Shorts: Chelsea, Xero, Watford
Chelsea has partnered with Vivid Seats for its tour of the USA.
The Blues, currently across the Atlantic for the team’s pre-season tour, has signed a deal with the ticketing marketplace that will see Vivid Seats branding appear on digital platforms and in stadiums at the upcoming matches.
For the first time in the West London club’s history Chelsea are taking their hospitality overseas offering a limited number of premium VIP packages across all the matchday locations. As part of the USA pre-season tour partnership, Vivid Seats Rewards members will have the opportunity to experience these premium packages.
John Rogers, Head of Global Partnerships at Chelsea FC, said, “We are pleased to join with a company committed to becoming the ultimate partner for connecting fans to the live events, teams and artists they love.
“We are thrilled to partner with Chelsea on their first-ever Premier League pre-season tournament in the USA,’ said Geoff Lester, chief commercial officer at Vivid Seats. ‘As we continue to witness the rise of soccer fandom across America, we look forward to expanding our brand awareness among this growing audience, while strengthening our engagement efforts through our industry leading loyalty program.”
The Space Between has been appointed by global small business platform Xero, to create the first campaign for its sponsorship of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and the Lionesses in the UK.
The integrated campaign, ‘Dream Bigger,’ will run across outdoor, radio, YouTube, social, DOOH, Talksport, Daily Telegraph and the ITV and STV broadcast of the tournament.
Throughout the campaign Xero aims to ‘shine a spotlight on those who are making it happen in women’s football.’
Lisa Parfitt, Co-Founder of The Space Between, said, “Xero joins our exciting portfolio of challenger brands, and the connection with Xero couldn’t be more authentic for us. We started the business with Xero as our accounting software – our twelfth player! To work with Xero and create a campaign that celebrates the dreams of women football players and female entrepreneurs has been a dream for me and our team. With this campaign and with our agency appointment, Xero showcases it’s a brand that stays true to its purpose to help small businesses and their communities thrive.”
Sam Daniels, Brand Marketing and Sponsorship, added, “As a founder-led small business, The Space Between is a natural agency partner. It’s been invaluable to work with a team that truly understands women’s football, — They have created a brilliant idea in Dream Bigger, and connected us with an array of extraordinary women in football and small business who exemplify this too and are featured in our campaign. We want girls to dream bigger to become the Lionesses of the future and I’m excited to see this campaign play a part in that.”
Supponor, a virtual advertising technology solution provider has renewed its partnership with and GRUP MEDIAPRO. in the sports and entertainment industry, has announced the long-term renewal of their long-standing partnership.
This agreement further cements the decade-long partnership between Supponor and GRUP MEDIAPRO, a TV production and marketing rights agency in the sports and entertainment industry.
As per the agreement, Supponor and GRUP MEDIAPRO have completed the transition to Supponor’s AIR technology, an AI-based solution that helps cost-effectively scale deployment of virtual advertising.
Massimo Magrì, EMEA Managing Director, and Global Head of Football at Supponer, said, “GRUP MEDIAPRO is our longest serving client and strategic partner at the same time, so we are extremely pleased to commit for a second decade of mutually successful partnership together.
Julian Fernandez, Chief Commercial Officer at GRUP MEDIAPRO, added, “Our long history in championing innovation and track record of proven commercial success ensured we were very keen to renew our valuable partnership.”
EFL Championship football club Watford FC has renewed its partnership with Corpay.
The global payment and risk management solutions provider started its partnership with the Hornets in 2019, featuring on the back of the men’s shirts during the 2020/21 promotion-winning campaign as well as last season where the club finished in 11th place.
Now in its fifth year of partnership with the Hornets, Corpay will once again be featured on the back of the Golden Boys’ shirts for the upcoming 2023/24 season.
Paul O’Brien, Commercial Director at Watford FC, said, “We are delighted that Corpay will continue its partnership with Watford FC. Our relationship goes much deeper than just a traditional partnership, with their expertise on foreign exchange transfers proving incredibly valuable over recent years.
“We are very proud of the partnership with Corpay and I am extremely grateful to their whole team.”
Jon Delaney, EMEA Sales Director at Corpay Cross-Border Solutions, “The Corpay Cross-Border team are very excited to continue our partnership with Watford. We look forward to the opportunity to support them in terms of their foreign exchange and cross-border payment requirements for the upcoming season.”
Creative agency House 337 has launched its new dedicated practice for sport.
Leading the sports team at House 337 is agency veterans Josh Green as Executive Creative Director, Henry Nash as Executive Strategy Director, and Sport Industry NextGen Alumni Lauren Estwick as New Business & Marketing Director.
All join from Octagon, with additional hires set to join the team, to be announced soon.
The practice will cater to three types of clients: sports brands, sponsors, and rights holders.
Josh Green, Executive Creative Director at House 337, said, “House 337 is built on the foundations of purpose. Sport has an unrivalled ability to change the world. If it can unite countries and reform laws, it certainly can help build brands and businesses. Our ambition is to harness the power of sport to Make Better – for our people, for our clients, and for society.”
Phil Fearnley, Group Chief Executive Officer of House 337, added, “At House 337, we’ve rewritten the rules of sports marketing with campaigns like Long Live the Prince. With the introduction of our new sports arm, we aim to consistently create work that resonates in culture. Combining our unique blend of brand expertise, specialised sports insight and desire to deliver positive impact, we will empower clients to connect with audiences on a deeper level.”
Lauren Estwick, New Business and Marketing Director, expressed, “With prestigious events such as the Euro’s, Olympics, and Paralympic Games scheduled to take place in Europe in 2024, the expansion of football into the US, and the remarkable surge in popularity of women’s sport worldwide, the time feels right for a specialist creative agency that understands the immense possibilities of sport.”
Lewis Pugh has announced that he will attempt to become the first person to swim the full length of the Hudson River unassisted.
The UNEP Patron of the Oceans has pioneered swims in the most challenging environments on earth, including the Antarctic, the North Pole, the Red Sea and the Himalayas.
The expedition will take place between August 13th to September 13th, 2023. The aim of the expedition is to highlight the critical importance of river health to the health of the world’s oceans and the overall global environment.
The 315-mile / 507-km swim, one of the most challenging ever attempted by Mr. Pugh, will wrap up shortly before 20 September, when nations will begin ratifying the historic High Seas Treaty, which aims to protect biodiversity in international waters.
Lewis Pugh, said, “If we want healthy oceans, we also need healthy rivers — it’s that simple. Clean rivers are essential in the fight for global sustainability; indeed, our very existence depends on fresh water, clean air, and a habitable planet. The good news is that rivers are accessible to most people, and we know what it takes to get them healthy. I specifically chose the Hudson for this swim because of the environmental progress that’s been made on the iconic waterway in recent years. Much work is still required, but tangible improvements have been made, setting an example for restoring rivers around the world.”
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