Manchester United football club has one of the biggest fan bases spread across all corners of the globe. Apollo Tyres, United’s commercial partner has decided to capitalise on the club’s popularity by expanding this partnership to cover a larger geographical swathe. Now, the partnership covers not just the 67 countries in Asia, Europe and few countries of Africa, but also the whole of Africa, and a few Asian nations such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Brunei besides.
Speaking of this expansion, Marco Paracciani, Chief Marketing Officer, Apollo Tyres Ltd said, “The last two years of our association with Manchester United Football Club has helped increase the awareness for the Apollo brand across select markets. This expansion will help us in our brand building journey in the African and south east Asia regions and support our growth initiatives in various countries in the regions.”
Manchester United’s also addressed this widening of associations, “Since becoming a partner of Manchester United in 2013, Apollo Tyres have demonstrated their commitment not only to the partnership, but also to our fans. They have introduced some amazing initiatives, including the installation of its community ‘Go The Distance’ pitch at Old Trafford, and more recently, its week long football camp held in India in conjunction with the Manchester United Soccer School, aimed at inspiring India’s next generation of sporting stars. Apollo Tyres have shown how through our partnership they can create programmes like this that not only give something back to the community but also increases the company’s brand awareness in key markets. With the expansion of its rights into these new territories, we hope to bring many more exciting enterprises to our fans.”
Apart from the football school programs in India, Apollo also launched a limited edition United branded tyre in their existing 15” Alnac 4G range. So even more Manchester United fans who wear their badge on their sleeves (and on their tyres) now have the chance to associate with one of the clubs foremost commercial partners.
United aren’t the only elite football team to associate with a tyre brand either, because derby opponents Manchester city perennial London-based rivals Chelsea and Arsenal have Yokohama as Jersey sponsors and an association with Cooper tyres respectively. Furthermore, long time adversaries Liverpool have ties with Maxxis Tyres, and even European opposition AC Milan are associated with Toyo Tyres.
