It was announced yesterday that Unilever brand, Sure, are teaming up with three Premier League clubs: 'Chelsea, Everton and Southampton to drive awareness among the brand's key audience and offer a number of fan experiences.' * They are following in the footsteps of Beirsdorf brand Nivea, who struck up a 'multi-year partnership with Liverpool FC' back in 2015, as it looked to 'boost awareness in the male skin care category.'** This category in itself was already starting to boom, with the industry being 'estimated to bring in $21 billion in revenure in 2016,' *** however it wasn't seen to be something to talk about with the lads down the pub. This is where the brands have been clever in targeting football clubs, and therefore players, who could be seen as influencers for this growing industry. 
Take a look at what's been done and what's to come, with the connection between football and men's skin care.

What's Been Done - Liverpool & Nivea

Along with the slightly cheesy but memorable ad campaigns that have been produced over the years, Nivea and Liverpool also took on an integrated approach by using 'targeted digital and social media activity, point of sale and a public relations campaign.'** They also set up experiences that allowed the players to interact with their fans in exciting events such as The Nivea Kicking Cage Challenge.

What's To Come - Chelsea, Everton, Southampton & Sure

'The Sure campaign will intrinsically link the brand’s approach to high pressure moments often experienced by players, managers and fans within football. The multi-platform campaign will see Sure creating a host of ‘money can’t buy’ experiences to offer in bespoke consumer competitions, alongside regular content on a football-dedicated Twitter channel, which aims to showcase that confidence to perform in the moments that matter, can often be the difference between winning and losing. As part of the club sponsorship deals, Sure will also receive a number of partner rights including LED advertising, tickets and hospitality and access to players. These include opportunities for fans to watch their teams train at the clubs' training grounds and on their pre-season tour, accompanied by a meet and greet and tickets to their subsequent games and the chance to win a coaching session with Southampton Football Club. Fans can also win behind-the-sences experiences on the morning of a match, such as 'being the kit man'. 
The campaign will also see Sure partnering with Perform Group to launch the Opta powered ‘Goal Pressure Index’ – a bespoke algorithm developed to analyse player performance under pressure. The Pressure Index and its formula will take into account key considerations such as time of goal, position in the league, specific opposition and rivalries when determining how well an individual player has performed under pressure across the season. The rating system aims to give fans further insight into player and team performance, all showcased through weekly preview and review shows streamed via football publisher Goal.' *


We all know there is a lot of money in football, but as shown in both these cases and as previously mentioned in the post The Ultimate Fan Experience, it's not just about the games, LED advertising or even winning anymore. Obviously the latter helps to keep fans engaged and up-beat as well as bringing in more revenue, but it's now becoming more and more important to encourage fans to be fully engaged with the club on multiple platforms throughout the week, rather than just on match-days.


*http://www.eventmagazine.co.uk/sure-partners-premier-league-clubs-increase-fan-engagement/brands/article/1422620
**http://www.thedrum.com/news/2015/02/12/nivea-men-inks-multi-year-partnership-liverpool-fc 
***http://uk.complex.com/style/2016/01/mens-grooming-industry-growth-2016