Some words on sport: Sponsorship, Marketing, New Media & Sociology.

Approaching the deadline for the August Transfer Window closing, I thought it a good time to have a quick analysis of the state of the Premier League. I mulled over a look at transfers, finances and even trends in kit colours (something I may come back to at a later stage).  I ended up deciding on a quick qualitative and quantitative analysis of the kit sponsors of the 20 teams that make up the EPL this season.

I will split my thoughts into 3 blogs -

1. Sector of title sponsorship
2. Geography of title sponsorship
3. Summary of kitwear sponsorship

I observed last year that there was an influx of gambling organisations making a move into kit sponsorship.  This is very much still the case with five gambling companies (24% of the EPL sponsors) represented as title/kit sponsors.  The reason for 5 representing 24% rather than 25% is that I have chosen to include both Tottenhma Hotspur sponsors (Autonomy / Investec) – therefore making 21 sponsors rather than 20.

The financial sector is clearly a dominant sector – accounting for 7 of the 21 sponsorships; including Northern Rock, Standard Chartered, FX Pro and Wonga.  Standard Chartered and FX Pro are both entering the EPL Sponsorship battleground with sponsorships of Liverpool and Aston Villa/Fulham respectively.  Still within the financial sector – Wonga (Blackpool) and Northern Rock (Newcastle) both have strong ties to the location of the stakeholder.  What is perhaps interesting is the abundance of banks and companies offering financial services given the state of the financial world and the negative press surrounding high-profile sponsorship activity.  This analysis distinguishes a difference between insurance companies and finance companies where others wouldn’t painting an even more substantial picture of strength within that sector.

Of the 21 sponsorships, 3 are with insurance companies – Aon, Homeserve and Brittania.  Britannia have maintained their lengthy partnership with Stoke City which dates back to 1997 and includes the naming rights to their stadium until 2016.  Homeserve take over as West Bromwich Albion’s title sponsor – the first time the club has held a permanent sponsor in the past 3 seasons – last year they sold sponsorship’s on a match-by-match basis.  This year, Aon have taken over from AIG – also an insurance company in an £80m, 4-year deal.  They are sure to get their brand logo blazened across the world; with Man Utd benefitting from one of the largest global audiences in all of sport and astronomical replica kit sales.  However timing could be an issue, with a relatively large backlash against the constant cycle of new replica kits and a large dislike for those at the top of the club.

Gambling is still responsible for a high proportion of sponsorships – five of them in total, including Tombola (Sunderland) and 188bet (Bolton, Wigan).  Tombola is a bingo site – a first for the EPL, while 188bet have concluded that sponsoring two of the least attractive / cheapest sides in the EPL will still guarantee plenty of exposure and good value in an often expensive market.  A caveat to this is that some may argue that FXPro who specialise in Currency Exchange – in a similar manner to BetFair does with gambling – still represents gambling. For this analysis, FXPro is seen as a Financial institution as it is regulated by a financial commission based in Cyprus.

Airlines are responsible for two of the highest value sponsorships in Arsenal (Emirates) and Manchester City (Etihad).  The Emirates deal includes a long-term naming rights package for their stadium but is seen by many within the industry as offering great value.  Etihad’s sponsorship can be explained through the recent takeover by Arab Billionaire’s from the state of Abu Dhabi.

Before finishing, it would be remiss to fail to mention the sponsorship deal that Tottenham Hotspur have agreed – a deal which sees Autonomy Software sponsor kits to be used in the league, whilst Investec will have their logo on all Cup competitions including Champions League.  This is a remarkable and perhaps ground-breaking deal, although it remains to be seen how the sponsors feel when Spurs crash out of the Champions League tonight and fail to field a full-strength side in the Carling / FA Cup.

Range of Tottenham's "League" Kits (3 of 6 kits released by Spurs for '10/11