Tottenham signs £100m sponsorship deal with AIA
Tottenham Hotspur has penned a five-year year shirt sponsorship deal with pan-Asian life insurer AIA in an attempt keep pace with Premier League rivals Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool’s brand-building efforts across the region.
The lucrative deal, which is reportedly worth around £100m, will see the life insurer’s logo replace HP’s on the front of Spurs’ shirts in all competitions from next season. AIA currently sponsors the North London side’s kit in cup competitions such as the FA Cup and Europa League.
The club is hoping to use the tie-up to grow its fanbase in Asia where it lags behind other clubs in terms of awareness.
Spurs will embark on regular pre-season tours over the period of the agreement, a move that could lead to it gathering data on overseas supporters. Clubs are no longer using pre-season tours as smash and grab raids to sell replica shirts choosing instead to push CRM initiatives capable of creating additional value for sponsors
Daniel Levy, chairman of Tottenham Hotspur, says both the club and AIA share “long-term ambitions” across Asia adding the tie-up will further help “engage” supporters across the region.
AIA, unlike other Asian sponsors of Premier League clubs, is focused on using the Spurs’ Premier League status to bolster awareness in 17 markets across the Asia-Pacific region.
The announcement is the first major deal from the club since it revamped its commercial strategy last year after parting with its commercial chief Tracey Keenan. At the time the club said it was ringing in the changes to take advantage of “opportunities for partnership and the increased media rights now arising”.
The club generated the least amount of revenue out of England’s top football earners in the 2011/12 season, according to Deloitte’s Football Money League, posting €172m (£140.9m) in the period.
