Swansea City FC restructures sponsorship to increase ROI

Swansea City Football Club has restructured its sponsorship model in a bid to offer brands a better return on investment. It has appointed Getmemedia.com to support the move.

The new model includes offering its shirt sponsorship to a brand for a lower fee than usual, but Swansea will then earn extra cash for every one of its fans that becomes a customer of that brand. Traditionally, a club charges a large fee upfront for a shirt deal.

Getmemedia.com says the team has created the new model in response to increasing pressure on marketing budgets, and the need for brands to show the return on investment from long-term sponsorship deals.

The club will open its fan database and local partner network to its new sponsor for direct marketing, using match tickets, email, mobile, online promotions and hospitality schemes.

The club and partner will agree customer acquisition targets, which Getmemedia.com says could allow the new sponsor to pay for a deal from its cost-per-acquisition budget, rather than budgets earmarked for branding and awareness.

The club was promoted from Division One to The Championship last season and is now hoping for promotion to the Premier League. It is seeking a new sponsor for the 2009 to 2010 season.

For the past two seasons, Swansea City has been sponsored by Swansea.com, an online guide to Swansea run by a local businessman.