Big brands across the world are all clamouring for consumer attention. Attaching a brand to a major sports event, team or competition can have a far reaching influence for a brand and can create brand loyalty like nothing else. Let’s take a look at the biggest brands that sponsorship sports.
8. Castrol
British oil giants Castrol are synonymous with motor sport racing, beginning with their sponsorship of McLaren in 1979, They’ve also sponsored World Rally Championship teams since 2003, sponsored Le Mans Prototypes since 2011 and has had agreements in place with Volkswagen, Audi and BMW motor sport teams.
Perhaps the most iconic and memorable Castrol sponsorship was that of Toyota Motorsport in the World Rally Championship between 1993 and 1998. Their sponsorship coincided with Japan’s first ever manufacturers’ title in the WRC, with the iconic Toyota Motorsport Toyota Celica GT-Four the most successful Japanese rally car ever. Castrol has also had sponsorship arrangements in place outside of motor sports with the NFL, the Premier League, cricket, rugby union, the Champions League and FIFA World Cup.
7. Reebok
The sportswear manufacturer Reebok has had endorsements with soccer superstars including Thierry Henry, Andriy Schevchenko and Ryan Giggs. Clubs such as Liverpool were sponsored by Reebok and Bolton Wanderers home ground opened in 1997 with the name Reebok Stadium up until 2014.
Reebok’s primary focus has been deals with individual athletes such as prominent Indian cricketer MS Dhoni. A lifetime deal remains in place with Allen Iverson with nets him $800,000 annually and he will have access to a $32m trust in 2030. Other deals include endorsements of the NFL’s Watt brothers and Devonta Freeman. Reebok did offer an 18-year old LeBron James a $10m check to not meet with Nike and Adidas but he ultimately signed with Nike.
For 10 years Reebok held the exclusive rights to manufacture and market authentic and replica NFL jerseys as well as a 10-year deal for NHL kits from 2007. In 2004 they held a deal to become the official shoe supplier in the MLB and they’ve also held deals with the Canadian Football League. Reebok was purchased by Adidas in 2006 for $4.9b and many deals for the parent company focused on the Adidas brand thereafter.
Historically the company has been heavily involved in sponsoring individual track and field athletes but for over six-years the UFC-Reebok deal helped legitimise the UFC as it exploded in popularity into the mainstream.
The apparel deal signed in 2014 helped the UFC with uniformity and a clean and crisp brand image. During the partnership Reebok paid out almost $40m of prize money to fighters, with Conor McGregor the most prominent Reebok sponsored athlete.
6. Adidas
The German apparel giant was founded by Adi, the brother of Puma founder Rudolf Dassler. The company has a huge footprint in soccer with 73% of its $1.4b annual budget going towards soccer. Adidas is the official sponsor of many national teams including Germany, Spain, Argentina and Mexico. They are the official sponsors of the Champions League and the Adidas Finale is the official match ball of the competition.
Adidas was the NBA’s uniform and apparel supplier from 2006 – when it acquired Reebok – up until 2017. Since 1996 Adidas has been a big sponsor of Major League Soccer and signed a six-year $700m extension in 2020. The company is the official kit supplier of the NHL until at least 2025 and sponsors individual NFL athletes such as Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes.
The company however spends more on futsal than both basketball and ice hockey combined, such is their focus on soccer. Adidas is a major sponsor of Bayern Munich and the comany signed the biggest kit deal in history, a minimum guaranteed $1.29b deal with Manchester United over ten years.
The apparel of the world famous New Zealand All Blacks is supplied by Adidas as well as the France and Italy rugby national teams. The company’s biggest individual sponsorship agreements are with athletes including Andy Murray, Usain Bolt and Aaron Rodgers.
5. Nike
Nike spends half of it’s $1.6b sponsorship dollars on soccer. There is also a strong focus on basketball and American football with smaller deals in baseball and golf.
The company has signed some of the biggest sports sponsorship deals in history. It has signed a lifetime deal with Cristiano Ronaldo that started in 2003 and is set to exceed $1b. Nike also has a long time sponsorship arrangement in place with Tiger Woods despite the infidelity scandals that went global, and in 2013 signed Rory McIlroy to a 10-year $250m deal. LeBron James also has a lifetime deal with Nike worth at least $1b.
Nike’s focus on soccer has seen the company net sponsorship deals with clubs including Barcelona, Liverpool and PSG. They also have deals with Brazil, France, England, Portugal and the Dutch national teams.
The iconic swoosh logo of Nike is one of the most synonymous brands in sport and continues to solidify their position in basketball over the years. In 1984, Air Jordan was the first collaboration between Nike and Michael Jordan which proved to be one of the biggest boosts for a brand in history. The Nike Air Jordan brand is now worth more than $3b dollars. Nike signed an 8-year sponsorship deal with the NBA in 2015 as the official outfitter for the league.
In addition to their deals with LeBron James and Michael Jordan, Nike has also had collaboration with many superstars of the NBA and signature shoe deals with stars including Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, Kevin Durant, Jason Kidd and Paul George to name a few. The company also has strong sponsorship arrangements with top trakc and field athletes such as Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson and Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
4. Samsung
The South Korean manufacturing conglomerate spends more than 5% of its annual revenue on advertising and marketing. Sports sponsorship forms a big part of their strategy and such is their presence in sports, the company has its own sports marketing and sports club division called Samsung Sports.
Samsung has individual sponsorship arrangements with some of the greatest athletes in the world including David Beckham, Lionel Messi, Lebron James, Manny Pacquiao, David Ortiz and Usain Bolt. They are also official partners of the International Olympic Committee and has significant sponsorship agreements in La Liga, NASCAR, the PGA Championship and MLB.
The company owns successful K League football club Suwon Samsung Bluewings as well as baseball team Samsung Lions and the basketball’s Seoul Samsung Thunders. Samsung also has a big presense in eSports and is an official sponsor of British eSports company Guild Esports which is part owned by David Beckham.
3. Coca Cola
Nobody needs an introduction to Coca Cola. The company was the first sponsor of the Olympic Games back in Amsterdam 1928 and continues to be a major sponsor of the games to this day. Coca-Cola’s sports sponsorship strategy focuses on sponsoring some of the biggest events in the world including the World Cups of both soccer,cricket and rugby.
Since 1978 the company has sponsored the FIFA World Cup and remains a major sponsor of NASCAR and has had a long history of sporting sponsorship of major league sports.
The English Football League was known as the Coca Cola Football League for six season, and the Coca-Cola Cup was the name of the Football League Cup between 1992 and 1998. The company remains involved in sponsorship with the Premier League which aims to promote several of the company’s other brands.
Coca-Cola had a 19-year partnership with the NFL which ended in 2002, and also had had a 28-year association with the NBA until their arrangement ended in 2015. In 2017 the company was the official sponsor of the MLB for three seasons but the company remains a major sponsor of many individual teams across the major leagues of America.
LeBron James had a long history with Coca-Cola during his prime. Other significant individual athletes sponsored by Coca-Cola are female football superstars Alex Morgan and Kelley O-Hara, golfer Jordan Spieth, Olympian Laurie Hernandez and NASCAR drivers Denny Hamilin, Bubba Wallace and Joey Logano.
2. Red Bull
Red Bull has advertised and gained worldwide brand recognition through sports from its founding in the 80’s. The company has an exceptionnally strong history with extreme sports and motor racing. F1 racing teams Scuderia Alpha Tauri and Red Bull Racing and are both owned by Red Bull, with the latter winning four Constructors’ Championships and five Driver’s Championships since it’s founding in 2005.
Red Bull has a fiercely aggressive sports sponsorship strategy by sports team ownership. Red Bull purchased Austrian team SV Austria Salzburg in 2005 and renamed the side Red Bull Salzburg and initially renouncing any association of the entire clubs history. The team also plays out of the appropriately named Red Bull Arena.
Bundesliga side RB Leipzig is owned by Red Bull and plays at Red Bull Arena. To circumvent Bundesliga rules which prevent corproate names being used in a team name, the club is officially known as RasenBallsport Leipzig (Lawn Ball Sports Leipzig) and therefore use the initials RB for RasenBallsport. Other football commitments include New York Red Bulls in the MLS and Red Bull Bragantino in Brazil.
In recent times the brand has made a strong presence in sponsoring eSports, and sponsored more than 750 eSport athletes in 2016.
1. PepsiCo
PepsiCo and their brand Pepsi is the biggest sponsor of sports in the world and spends a total of about $3b on advertising annually. The company has a strategy of strongly sponsoring leagues and tournaments in addition to individual teams and athletes.
In 2015, PepsiCo partnered with the NBA ending a 28-year relationship they had with Coca-Cola in a deal which involves PepsiCo soda and snack brand. One of the most marketable players in the world, Lebron James, ended a 17-year association with Coca-Cola in 2021 and is the face of PepsiCo’s Mountain Dew energy drink.
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