Who will our next sponsor be ?

A potential sponsor may possibly be a company that doesnt have a major presence in Columbus, but is trying to have one.

And like Bill mentioned before, theres other reasons companies sponsor things, besides a direct boost to their revenues. Company image, awareness, community, etc matters to some companies to varying degrees.

 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

 

I doubt it.

You are parroting a thought that Hang said a few weeks ago about maybe the moron in Austin was right about the Columbus market.

Don’t be that kind of person.

 

Who's panicking and what is there to panic about? That my favorite sports team may not be doing as financially well as I'd like them to do? I'll be fine, trust me. There are so many more important issues in the world that could give me agita than sports.

 

Uh, I said that a few weeks ago:

And, as much as being confused with hang is a compliment - love him or hate him, the guy is wicked smart - he's not the only one who is capable of critical thought when it comes to our new ownership/management group. I have to say that I'll be surprised if there aren't more pundits asking the same question after Columbus opens the season without a presenting sponsor.

But, anyway, I really would like to hear your thoughts on the matter. I enjoy reading everyone's opinions, it's the main reason I spend so much time here.

 

How much is a jersey sponsor? Obviously, Crew can't promise the same national exposure that other teams get.

 

That, to me, would be a loss.

In any case, just to be clear, are you suggesting that there isn't a corporate entity in Central Ohio with the financial throw weight to drop two or three million a year in marketing money on a sponsorship deal?

 

The Acura deal was ostensibly for $1,8m and we were told that it was a small one by league standards.

I believe there are teams now with $5m deals.

So somewhere in between, and normally for multiple years.


As for the discussion above, I recall back in 2007 we were the last team in the league which did not have, had never had, a shirt sponsor. It was embarrassing as hell. Poor little backwoods Columbus, not even big enough to have a decent sponsor.

Finally it was embarrassing even to the league to have a team without a sponsorship so it was the league who in 2008 got Glidden, who had an MLS deal, to switch it to a shirt sponsorship.

Dont tell me this shit doesnt matter. People who were around back then know better.

 

I don't remember if I posted this thought back when I first had it or not. But to me, it seems like there's obviously buyers out there. This thread has come up with plenty of options, at least one of them has to be willing to throw a few bucks the Crew's way in what is the most visible way of sponsoring the team. It seems to me that the problem is most likely no one is meeting the internal set price point from the FO. It's unknown if Acura declined extending their deal due to raising prices or if they just weren't seeing the ROI for what they were paying and cancelled it themselves. Either way, that doesn't paint a picture that the sponsorship deal is worth more than what Acura paid.

The FO is looking for a bigger deal than Acura. Unfortunately they get to sell that with 1 nationally televised game in 2020 and attendance that grew but plateaued. They're probably selling the new stadium bump but that's a year and a half away. Not to mention all the sponsorship opportunities that come with the new stadium. I wouldn't be surprised if the companies are offering lower than the FO wants. The most likely explanation is the FO has drawn a line in the sand and no one has crossed it yet. I can see the thought behind not going below that set number but at some point, any deal is better than no deal. The charity idea intrigued me because that seemed to be a way they could place a stopgap in the sponsorship costs but not settle for a deal that devalues the sponsorship. Plus they could get all the Columbus Partnership companies to team up and pool their marketing money together to "expense" the Pelotonia sponsorship as a charitable donation.

I'm somewhere in the middle between Bill's optimism that it will get done and LaMacchia's pessimism that it's a lost cause. I think a deal will get made but it wouldn't surprise me if it's a unique style of deal. I also won't fall out of my seat if it doesn't happen. It will be disappointing but if the FO thinks they can get a better deal by waiting a year, then so be it. Just better make sure they get it done next year.

By my calendar, there's three weeks to get the deal to the finish line. We'll see what happens. There's going to be some bad press on 2/5 with the Crew debuting a jersey with no sponsor. Let's weather it. If you're one to look on the brightside, at least all those people who complain about soccer jerseys being a walking billboard will be able to buy sponsorless shirts for once.

 

I thought we had Snickers and Pepsi on our kits in some of the earlier seasons, prior to 2007?

 

How often do jersey sponsors renew their deals? I mean, sure, it happens. But it seems to me (and I don't have data to back this up) that most of the time these deals expire and a new sponsor comes on board. Acura not renewing isn't a particular shock; the club never hinted that it was even negotiating with Acura to renew.

Anyway, I'm in Bill's camp here. I'm certain we'll have a jersey sponsor this year. Nothing I've seen or heard implies otherwise, and there's a lot of soft evidence that argues that it'll happen.

I mean, we got these deals done under the previous regime, and they were a bunch of dolts who actively pissed off the local business community. We now have an FO that is orders of magnitude more talented and connected than anything that's come before. Steve Lyons knows just about every business exec in Central Ohio. We're investing in marketing to an extent unimaginable under previous ownership (marketing which will benefit all of our sponsors, but very obviously a shirt sponsor). We have a close, working relationship with local government, too. Oh, and we're building a beautiful downtown stadium that'll boost the club's visibility.

And this is the time we fail to get a jersey sponsor? Bullshit.

 

Yes but....

They were actually league sponsors. MLS divvied them up amongst the teams. Nobody from the Crew pitched PepsiCo or M&M Mars for a deal.

 

You keep doing you.

 

I'm not saying there isn't a corporate entity that doesn't have the marketing budget, I'm saying that those that would normally spend the amount of money a jersey sponsorship demands are already wrapped up in some similar sports sponsorship - ie, Nationwide, Huntington, AEP, Columbia Gas, etc. They're already presenting/large sponsors of other teams on Nationwide Blvd and adding a high-value Crew sponsorship would be redundant and not add value to their marketing portfolios.

And the ones that do have the marketing budget but aren't already high-value sponsors of other local teams don't normally spend on sports sponsorships at that level - Wendy's, Cardinal Health, Scotts, etc.

That's why I stressed "currently" in my original comment: Someone would need to end a deal with another sports team or decide to get into the sports-sponsorship space for the first time.

All of this is why I believe that if a sponsor is secured it won't be central-Ohio based. At least not for the foreseeable future.

 

Strictly from a marketing standpoint, I dont think having the teams' shirt sponsor announced by MLS as they flash past 24 other shirts is anything I'd want.

I truly believe that there IS a shirt sponsor already on board and that the team is choosing to use the announcement as an event rather than have it be a footnote for an MLS event.

That would be stupid, not to mention a bit insulting to an entity which just agreed to give them millions and millions of dollars.

"Next, we have the new Crew uniform and they have a new sponsor. Isnt that lovely? OK, next we have FC Cincinnati......."

Doesnt have a lot of zing, does it? In fact, they probably wouldn't mention the sponsor at all, unless they were going to name EVERY teams sponsor.

So it's more likely that the shirt would get shown and no one would mention the new sponsor at all.

Boy, now theres a partnership announcement with pizzazz.

I'd fire the idiot who suggested or allowed that. Its borderline insane.

I think everyone needs to chill out on this. The sky is not falling

 

How often do jersey sponsors renew their deals? I mean, sure, it happens. But it seems to me (and I don't have data to back this up) that most of the time these deals expire and a new sponsor comes on board. Acura not renewing isn't a particular shock; the club never hinted that it was even negotiating with Acura to renew.

Anyway, I'm in Bill's camp here. I'm certain we'll have a jersey sponsor this year. Nothing I've seen or heard implies otherwise, and there's a lot of soft evidence that argues that it'll happen. I mean, we got these deals done under the previous regime, and they were a bunch of dolts who actively pisses off the local business community. We now have an FO that is orders of magnitude more talented and connected than anything that's come before. Steve Lyons knows just about every business exec in Central Ohio. We're investing in marketing to an extent unimaginable under previous ownership (marketing which will benefit all of our sponsors, but very obviously a shirt sponsor). We have a close, working relationship with local government, too. Oh, and we're building a beautiful downtown stadium that'll generate a boost in attention and visibility for the club.

And this is the time we fail to get a jersey sponsor? Bullshit.

If it's one thing we've noticed about the new FO/ownership, it's that when they have something big to announce, they do so (1) without many (if any) rumors being leaked out ahead of time and (2) with lots of professionally produced marketing content already in place when the announcement is made.

A jersey sponsorship is big news. So, yeah, a series of tweets or some minor league, half baked event in NYC that no one will pay any attention to, well, anywhere, much less here in Columbus, isn't the way it'll play out.

 

I could see DHL--my Gladbach team is sponsored by Postbank, which was once the bank for the German post office (DHL is part of Deutsche Post). Post offices are a bit broader in Europe in what they do.

 

I'm a little iffy on the details, here, but what's headquartered in Westerville isn't DHL, it's DHL Supply Chain. What we commonly think of as DHL (i.e., DHL Express) is headquarters near Miami. It's that DHL that sponsors a lot of sports operations.

DHL Supply Chain is a huge company in its own right (200K employees), but I'm not aware that they've gotten into the sports sponsorship business, presumably because they're the logistical/supply chain side of DHL proper (from their Wikipedia page):

Anyway, they're huge, DHL doesn't have a sponsorship deal with MLS, and they do with a LOT of other soccer teams/leagues. DHL has two major hubs Miami and Cincinnati. While DHL Supply Chain isn't something that your average TV watching soccer fan will buy any services from, DHL certainly would be. Miami would be the other market with a local claim to the better-known company name, DHL, but there haven't been any rumors about Beckham flirting with DHL. DHL for the Crew would be a major coup, IMO.

 

Precisely.

How much more likely is it that the team holds an "event" someplace at which, we're told, there'll be a "major announcement" (where the Nordecke can gin up a crowd of cheering, adoring fans ready-made for the TV cameras to glom on) as opposed to,as you rightly point out, having a new sponsor unveiled at an MLS online thingie that maybe 50 people in the world will be watching?

These people are not the Clampetts, they're professionals and they do things with class and style.

 

For comparison, FCC's shirt sponsor is Mercy Health, a hospital chain. They're getting $5 mil per year which is supposed to be one of the better MLS shirt deals. They're also on tv a lot and have good attendance.

I'd think Wendys would be a good sponsor for the Crew. They're local, we've had deals with them in the past, they sell to the public. A B2B company doesn't need to do jersey deals. Crew unfortunately aren't on tv from Mapfre until the playoffs.

 

FCC isn't going to be on TV as much this year as last, as I recall. And for good reason. I don't mean to downplay the TV thing; it matters. But the Crew now market themselves far more broadly and professionally than they used to (social media, billboards, videos, etc.). Streaming services (like ESPN+) make games available to a wider audience. And, as this will be a multi-year deal, you have think that TV appearances will go up (I mean, where else could they go?) in 2021.

 

I don't think it's so much that people think they league jersey bruhaha would be a good time to unveil a new jersey sponsor. It's that they think you would want to announce the sponsorship before the bruhaha so it can be on the jerseys and all the associated coverage. We may mock the league bruhaha (and I was one that did mock it), but it will lead to local links and stories for all MLS markets at least, which is plenty of "free" exposure for the advertiser.

Flip side is, the Crew may not want to do an announcement where they can't show off the jersey (assuming the league doesn't want the new jersey exposed before their doohicky). So postponing until after the unveiling would mean they can do a stand alone and have a nice event complete with jerseys ready for sale, etc.

 

Did you watch any NCAA football this season?

Wendy's was a major sponsor. They're not shying away from sports sponsorships.

Not saying it will be Wendy's, of course, but I think you're discounting Columbus corporate environment a little too much.