; drive a Volkswagen/Jeep/Mazda/Kia and more etc);
- Then, the club badge (left top) – the team/club that the jersey and player associates with;
- Lastly, the smaller logo (kit manufacturer) at the right top – to football supporters/fans, casual viewers, general public alike who like sports in general, an advertisement in sports branding (e.g. next time, look out/buy for products from Nike, Adidas, Puma, Kappa, Jako, Macron, Errea, Lotto etc for their association with sports and personalities, as well as a daily wear or fashion trend)
The marketing brands:
Premier League
(1) Arsenal
Emirates/Nike(soon to be Puma)
(2) Man Utd
Aon/Nike
(3) ManCity
Etihad Airways/Nike
(4) Chelsea
Samsung(The South Korean MNC conglomerate company of electronic goods)/Adidas
(5) Liverpool
Standard Chartered/Warrior
(6)Tottenham
HP(Hewlett-Packard)/Under Armour
(7) Everton
Chang(Thai Beverage, i.e. free beer every game)/Nike
The above are the battle ground for marketing share between Nike, Adidas and soon Puma
La Liga
(1) Barcelona
Qatar Airways and UNICEF/Nike
(2) Real Madrid
Fly Emirates/Adidas
(3) Atletico Madrid
Azerbaijan(yes, it is THE country) and Kyocera(MNC electronics and ceramics manufacturer)/Nike
(4) RealSociedad
Canal+( Spanish satellite broadcasting company) and Kutxa(savings bank operating with a regional scope in the Gipuzkoa province of Spain)/Nike
(the above, big battle ground b/w Qatar Airways vs Fly Emirates. Likewise, Nike and Adidas)
Bundesliga
(1) Bayern Munich
T-Mobile(Deutsche Telekom AG, German telecommunications company)/Adidas(a dominant role, their CEO is the Vice-Chairman of BM’s supervisory board)
(2) Borussia Dortmund
Evonik(one of the world’s leading specialty chemicals companies, owned by RAG Foundation)/Puma
(3) Bayer Leverkusen
LG(South Korean MNC conglomerate corporation for electronics, chemicals, and telecom products)/Adidas
(4) Schalke 04
Gazprom(Open Joint Stock Company Gazprom, Russian, largest extractor of natural gas, and one of the largest companies in the world)/Adidas
(5) VfL Wolfsburg
Volkswagen/Adidas
Serie A
(1) Juventus
Jeep(a brand of American automobiles produced by Chrysler Group LLC, a consolidated subsidiary of Italian multinational automaker Fiat)/Nike
(2) Napoli
Lete (Lete SPA, company which produces natural sparkling water), MSC Cruises (Italian, division of Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. devoted to the cruise market)/Macron
(3) AC Milan
Fly Emirates/Adidas
(4) Fiorentina
Mazda/Joma
(5) Internazionale
Pirelli(tyre manufacturer)/Nike
Ligue 1
(1) PSG
Emirates, Qatar Investment Fund/Nike
(2) Marseille
Intersport(international sporting goods retailer, based in Switzerland)/Adidas
(3) Monaco
Fedcom/Macron
Gradually, more and more links will be established between clubs and sponsors; it has already started this season:
- Mesut Oezil: from Real Madrid, Emirates -> Emirates sponsorship link;
- Emiliano Viviano: on loan from US Palermo with option for a permanent move, future PUMA SE -> PUMA SE sponsorship link;
- Johan Djourou: on loan to Hamburger SV with option for a permanent move, Emirates -> Emirates sponsorship link;
- Joel Campbell: on loan to Olympiacos, future PUMA SE -> PUMA SE sponsorship link;
Ignasi Miquel: on loan to LeicesterCity, future PUMA SE -> PUMA SE sponsorship link
These are some of the possible near future movements of players/ coaching staff
via Emirates network connections (and goodwill established) to Arsenal or other brand-linked clubs:
Real Madrid?
– e.g. Sami Khedira, Angel di Maria;
AC Milan?
– e.g. Stephan El Shaarawy;
PSG?
– e.g. Marco Verratti, Blaise Matuidi;
Hamburger SV?
– e.g. Milan Badelj;
Via PUMA SE network connections (and goodwill established):
Borussia Dortmund?
– e.g. İlkay Guendogan(Gundogan), Marco Reus;
VfB Stuttgart?
– e.g. Rani Khedira(brother of Sami), Goetoku(Gotoku) Sakai;
Newcastle Utd?
– e.g. Papiss Cisse;
Leicester City?
– e.g. Liam Moore;
US Palermo?
– e.g. Emiliano Viviano (permanent deal), Abel Hernandez;
Rennes?
– e.g. Some player from their reserve, academy teams;
Bordeaux?
– e.g. Some player from their reserve, academy teams;
Feyenoord?
– e.g. Stefan de Vrij, Jordy Clasie, Daryl Janmaat;
Espanyol?
– e.g. Some player from their reserve, academy teams;
Sporting CP Lisbon?
– e.g. Eric Dier.
Via PUMA SE relationships with players from sponsorship ties:
- Arsenal FC players (Mikel Arteta, Bacary Sagna, Tomas Rosicky, Olivier Giroud, Santi Cazorla, Emmanuel Frimpong);
- Former Arsenal players (Thierry Henry, Lauren, Gael Clichy) – e.g. Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal to be notified if Barcelona sells, first option), Marco Reus (Eisfeld returning to Dortmund as part of goodwill exchange deal?), Marco Verratti, Sergio Aguero, Roman Weidenfeller etc.
Via contact clubs:
SC Freiburg?
– e.g. Matthias Ginter
The future is bright and strong for Arsenal FC … on the pitch and off the pitch as well.
Written by: JM
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