“It will also affect the sports part”: why experts do not see a disaster in title sponsorship of clubs

Despite the difficulties that Russian football clubs are experiencing today, suspended from participating in European competitions, interest in them and the RPL from sponsors remains quite high.

Moreover, naming began to enjoy particular popularity.

And if earlier the name of the partner was given to the stadium, now the name has been changed by FC Nizhny Novgorod.

In the new season, Pari NN will play in the Russian Championship.

It is reported that for this the club will annually receive 450 million rubles from the betting company.

The sources also reported that the Mir national payment card system could become the title sponsor of the RPL, replacing Tinkoff in this position, which annually pays 330 million rubles.

Both news were positively received by specialists from the sports sector.

FNL commercial director Robert Ter-Abramyan, who previously worked in the KHL and a number of hockey clubs, noted that Nizhny Novgorod would begin to develop not only in terms of sports, but also in terms of marketing, commercial, and this is almost a unique case for teams from the RPL.

“The same can be said about the league.

The category of payment systems is often represented in sports organizations around the world.

There are Mastercard and Visa cases.

They make amazing activations.

And I hope, in addition to naming, if the agreement is concluded, we will see bright projects of the RPL and the payment system.

It is very interesting to see how they will develop in terms of digitalization, work with the fan base, the accumulation of this base and its further monetization.

I think that here, in addition to marketing activities, the RPL will also receive a good technological partner for the development of CRM and online payments, ”the specialist explained in an interview with RT.

The former president of Lokomotiv, Ilya Gerkus, in turn, drew attention to the fact that many Russian teams already have historical sponsorship names.

Everyone just got used to them and does not pay attention.

“I don’t see anything terrible in the renaming.

In the end, both Shinnik, and Rotor, and even Lokomotiv are somewhat sponsored club names, ”said RT Herkus.

It should be noted that the practice of naming football teams is not particularly popular in Europe.

The most famous example is Red Bull Salzburg.

However, in this case, the club is completely redeemed by the sponsor.

At the same time, in other countries there are not so many teams that depend on state funding.

And, according to the head of the RFU, Alexander Dyukov, such contracts are an opportunity to get away from him. 

“This is the case when a new sponsor will provide a serious share of the budget funding, will reduce the region's expenses for the maintenance of the team.

The League does not see any risks in this, ”the Championship specialist quotes. 

At the same time, naming is an important image story for sponsors as well, since instead of audience loyalty, you can get the opposite effect.

Therefore, according to Ter-Abramyan, when signing agreements for such large sums, a deep analysis of the situation is always carried out.

“I am sure that companies pay attention to sports results, but the region where the club is present is no less important.

Be sure to study the partner's potential for business development, the coverage that the sponsor will receive at the expense of the fan base, and attention to the team from the media.

I know the leadership of Nizhny Novgorod.

Colleagues pay great attention to the development of marketing and commerce, promotion of the brand and the region.

They make a large number of bright promotions for fans to come to the stadium and support the team offline,” said Ter-Abramyan.

Moreover, in his opinion, not only the sponsor, but also the club will benefit from such cooperation.

It's not just about finances, the new partner will help increase the number of fans in the stands.

“The betting company has interesting cases implemented with sports organizations.

In addition to the usual branding, they will add activities, services for viewers and increase the level of events.

Thus, they will either increase the club's fan base, or increase their loyalty to the team and to themselves, as they will be an integral part of the joint project, ”the FNL commercial director emphasized.

As for dissatisfaction on the part of the fans, it will certainly appear.

However, it all depends on the club.

Good communication can easily deal with resentment.

By the way, Nizhny Novgorod has never been distinguished by constancy.

This is the fourth name change since 2015.

So fans are no strangers to learning new chants.

“If you explain to them that this is a long-term story, allowing development and influencing, among other things, the sports part, I am sure that the situation will be perceived correctly.

Of course, there will be people who will say: "Changed the name of my favorite club."

But well-built communication is able to minimize such a reaction and highlight the possible benefits of cooperation,” Ter-Abramyan added.

It should be noted that changes in the club have already begun: head coach Mikhail Galaktionov has been appointed.

There is news on the transfer market - Pari NN rented midfielder Dmitry Rybchinsky from Lokomotiv.

And if the project pays off, it is possible that other premier league teams will have various consoles in a year.

Of course, we are not talking about giants like Spartak and Dynamo, whose name is already a brand and any change, even in the logo, arouses the indignation of the fans, but about the clubs from the bottom of the standings, suffering from lack of funding.