Scottish drink brand Irn-Bru "has signed a seven-figure football sponsorship deal" in England, according to the Scotland DAILY RECORD.
Its move to become the official soft drink partner for the English Championship, League One and League Two comes as Scotland’s four leagues still struggle to "find an official title sponsor." AG Barr Marketing Head
Adrian Troy: "Irn-Bru has always been a big supporter of football but this landmark deal signals our biggest season yet." Irn-Bru’s three-year-old deal "will launch during this year’s play-off matches" (DAILY RECORD, 3/23). THE DRUM's Gillian West reported the partnership is one of the biggest ever for Irn-Bru in terms of its scale, enhancing the soft drink brand's heritage of sports sponsorships, which also includes the Scottish Professional Football League (THE DRUM, 3/23). In Glasgow, Martin Williams reported Scottish football administrators "came under fresh pressure to find a new official sponsor for the four Scottish professional leagues as Scotland's other national drink agreed a three-year official soft drink partner deal with the The Football League in England." SPFL has since been "seeking a title sponsor for the country's four professional leagues." Supporters Direct Scotland Head Andrew Jenkin: "From a commercial point of view it makes sense for the company to explore England now as they already have a majority on the soft drinks market in Scotland and I see this as being a reflection of that rather than the commercial value of the SPFL." Begbie Traynor football finance expert Ken Pattullo: "We could always do with more money coming into football up north, but to be fair to A.G Barr (Irn-Bru producers) you have to look at it from a commercial point of view" (HERALD SCOTLAND, 3/23). The BBC reported soft drinks firm AG Barr "has reported a healthy rise in annual profits following a strong performance by its water brand, Srathmore." The company's profit before tax and exceptional items climbed by 10% to £41.9M in the year to Jan. 25 (BBC, 3/24).
