SBD Global's Year In Review takes a look at some of the top marketing stories from the past year.
WEARING IT ON THEIR SLEEVES: In March, the Premier League for the first time authorized sponsorship branding on its clubs' shirt sleeves. A revenue stream already realized in other European leagues, teams from the U.K.'s top flight were allowed to sell rights to their left shirt sleeve from the start of the '17-18 season. The ad space on sleeves was valued at roughly one-fifth of that of a main kit sponsor, and Man City led the charge in capitalizing on the decision, becoming the first EPL side to agree to a sleeve deal when it signed a three-year agreement with Nexen Tire. Other notable sponsorships that followed included Liverpool's five-year, £25M ($33.6M) deal with Western Union, and Everton's partnership with video game franchise Angry Birds. Octagon SVP Joel Seymour-Hyde said, "This type of inventory is primarily predicated around brand exposure because it's on shirt inventory, so the type of companies we can expect to see going for this are the ones who place a value on brand exposure rather than those who place more value on marketing rights as such."
WOMEN'S MOVEMENT: In '17, brands devoted entire campaigns to women's sport causes, government bodies made appeals to get more women active and companies were founded on the premise of catering to the female demographic. Among the pioneering brands in the women's movement was adidas, which launched a female-centric global campaign titled "Unleash Your Creativity." It then assembled a team of women social media influencers to boost its share of the women's sports apparel market by '20. Governing bodies in the U.K. also lent their support to the advancement of women in sport, including Sport England, which expanded its "This Girl Can" initiative at home and abroad. The ad campaign geared toward increasing female participation in sport, which debuted its second installment in February, partnered with VicHealth in Australia over the summer to reduce the gender gap in physical activity Down Under. The increased involvement is well-timed for We Are Disrupt, a marketing agency specializing in women's sport which was launched by Emma Lax in March. Lax said, "As an agency, we are committed to supporting rights holders and brands and helping them think differently about women's sport -- whether that's rethinking commercial models, creating distribution strategies to target new audiences or developing marketing and activation strategies that have a better understanding of how women and girls relate to sport."
FIFA FLOP: Throughout the year, FIFA attempted to secure new commercial partners for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but its efforts were overwhelmingly fruitless. Many int'l and local groups have been hesitant to become linked with the organization as the result of a '15 corruption scandal and the high cost of doing business. FIFA has managed to reach agreements with top-tier partners, largely with firms from future World Cup hosts Russia and Qatar as well as World Cup hopeful China, but has signed only Russian company Alfa-Bank as a national supporter for next summer's spectacle. The last U.S. or European sponsor to partner with FIFA was Johnson & Johnson in '11. Sports sponsorship exec Patrick Nally said, "It's not surprising, it's been and still is a toxic brand. Unless you are from China or somewhere like that, where the fact FIFA is in court in New York and associated with corruption doesn't matter, no corporation is going to consider it safe to get involved with FIFA." As of December, FIFA still has 21 vacant slots in its 34-sponsor World Cup program.
BET ON IT: The gambling theme was ever-present among U.K. football brass in '17. The subject garnered attention in June, as the FA elected to end its £4M-per-year partnership with Ladbrokes just one year into a four-year agreement. FA Chair Greg Clarke noted conflict of interest as the reason for the separation, highlighting the body's responsibility to regulate sports betting. In September, the Labour Party called for a ban on clubs signing shirt sponsorship deals with betting companies in an attempt to protect children from early exposure to gambling. However, two months later, the government completed a review in which ministers decided against action that would affect football advertising. The English Football League subsequently extended its multi-million pound deal with Sky Bet until the summer of '24. In light of the climate, Sky Bet vowed to create an ad campaign promoting responsible gambling. Despite the furor, nine Premier League clubs have bookmakers as shirt sponsors for the '17-18 season and 22 clubs in the top two tiers have gambling partners.
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| Rakuten made a splash in the NBA in '17, signing a jersey patch deal with the Golden State Warriors. |
RAKUTEN RUSH: Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten spent '17 broadening its global appeal with deals in major leagues across multiple continents. The internet company took over as the official shirt sponsor of Barcelona in July, with a presentation in Tokyo attended by Lionel Messi, Neymar and Gerard Piqué, among others. Rakuten Exec Dir, Global Marketing & Branding Rahul Kadavakolu said of the partnership, "In Japan, we are, of course, a household name. We are not as well-known in global markets. The main reason we did this is to build our brand." The company's foray into football included the J.League, with a two-and-a-half-year deal agreed in April to relaunch the league's online store. Rakuten closed '17 by making its presence known in the NBA, agreeing to become the official broadcasting distributor of NBA games in Japan in a reported $225M deal and committing to a reported $20M-per-year jersey patch deal with the Golden State Warriors, which is the NBA's largest to date.
