Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a lucrative five-year sponsorship deal with AIA from the start of next season. The insurance services provider, which is Asia’s largest insurer, linked up with Spurs at the start of the 2013/14 season as their cup shirt partner, and will become principal global partner from the start of the next campaign.
AIA’s logo will appear on the front of Tottenham’s shirts in all competitions until 2019. The size of the deal has not been disclosed, but it is thought to be significantly more than the £12m a year mentioned in some initial reports.
Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a lucrative five-year sponsorship deal with AIA from the start of next season. The insurance services provider, which is Asia’s largest insurer, linked up with Spurs at the start of the 2013/14 season as their cup shirt partner, and will become principal global partner from the start of the next campaign.
AIA’s logo will appear on the front of Tottenham’s shirts in all competitions until 2019. The size of the deal has not been disclosed, but it is thought to be significantly more than the £12m a year mentioned in some initial reports.
For AIA, the sponsorship is meant to help promote them as a global brand. The insurer was keen to work with a football team since it fitted its promotion of exercise and a healthy lifestyle among consumers, according to chief executive (and Chelsea fan) Mark Tucker. Presumably this is reflected in the pies and beers consumed by football fans.
As well as providing an immediate financial boost, the Spurs hope the agreement with the Hong Kong-based company can act as a platform to grow the club’s name in the Asia-Pacific region. For both the company and the club, the markets of China, Vietnam and Indonesia are seen as particularly promising. Indonesia is the club’s largest single country for Facebook followers, even ahead of the UK.
Tottenham convinced AIA that it was serious about expansion in Asia where it claims to have 80 million ‘fans’, but it has so far not converted this followership into revenues. Mr Tucker admitted that Spurs were not in the top two or three of clubs in Asia in terms of the size of their fan base there, but ‘we hope they become that.’
This is further confirmation of the growing importance of Asian markets to leading Premier League clubs. Manchester United has 17 of its 35 global commercial sponsorships in Asia, including an official paint partner and an official tomato products partner.