Just a few years ago people raised some eyebrows as brands like Emirates Airways took their place in U.S. sport, partnering at first with the Breeders Cup and then branching out into golf and tennis. At the same time traditional American brands like GM and Coke took the international dive in soccer, taking marketing spots with some of the world’s elite soccer clubs. Other companies like Burger King followed, and suddenly, the sports world “here” and “over there” was getting smaller, as brands found ways to embrace the culture and tradition of local sport while thinking globally.
This week two new partnerships continued to show the growth of global brands into American sport, one on the collegiate level, the other on the professional side.
First, Pac-12 Conference announced a first-ever US sports partnership with Alibaba Group Holding Limited to debut a historic Pac-12 China Game featuring the Washington Huskies and Texas Longhorns on Nov. 14 in basketball in Shanghai, to be broadcast on Alibaba’s (BABA, Tech30) digital and mobile network in China, and on ESPN in the United States. The game and the two-year partnership with Alibaba Group represent a first for sports in China and makes the Pac-12 the first U.S. sports league to host a regular season contest in China. In addition to being the presenting sponsor, Alibaba Group is also developing an academic program for the visiting student-athletes which takes a partnership to a different level by tying in education, with the game timed to coincide with “Single’s Day,” the annual Nov. 11 shopping festival in China, the biggest shopping day of the year. Alibaba brought in sales of more than $9 billion during last year’s shopping spree.
Then Etihad Airways signed a legacy partnership agreement with Monumental Sports & Entertainment to become the exclusive airline partner of the Washington Capitals (NHL), Washington Capitals (NBA), Washington Mystics (WNBA) and Verizon Center.
As part of the deal, Etihad will receive a variety of branding opportunities, be featured in numerous multimedia programming and work collaboratively with MSE on several community initiatives to promote and celebrate the international nature of sport in Washington, D.C., and Abu Dhabi.
The MSE partnership builds upon Etihad Airways’ U.S. sports sponsorship portfolio within which the airline is official airline partner of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Nation’s Triathlon, which takes place each year in Washington, D.C. The nation’s capital is also one of six American cities served daily by Etihad Airways from its home-base in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
It also increases the Etihad branding platform in sport, which also includes Manchester City Football Club; New York City Football Club; the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix; the Mumbai Indians cricket team of the Indian Premier League; Etihad Stadium and Melbourne City Football Club; the England and Wales Cricket Board; and the GAA Hurling All Ireland Senior Championship. The addition of the Washington Mystics to the Etihad Airways sponsorship portfolio also comes with a subtle and unique caveat, as it grows their commitment to promoting women’s sport, fitness, health and well-being, combating the stereotype that women remain oppressed in the home region of the airline.
While at first glance one may shake one’s head at the Monumental deal, with the teams forgoing the traditional exposure in a huge category in exchange for a different, and perhaps more lucrative short term, partnership. However the deal can actually be groundbreaking in terms of exposure for Ted Leonsis’ teams as the years unfold and sport, and teams become more marketable beyond their current borders. The connection of the teams through Etihad could bring more high net worth eyeballs and fans who would engage with the team brands in other cities globally and with new partners than may ever see or understand the value of the Caps, Wizards and Mystics around the US, especially since markets are so carefully tied up in the States by the professional leagues. Marketing and spending with partners beyond ones borders may open up new streams of all types of revenue and help greatly offset the bottom line for years to come.
Both the Etihad and Alibaba announcements come from leadership that always seems to be looking elsewhere to grow traditional brands; Leonsis and his team at Monumental and Larry Scott and the folks at the Pac-12. Neither seems to be risk averse in business of sport, and while neither of these deals will be world changers at first; they are clear signals of different, more global thinking than what has been seen in the past. The risk in actuality s not overly high, and the reward for innovation can be great. Will other deals follow? Best practices in sport are usually copied pretty quickly, so if these work, which they should, the next global step should not be far behind.
