Adidas signs 2m a year partner deal with The O2
Adidas has signed a deal to be a founder partner of AEG-owned entertainment venue The O2. The agreement will extend until at least the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The deal with AEG Europe, a division of US sports and entertainment group AEG, is thought to be worth up to £2m per year. Adidas will be known as the official sports founding partner.
Adidas says that it plans to promote the partnership in ways that are “mutually beneficial”. The company has already installed an exhibition of photographs in the “London Piazza” area of The O2 that features Olympic athletes who competed in Beijing.
The sports brand says it is the first initiative that will exploit the “natural synergy” between the brand and The O2, especially given that The O2 has been named as a venue for the London 2012 Olympics.
Adidas is one of 11 founding partners of The O2. The others are Credit Suisse, ADT, InBev, NEC, BMW, Nestlé, Pepsi, Visa, RBS (using the NatWest brand) and O2, which holds the naming-rights to the former Millennium Dome in a deal worth £6m a year for 15 years.
Adidas will develop “interactive elements” to leverage the partnership but exact details have yet to be revealed.
Other partners use the deal to offer exclusive benefits to their customers. For example, Credit Suisse hosts an exclusive backstage bar for corporate hospitality guests. BMW owners can access private parking areas and O2 customers have preferential ticket booking.
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