PSG keeps up international brand push with new 16-language video game
By David Owen
May 22 – Paris Saint-Germain has opened a new front in its international brand-building initiative, launching a video game for mobile phones.
Football Marketing
Man Utd prints off partnership extension with Epson
By David Owen
May 25 – Manchester United, the Premier League football club, which rounded off its season today with a goalless draw at Hull City, has extended its partnership with Epson, the Japanese printer manufacturer.
Man Utd announce Quakes date in California to complete US shakedown
May 22 – Manchester United have announced the Kabam Field at the California Memorial Stadium as the venue for their US pre-season tour against San Jose Earthquakes. The stadium is on the campus of the University of California in Berkeley in the San Francisco Bay area.
Liverpool to debut Gerrard’s last kit in last game, but keep fans waiting
May 21 – Premier League Liverpool are to unveil their third new kit for the final game of the season this Sunday against Stoke at the Britannia Stadium. But neither the club nor their new kit partner New Balance are giving away any preview of the design before the match kicks off.
Ibra’s PSG cooks up ‘dream’ deal with Swedish pizza brand
By David Owen
May 21 – Paris Saint-Germain have made a new move to exploit the presence of Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimović in their squad, agreeing a one-year regional sponsorship deal with Billys, a Swedish-produced pizza snack.
Benfica lands Emirates in three year shirt deal
By Mark Baber
May 20 – Under a year since Emirates became the official airline of Sport Lisboa e Benfica, a three-year shirt sponsorship deal has been agreed between the two parties, whereby Fly Emirates will be displayed on the team jersey until the end of the 2017/18 season.
Sprint cross line for fifth Gold Cup sponsorship
May 20 – Sprint has renewed its CONCACAF Gold Cup sponsorship as official US wireless provider. This is Sprint’s fifth consecutive Gold Cup, the first being in 2007.
Nigeria, Nike and the cost of homophobia
By Mark Baber
May 19 – A row has broken out in Nigeria over what is being termed the “slave contract” between Nike and the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) over the sponsorship of national team shirts. The argument sees the NFF marketing department pitted against the Pinnick-led hierarchy, with neither party keen to discuss a major underlying issue – sports brands’ reluctance to sponsor a federation in which homophobia poses significant reputational risks.
Twitter stats: bumper week for Man Utd; Saints, Hammers and Stoke rise
By Paul Nicholson
May 18 – Manchester United had a bumper week in terms of new Twitter followers in the Insideworldfootball Twitter ranking. Averaging gains of about 19,000 each week over their nearest rivals Chelsea and Arsenal, last week Man Utd added almost 50,000 new followers, double that of the London duo.
Ladbrokes stakes £4m on 2-year Scottish football bet
By David Owen
May 14 – The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) has unveiled betting company Ladbrokes as its new title sponsor, in a two-year deal running from 2015 until 2017.
Bulgarian clubs missing out on the electronic media revolution
By Alexander Krassimirov
May 12 – Half of the clubs in the Bulgarian top professional division do not use social networks. The research, by Insideworldfootball.com, also found that two of the 12 teams in the league do not even have an official website.
Twitter stats: Chelsea beat Arsenal, Man Utd forge on, Villa’s greenshoots
By Paul Nicholson
May 11- Chelsea received a boost in new Twitter followers in the week they confirmed themselves as Premier League champions, putting on more than 5,000 new followers than their north London rivals Arsenal. Man Utd are maintaining their run at the top of the Twitter weekly rankings – they put on another whopping 49,294 followers, over 14,000 more than Chelsea.
Zenit drive new partner deal with Nissan
May 8 – Zenit St Petersburg has signed a three-year deal with Japanese carmaker Nissan who becomes an official partner of the club. No value was announced for the agreement.
Flamengo banks Caixa cash as sponsorship deals boom
By Samindra Kunti
May 7 – Rio de Janeiro giants Flamengo will renew their club sponsorship deal with Brazilian bank Caixa, worth €7.3 million, this week. Flamengo’s shirt is projected to have a total sponsorship value (shirts carry more than one sponsor logo) of €26.1 million this season.
Spurs roll out brand licensing campaign in US
May 6 – Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur is continuing to build its brand presence in the US via its licensed product and in advance of its July match-up against the MLS All-Stars team.