General Motors is still confident in the $559 million investment it made to have the Chevrolet logo appear on the front of English soccer club Manchester United’s jerseys, despite the team’s underwhelming performance last year. The team missed out on major TV exposure as a result of them not qualifying for some of Europe’s major tournaments, which has led industry analysts to say the automaker overpaid for the prime real estate on United’s jerseys. The deal seemed even more fruitless after it was announced Chevrolet would pull out of Europe last year.
But Chevrolet’s top marketing executive, Tim Mahoney, asserts that the deal was done to help reach out and bring brand awareness to United’s fans, who are located all over the world with a significant concentration in Asia, where GM has core business ventures. The deal is also more than a logo on a shirt, Mahoney explained to Automotive News. The company is immersing itself in the club’s culture, connecting with its fans online and launching a global, soccer-related marketing campaign.
“We’re buying into the brand,” Mahoney said. “Any great brand has a whole history and a heritage behind it. We’re in it for the long haul.”
For example, the brand created a video for the launch of teams new jersey, or ‘kits’, showing United fans wearing the club’s various jerseys over the years. The video is available at www.ChevroletFC.com, where fans can also upload a photo of themselves wearing their Manchester United jersey. The company also offered test drives in vehicles and other attractions at the team’s game against MLS’ Los Angeles Galaxy last week and will do the same when they play Spain’s Real Madrid at Michigan’s Big House next month.
Comments
Sounds like old the GM is alive and kicking again – trying to defend the indefensible! Whole load of marketing bulls..t. If it was that good why did they kick out the guy that negotiated it AND that was before Chevrolet announced they would pull out of Europe. They’re not kidding anybody with this waffle.
What a waste of money.
Stupid.
You might as well burnt $559 million in cash.
So they spent almost the same amount on an advertisement spot on the front of a soccer team’s jersey as they did the GM compensation fund? Hehe, we must be back in 2008…
Irresponsibility comes in many forms and methinks potential corporate mismanagement , here , could only come from the result of some lobbyist’s persuasion , probably from within the Vauxhall division in the UK . To be fair , the lobbyist wasn’t likely stretching his talents by dealing with Corporate whims , he probably enjoyed more satisfaction in selling refrigerators to the eskimos . …you know how it goes , once you sell one , all the other eskimos want one , too .
Vauxhall has it’s own sponsorship deals and had nothing to do with this fiasco
Vauxhall & Manchester United are two of my favourite things & although on the surface of things it looks to be a waste of money I always try to look at the positives, which are our local club Manchester United is a global phenomenal as is GM. Manchester United is England’s most successful football club & after a blip last season will no doubt get back on track again & be back on the European & world stage (infect even if not in Europe this year surely people will talk about the absence of Man United that’s had them for two decades). As for GM there’s nothing to stop them advertising Vauxhall, Opel too as well as Chevy or even Cadillac for that matter. I’d certainly buy say a domestic Man United kit with say Vauxhall on it & a European/World kit with say Chevrolet on it.
Sorry Jon GM already tried to transfer the Chevrolet contract to Vauxhall & Opel but Manchester United would not re-negotiate the deal. I’m fortunate in that I can’t stand football at all so any advertising is wasted on me!
This money could have gone to more coherent global marketing program.
First off Soccer does nothing for North America
Second it is polarizing. Just as if they would sponsor the Pittsburg Steelers or Dallas Cowboys a similar or larger group will at it as much as love it.
Now if you wanted spend the money on better marketing and advertising on TV during these matches that would be the smart move.
I present this as just another case of GM marketing still damaged by the old Culture.
Also Marketing as a whole sucks at many companies not just GM. Too often the pressure is on these highly educated people to over think things and totally miss the target.
Time to bring back marketing people that love and understand the product not just the ones that are paid to sell it.
There was a time the Marking man in charge of Pontiac won the US Nationals Mr. Super Stock eliminator class doing his job!!
They don’t have to race but they should embrace their products.
Might want to do some research before you comment, you stated “soccer does nothing for North America”
First of all if we are talking about the North American hemisphere, which is Canada, the US, and Mexico. Soccer is the most popular sport in Mexico and also a top sport in Canada and ALSO becoming very popular in the US very rapidly, in fact in the year of 2013 The MLS ( Major League Soccer) (USA) had more capacity than NBA games! So in fact soccer does a lot for North America.