Lionel Messi signs multiyear deal with Lowe's

Inter Miami F Lionel Messi has signed a “multiyear agreement” with Lowe’s home improvement retailer, which also signed partnerships with the team and the 2024 CONMEBOL Copa America tournament, according to Michelle Kaufman of the MIAMI HERALD. Messi is the "first soccer player to join the Lowe’s Home Team," a "group of employees and high-profile athletes" such as Cowboys QB Dak Prescott and Chiefs TE Travis Kelce. Lowe’s VP/Brand Marketing and Sports Gerardo Soto said, “We were looking to expand our sports sponsorships beyond the NFL audience, which has worked great for us, but we know there is also a large audience for soccer.” To kick off the alliance, Lowe’s and Messi will "assist" Lowe’s loyalty customers with extra perks. Starting today, all loyalty members “will receive 100 points to get them closer to their next reward through Lowe’s new loyalty program.” Lowe’s partnership with Inter Miami will include “signage and in-stadium activations, community programming, ticket hospitality and player appearances” throughout South Florida (MIAMI HERALD, 4/18).

EXPANDING REACH:  In Charlotte, Catherine Muccigrosso reports Soto said that Lowe’s has been working on the multi-year deal with Messi and Inter Miami for “a couple of months.” Soto added that the partnership will help Lowe’s “reach new customers who don’t follow sports leagues like the NFL and NBA.” Soto said that the Argentine-born Messi pushes Lowe’s “into a national, and global, platform” and the Inter Miami partnership allows Lowe’s to reach customers in its south Florida market, where the home improvement retailer “has had many community projects.” During the Copa America, which kicks off June 20, Lowe’s stores will “host watch parties on a big screen with soccer-themed activities for the family, including build-your-own soccer goal workshops.” Also, some perks include store loyalty members “earning points every time Messi makes an assist throughout the Copa América” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 4/18).