Studs Up

It’s important to note that upon hearing the news that United’s new sponsor was Aon Corporation, the reaction for many football fans was something along the lines of “Who!?” - and that’s also kind of the point.

AIG enjoyed a supreme boost in brand awareness thanks to United’s success as English, European and World champions and Aon will no doubt be hoping for more of the same. I sat down with David Prosperi (Vice President, Global Public Relations for Aon) via the magic of the interwebs and chatted at length about the Big Brand Handover in 2010.

We talked about the Glazer’s, Cristiano Ronaldo, excessive production of new kits, Asian markets and more. Below are a few points I found especially interesting, although you should read the full transcript at the end of this article to get the full picture for yourself.

- United asked a number of companies to pitch their sponsorship rights, I can’t help but wonder who the others were (my money is on Revels). I can only assume that their sales pitch was better than Michael Owen’s.

- Even though United are the exception rather than the rule, I think it’s great for football that global corporations from counter-intuitive industries are still seeing football clubs as influential enough to move the needle on their business goals.

- Declining to speak about the Glazer’s is completely understandable, but I think David was playing coy when not naming his dream transfer target. Everyone knows that “Global Marketing Potential” and Franck “The Terror” Ribery go together like peas in a pod.

Full transcript of our talk is below, and visit Aon’s Manchester United microsite for more info on the company and the deal itself. Thanks again to David for being open and candid throughout.

How did the Man United sponsorship come about? Did you approach them or did you respond to an RFP of sorts?

It is my understanding that after researching around the world, Manchester United invited just a few firms, including Aon, to participate in the process. At the same time we were exploring opportunities on how best to promote our brand globally. And once Manchester United learned that we shared many of the same values they did in terms of a desire to be global in nature, a commitment to provide distinctive value to fans and clients, and that Aon had a physical presence in over 120 countries, the discussions became serious because it became clear that they wanted to be with us as much as we wanted to be with them.

What drew Aon to this opportunity?

We recognized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be aligned with the #1 brand in the world’s #1 sport. Manchester United is truly a global sports firm with the right pedigree. Its brand is so strong in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East for example, where we think we have great opportunities for growth and to build our brand. We feel there are a number of great opportunities for our brand to be placed on the Manchester United shirt with tremendous exposure to the millions of dedicated fans who follow this team every day. In addition there will be opportunities for joint product marketing and services to clients and prospects as well as the ability to partner and develop other financial services partnerships.

With the global economy being what it is, is this a good time for any firm to be engaged in a sports marketing deal like this one?

The economic downturn has affected virtually all businesses, but for any industry leader such as Aon to succeed globally they need to seek out new opportunities for growth. Which for Aon means increasing our brand awareness and access to new markets. We have taken many steps to build our firm and to position it as the preeminent global financial services firm, but we had done so at the expense of our brand. An opportunity to build a world-recognized brand by aligning with Manchester United rarely presents itself and it seemed that we should grab it now and reap the rewards in the years to come. Our sector has been less affected than those of the global financial services providers, and so we were fortunate enough to be in a position where we could seriously consider an opportunity of this scale.

What aspect of this partnership are you or Aon most excited about.

We are excited about providing our clients and prospects, as well as our Aon colleagues, with unique and distinctive opportunities around the globe through our partnership that nobody else will be able to match.

Had Man United’s previous sponsor not been AIG, do you think Aon have been drawn to this opportunity anyway either with Manchester United or in football in general?

Absolutely. As I noted earlier, we identified this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity regardless of who was the previous sponsor. It is merely a coincidence that an insurance broker is taking the place of an insurer, and we have a great deal of respect for AIG, for their brand, and for the work they have done with Manchester United during the course of their agreement, which continues through the 2009-2010 season.

AIG’s brand enjoyed huge increases in awareness thanks to their sponsorship deal and Aon will almost certainly enjoy the same.

The first year after AIG’s sponsorship agreement began, they came from nowhere on the list of the world’s top 100 brands to 47th! And they jumped from 84th to 30th on Barron’s list of the most respected companies. Our objective in signing this agreement with Manchester United is to build our brand globally, and we hope we are as successful as AIG.

Obviously Manchester United has made a distinct effort to establish its brand in the Asian markets over the years, now that Aon is a partner will there be some new target markets or more of the same?

Manchester United has no equal in sports when it comes to global brand awareness, particularly in Asia where they have 100% in Korea, 90% in China and 80% in Japan. We believe that Asia, particularly India and China, are prime targets for revenue growth and increased market share for Aon, and being associated with the Manchester United brand we believe will help us to greatly build our brand and grow our business in this region.

Was there ever any intent to market Aon’s brand through football previously or was the Manchester United opportunity a case of right place, right time?

As we said when we announced the agreement, we had built a strong foundation for Aon in order to position the firm for future growth, but that we had done so at the expense of the brand. We were exploring various opportunities to build the brand globally, including advertising and partnership agreements, when the Manchester United opportunity came along. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we knew we could not allow to pass us by.

Most Manchester United fans will only know Aon’s impact on their shirt sponsorship and often this is the extend of a brand’s impact on a football club and its community. Will Aon be getting involved beyond name-on-shirt?

We intend to become more than just a name on a shirt during our agreement with Manchester United. Aon is a global firm that strongly believes in giving back to the communities in the over-than 120 countries in which it does business, and we were favorably pleased that Manchester United shares many of those same values through their work with UNICEF. There is no other sport that teaches young people the principles of teamwork and striving for excellence as much as football, and Manchester United leads the way in teaching the values of UNICEF. We also believe we can help Manchester United strengthen its brand positioning in the US.

What was the opinion around the Aon offices about Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure to Real Madrid? Was his marketability at all a part in the appeal of the club and sponsorship?

While some of our 37,000 global colleagues may have had some personal reaction to Ronaldo’s departure, Aon agreed to this partnership based on the overall strength and appeal of the Manchester United brand and not just one player.

What kind of operational interaction or influence will Aon have with the Glazer family?

I cannot answer this question.

What will Aon’s role be when it comes to the new club shirts themselves. Will Aon have any responsibility in how and when new club kits are produced from one season to the next? Many fans are beginning to feel that new kits are being produced too often to the point where they feel taken advantage of for the sake of shirt revenue.

This is a question I am better off leaving to our colleagues at Manchester United to answer.

And finally, who would be your dream transfer signing for Manchester United this summer?

Chris, that would be like me telling the general manager of the Chicago Bulls who they should pick in this week’s NBA draft! I like basketball but I don’t know the needs of the club, so I will leave that decision to their general manager. All I can say is that we at Aon are already enjoying the working relationship we have with our colleagues at Manchester United and we are looking forward to enjoying their many successes in the upcoming seasons.