Man City buddy up with Chinese robot firm UBTECH
September 14 – This is real but the concept is a little surreal. Chinese firm UBTECH have become the first Official Robot Partner of Manchester City.
Football Marketing
PlayStation renews English schools football sponsorship for fourth season
September 15 – Gaming console manufacturer PlayStation has launched its fourth season of sponsorship of the English Schools’ FA and the PlayStation®Schools’ Cup, the biggest grassroots football competition in England.
Twitter ranking: Man Utd imperious but Man City show signs of life
September 14 – Manchester United again dominated the Twitter weekly ranking gaining with Arsenal in second place and passing the 8 million total follower mark.
Man Utd announce 10 dates for #ILOVEUNITED roadshow
September 14 – Manchester United has announced that its #ILOVEUNITED fan events will be staged in 10 locations over the 2016/17 season with a focus on Asia, but with new locations in the US in Los Angeles and in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Nissan gets excited for start of UCL, Brits get excited for Leicester City
September 13 – UEFA Champions League sponsor Nissan have released their second annual Nissan Excitement Index for the start of group matches this week. The research finds that in Britain, Leicester City’s debut tomorrow in Brugges is the most anticipated ahead of this season’s group stage start (58%).
Man Utd tread a new global path with Apollo deal
September 8 – Manchester United have upgraded regional partner Apollo Tyres into their ‘Global Tyre Partner’ in a new three-year deal.
Stoke City hire Rippleffect for digital revamp
September 8 – Premier League Stoke City has signed sports digital agency Rippleffect to rework its digital platform including the club’s main website (stokecityfc.com) and online retail store (scfcdirect.com).
Twitter ranking: Bournemouth jump up table, Arsenal close in on 8m mark
August 7 – With the international break it might be reasonable to assume a drop-off in Twitter activity, and in terms of tweets across the Premier League that was the case with the total number dropping to 2,412 against 6,214 the previous week. But the number of new Twitter followers across the league was up.
UAE Exchange banks on Asian national teams to expand its brand
September 5 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has added a second new sponsor partner in a week in the form of UAE Exchange, a global remittance, foreign exchange and payment solutions provider.
UAE Exchange has signed on for a five-year deal with the AFC who last week added Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer to its sponsorship portfolio agreeing a four-year deal for the AFC’s national competitions including the 2018 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Final Round (that starts tonight),
Tag Heuer expands in Asia adding AFC to its sponsor roster
September 1 – Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer has expanded its sponsorship portfolio into Asia agreeing a four-year deal with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It will become the Official Timekeeper & Official Watch of the AFC’s national competitions including the 2018 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Final Round (that starts tonight), the 2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup and the AFC Asian Cup in 2019.
Man City look to Africa and sign Star as Nigerian beer partner
September 1 – Manchester City has expanded its regional sponsorship agreeing an ‘Official Beer Partner’ deal with Nigeria’s Star brand, owned by Nigerian Breweries.
Twitter tables: Man Utd growth slows, Burnley could try harder
August 31 – Manchester United’s rate of Twitter growth slowed last week against the previous week, from 85,000 new followers to 70,500. In contrast Manchester City grew their weekly new followers to 22,100 and can be expected to grow again on the back of exciting Premier League performances.
CBF signs with Konami, but looks to launch a virtual Brasileirão for gamers
August 31 – The Brazilian FA, the CBF, and Japanese video games maker Konami have struck a two-year partnership deal for the Pro Evolution Soccer video game.
Banc of California grabs LAFC stadium naming rights
August 30 – Los Angeles’s new MLS franchise LAFC will kick off with a $100 million naming rights sponsor for its $350 million new stadium. The 15-year deal with Banc of California is a record naming rights deal for soccer in the US.
Man Utd top Twitter growth chart, almost doubling against Arsenal
August 25 – Manchester Utd stretched their lead over Arsenal at the top of the Premier League Twitter followers ranking by more than 38,000 followers last week. Their additional 85,700 followers was more than double that of third placed Chelsea, almost triple fourth placed Liverpool, and more than fives times local rivals Man City.