PICTURE from left-right. Ashley Young, Jamie Reigle, Commercial Director at Manchester United, Wayne Rooney, Luke Shaw, Frank Rutten, Vice President International at Gulf International and Antonio Valencia.
Major sponsor deal between Manchester United and Gulf Oil
On a weekend which saw UK football legends Manchester United draw 1-1 with West Ham in the FA Cup, the only major competition in fairness that they stand a chance of winning this year following a troublesome season thus far, Gulf Oil announced that it has entered into a long-term agreement with the world’s leading football brand, in what they describe as a ‘ground breaking initiative’. At its extremely sophisticated Carrington Training Complex, a few miles outside of Manchester city centre, ‘The Red Devils’ unveiled Gulf as one of its new Global Partners, in a three year deal, giving the international oil company rights to the MU brand all over the world.
Gulf currently has a retail presence in 22 countries, mainly in Europe, but it is shortly to announce development plans for its retail network to incorporate a further four countries, including most significantly Mexico, currently undergoing enormous change following the de regulation process there. For Gulf and other interested oil companies, this means that Mexico’s state oil company PEMEX, will now not be the only fuel retailer in the region.
Football is growing rapidly throughout the world
Gulf Oil International Vice President, Frank Rutten, joined Manchester United’s Commercial Director Jamie Reigle, in making an announcement to a packed press gallery, which significantly included two TV channels from India and one from China. Interestingly enough both these countries are currently in the midst of cultivating football fever to a major degree, with China starting to attract big money players like Paulinho and Fernandinho from Brazil for example, both of whom are greatly respected professionals on the international football circuit.
It is even rumoured that one of Manchester United’s finest, Wayne Rooney, was recently offered a contract in excess of £100 million to play in China next year, but industry sources were quick to play down this particular piece of football gossip giving it no chance of happening, at least for the next few years anyway.
Soccer players though are not the only ones taking the oriental route for big bucks. Former England football manager Sven-Göran Eriksson and much respected Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, both manage teams in China, being Shanghai SIPG and Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao respectively. India though has a slightly slower burn towards football, with cricket, being by far its preferred sport. It’s worth noting that Gulf is also a big cricket sponsor in the region. Nevertheless I was reliably informed by one of the Indian film crews, like myself fighting for space on the press podium, that major football teams in India now attract crowds in excess of 40,000 spectators, which is big news for everyone connected with the sport in that part of the world.
The point to all this is that Gulf clearly acknowledges the strong penetration of the Manchester United brand in South East Asia and India as being the primary reason for this new partnership, especially given that Gulf wants to develop its retail network in these parts of the world, where currently its presence is non-existent.
What they say about the deal
I spoke to Head of Gulf Business, Paul Stannard, one of the many Gulf representatives attending the day’s proceedings and asked him to explain a bit more about what’s really at stake. He said “The partnership marks a further step in Gulf’s intent to strengthen its brand presence globally and will enable us to engage with Manchester United’s world¬wide fan base, including 325 million followers in Asia. Along with India, China, the Middle East and Indonesia, Gulf sees Asia as a major focus area. Gulf is well known in Western Europe with over 500 fuel stations in the UK and a strong presence in the Netherlands, Germany and Scandinavia.
In the Middle East we have sites in Jordan and have recently established a joint venture in Russia. Our entry into the Mexican market, mentioned earlier, will involve establishing 2000 sites alongside a local partner following the breakup of the PEMEX monopoly. Other target areas for us involve South East Asia, where currently we are developing a proposal in the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. The plan going forward is to open as many service stations as we can around the world aiming to secure two new countries each year until 2020.
Prospective partners see Gulf as a global brand and we offer to franchise this brand to them, but they operate the stations themselves following clear guidelines laid down by the Gulf philosophy relating to our visual standards and the quality of the fuel they sell. For any suppliers interested in working on the Gulf programme, I am happy to point them in the direction of our partners as once we secure a new network the operators would rebrand in every case, whilst others may build from the ground up”.
This agreement will give Gulf Oil International access to Manchester United assets including the club crest and player images and Gulf’s distinctive orange disc will feature on the Club’s digital perimeter boards during Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup matches at Old Trafford. Commercial Director for ‘Man U’, Jamie Reigle added a bit more detail when he told me “We pride ourselves in being associated with companies that have global ambitions and we look forward to working with Gulf to bring unique experiences to their customers and our fans as they look to grow their business around the world. As part of the partnership, Gulf will benefit from a whole series of rights including access to Manchester United merchandise and premiums, as well as some ‘money can’t buy’ experiences, giving consumers at the retail point of Gulf fuel stations a chance to meet with our ambassadors and playing legends”.
A truly exciting marketing opportunity for Gulf
Now whether this means we can expect to see every Gulf fuel station around the world emblazoned with images of Manchester United star players in the not too distant future is yet to be seen, but there is no doubt as to the values of a David Beckham poster wherever you happen to be, so I imagine that in time this may well be the case. David Beckham is included in the deal as a past Manchester player, or at least one might presume so with there being a large poster of DB below a gulf logo, greeting us when we entered Carrington.
The final words of the day were left with Gulf Oil’s VP International, Frank Rutten who said. “This is a truly exciting opportunity for Gulf to expand beyond our motorsport sponsorships and to stand on the global stage, showing the ambition and growth aspirations of the brand. This partnership with Manchester United, surely the world’s greatest football name, brings together two brands with incredible heritage.”
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