Brands across the Fintech spectrum are using football sponsorships to accelerate growth in their key markets.
In the second instalment of our fintech and football series with SportQuake, Libertex Chief Marketing Officer Marios Chailis and SportQuake CEO Matt House discuss the trading brand’s long-term growth strategy, investment in La Liga and recent expansion into the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur.
To celebrate this new partnership, SportQuake are offering readers the chance to win an exclusive VIP experience at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium*. Click here to enter and sign-up to Finance Magnates Virtual Summit 2020 to hear more from Marios and Matt on fintech’s growth in football.
Background: Expanding on La Liga sponsorship to drive UK growth
Marios Chailis: Libertex was founded in 1997 and our user base has steadily grown over the last 23 years to have a global presence in 120 countries. Football sponsorship has been at the heart of this growth strategy, with multiple partnerships enabling us to target specific regions.
For example, in 2016, the brand identified Spain, Latin America and South East Asia as important emerging markets, so we joined with James Rodriguez and La Liga sides Getafe and Valencia to drive awareness in these areas.
Our main marketing objective revolves around customer acquisition and when I arrived at Libertex in 2019, it quickly became clear that this strategy was paying real dividends.
We duly decided it was time to look at further investment in the space. We have a commitment to the UK market with plans to open an office in the country, so the English Premier League was a natural next step.
Matt House: There’s been an influx of trading brands entering football over the past five years as a means to improve global visibility. Online Trading is still a relatively new sector and mainstream awareness remains low in developing markets, but football provides an effective platform to accelerate brand awareness and user growth en masse.
Adding to this, it’s important to note the positive impact that football sponsorships have on user retention. Each partnership offers exclusive VIP perks and experiences as part of the rights package which brands can offer in the form of B2C giveaways and rewards, increasing customer loyalty and long-term brand allegiance.
Marios and the wider Libertex team already knew the benefits, so SportQuake’s main job was to effectively amplify their football strategy to maximise impact.
Strategic Development: Aligning with an Innovative Premier League force
Chailis: The Premier League is one of the world’s leading leagues and the best players from around the world want to play there. We shared this ambition as a brand.
We understood that the league’s star power and excitement was reflected in viewing figures. The league has a huge reach with over 3bn annual viewers and would provide us with greater exposure than any other available channel. We were convinced that this would result in more business.
SportQuake were key in allowing us to develop the most impactful partnership, helping us understand and navigate the various options that were available in the league.
As with our other sponsorships, we wanted to align with a partner who shared our values - unrivalled ambition and continual innovation to achieve success. Tottenham Hotspur ticked all the boxes.
Ambition runs throughout their club and they pride themselves on embracing the latest technologies to achieve more on the pitch - just as Libertex do in the trading world.
House: Marios hits the nail on the head regarding the Premier League. It’s the most popular sports league in the world and would help the brand to achieve massive reach across the globe.
Tottenham embody Libertex’s Trade For More philosophy, never resting on their laurels and always aiming to improve - you only have to look at their activity in the latest summer transfer window to see that.
With Libertex’s intention to grow in the UK, Spurs were an excellent fit being based in London, one of the world’s financial capitals.
Their new stadium has quickly become a sporting landmark in the city and is highly regarded across the world - a very physical show of their innovative approach at work. Building on this, the stadium’s multi-purpose nature would also be advantageous to Libertex, enabling the brand to generate awareness among audiences beyond football.
In the past year alone, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was scheduled to host NFL games, a world-heavyweight boxing fight featuring Anthony Joshua and various entertainment events, including a Lady Gaga concert. All factors considered, SportQuake were confident that Spurs would be a great partner for Libertex.
Activation: Maximising Impact at an Unprecedented Moment
Chailis: We announced the partnership in mid-September and are at an exciting stage, with planning currently underway on activations and programs that we’ll be working on together throughout the coming years. All of this will be tied closely to Libertex’s Trade For More ethos.
Our main goal is to create unique experiences for both fans and traders - before, during and after games - to really showcase how they achieve more by trading with us.
It’s a very exciting prospect that when fans are allowed back in to stadiums, the VIP hospitality giveaways that we offer will ensure Libertex traders are some of the first people to experience the live match day experience again. We can’t wait!
House: We’re at a very unique moment with the global pandemic, however announcing and activating a new partnership during this current climate is a huge show of business strength and confidence. The SportQuake team worked closely with Libertex to drive return on their investment from launch through a digitally focused campaign.
Chailis: Early results of this digital-first approach have been incredibly promising with our launch campaign viewed over 750k times on social media.
House: In addition to this, football clubs have reacted to the changing climate to provide new opportunities for partners to generate match day awareness in the absence of fans. For example, the new stadium cover branding has been driving huge media value for sponsors.
Looking Ahead: A Powerful Tool to Achieve Long-Term Results
Chailis: We can’t wait to see what the partnership brings. Our experiences with Valencia and Getafe have taught us that joining with large, global football clubs is a powerful tool to create worldwide brand recognition. We’ve also seen how the connection with a football club can help to stimulate existing clients to trade more frequently.
Our other key channel is social media and our targeted campaigns have always been extremely effective. It’s impossible to compare the impact that each of these activities has, both are indispensable parts of our marketing strategy. With this in mind, we don’t treat the sponsorships in isolation.
Instead, they’re best utilised when supporting other marketing activity. We think it’s really important to integrate partnerships across your core business and marketing activity to fully sweat the contractual assets we have, driving return on investment.
House: Exactly right. Football sponsorships can be used throughout the various areas of your business and should be fully integrated across departments - be that B2C, B2B, CSR etc. Libertex are using their previous experience to really maximise the impact of their partnership with Tottenham. With that approach, we have no doubt that they will achieve excellent results.
This is the second in a series of articles in partnership with SportQuake exploring the growing trend of fintech brands investing in football sponsorships.
Click here to read the first instalment with eToro’s Dylan Holman. The next instalment, looking at Axi’s partnership with Manchester City, will be released on Wednesday 11th November.
*The recipient will be selected on 30/11/20. The winner can claim the experience at any Premier League game of their choosing, once fans are allowed back in to stadiums. The giveaway covers the match day experience only. All travel costs to the game must be paid for independently by the selected recipient.
