June 22 – Premier League Liverpool FC have a new global partner with Kodansha, becoming the club’s official Publication Partner.
Described as a multi-year deal, Kodansha is Japan’s largest publisher and one of the world’s biggest, publishing in more than 40 countries worldwide and best known for its comic and graphic novel series, Manga, which originated in Japan and was developed in the late 19thcentury. Titles include ‘Attack on Titan’, ‘Akira’, and ‘Sailor Moon’.
The partnership is based around storytelling and creating a community programme to encourage creativity.
Kodansha will have a package of branding to market its products globally to new audiences, including social media and marketing support as well as access to Liverpool players and legends throughout the season.
Yoshinobu Noma, President of Kodansha, said: “Having lived in the UK for quite some time now, I have a very special feeling about this partnership with LFC.
“Every single match that the team plays in front of their fans all over the world, incredible stories are created and shared, sparking joy and excitement. We want to harness that extraordinary power to inspire impossible stories and build a strong, successful partnership. Let us create stories that bring passion and ignite inspiration around the world, together.”
Kodansha has as a core value the ‘inspiring impossible stories’. It is this value that it wants to communicate via community creative programmes in and around Liverpool.
Billy Hogan, CEO, Liverpool FC, said: “As a football club, there are so many incredible stories throughout our history, stories that are retold and kept alive through the power of creativity and storytelling. They spark excitement, memories and imagination in our fans around the world. Through our partnership with Kodansha, one of the world’s largest publishers, we look forward to creating programmes which will help inspire future generations through creativity and storytelling.”
The community outreach includes Kodansha is teaming up with the club’s charity, LFC Foundation, to launch ‘Creative Works’.
Starting September 2021, an employability programme will be delivered to four groups of students from Liverpool John Moores University and local sixth form colleges and “aims to inspire young people from challenging backgrounds to achieve careers in the creative industry,” said a Liverpool press release.
The programme will provide mentoring with creative skill building, CV and interview techniques, public speaking and confidence building and workplace expectations. Kodansha has also committed to making various donations to support the wider Liverpool community over the course of the partnership.
“Over the past 18 months, our LFC Foundation has been building its ‘Works’ initiative, to provide a range of employability schemes for those aged 16 and over to help get their foot on the career ladder. We are delighted to work with Kodansha to launch ‘Creative Works’, a program that will provide opportunities for young people to pursue their dreams in creative careers and realise their potential,” said Hogan.
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