Jersey Deal With Aon Reinforces Manchester United's Ties To U.S.
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Some ManU Fans Not Happy That Another
U.S. Company Replacing AIG As Shirt Sponsor |
EPL club Manchester United's new jersey sponsorship deal with Chicago-based Aon Corp. reinforces the club's "ties to American business, a proximity that has irked some local fans" since American Malcolm Glazer acquired ManU in '05, according to Eric Pfanner of the N.Y. TIMES. Aon yesterday signed a four-year deal to replace AIG as ManU's shirt sponsor starting with the '10-11 season, but Aon CEO Greg Case said that ManU choosing "another American insurer to replace AIG was coincidental." Case: "We're delighted to keep it in the industry. What you see is the globality of the insurance industry and the risk advice industry." Case said that the company was "attracted by Manchester United's big fan base across Asia, where Aon hopes to grow in the coming years." Case said that "through sales of replica shirts to fans," the deal will give Aon "millions of 'walking billboards'" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/4). Aon, which last year generated revenues of about US$7.6B, said an "opportunity such as this to build a world-recognised brand rarely presents itself and it seemed that we should grab it now and reap the rewards in the years to come." In London, James Ducker notes given the "adverse publicity generated by the collapse of AIG, United are eager to draw a line under that saga and start afresh." However, Aon "has been embroiled in a controversy of its own in recent months involving employee pensions" (LONDON TIMES, 6/4).
STILL A FORCE: In London, Harris & Herbert report the deal was signed last week, "just a few hours before" the UEFA Champions League Finals, which saw ManU lose to FC Barcelona. A ManU source said, "The new deal confirms the global appeal of Manchester United. We've had to endure a year of stories about how we'd struggle in the downturn to get a major shirt sponsorship deal but United's appeal is huge" (London INDEPENDENT, 6/4).
NAME RECOGNITION: In a special to the LONDON TIMES, London-based brand consultant Fortune Street CEO Tony Allen writes with Aon paying an estimated US$30-32M annually for the sponsorship, the insurer "looks to be getting a very good deal." The annual payment for a "leading association with the United brand and that kind of exposure is cheap by other measures and universally appealing because of the massive and growing popularity" of soccer. The partnership takes Aon "into a different league," because for a company that "wants to gain exposure in growth markets such as Asia the deal is extra valuable." However, the "main downside is that there is no absolute guarantee that the club will continue to perform as well as they have" (LONDON TIMES, 6/4).
SIGN OF THINGS TO COME? CNBC's Darren Rovell said Aon's deal is a "coup for all of sports marketing, which had taken a hit when deals like AIG's with ManU and Citi's deal with the Mets were criticized as wastes of money." The agreement is "likely the biggest investment made in a sports property by a public company" since the economic downturn last fall. Rovell: "As long as it didn't come at a discount, which I don't think it did, it might be the sports world's version that things might be on the upswing" ("Squawk Box," CNBC, 6/3).
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