FC Schalke 04 has just made millions of dollars thanks to Esports
With the 2017/2018 season, German footbal clubs are looking into acquiring new ways of income thanks to being allowed to have their own sleeve sponsors for the first time. AllyouneedFresh, an online supermarket under the umbrella of Deutsche Post, is one of the first companies to make the move as sleeve sponsor for popular club FC Schalke 04.
Reportedly worth $20 million over the next four years, the deal will also see Schalke and AllyouneedFresh introduce a fancy new way to pay for drinks and snacks in the stadium. A chip is sewn-in the badge on the sleeve of Schalke’s new jersey, which functions as a cashless card. Additionally, Schalke’s merchandize will be sold in the AllyouneedFresh online supermarket. It wasn’t just Schalke’s famous soccer team that encouraged AllyouneedFresh to partner with the club, as Esports engagement played an important role as well. Jens Drubel, CEO at AllyouneedFresh said, the fact “that the club is active in esports topped off our good feeling about it.” Company spokesperson Max Thinius also confirmed to Dot Esports that Schalke’s esports efforts were an important factor to partner with the club.
Seeing itself at the forefront of digitization, the company saw esports as a natural fit for AllyouneedFresh, Thinius said. “If we had to decide between a club that’s into esports and one that’s not, we would go with the one that’s in, for sure. Esports opens up a whole new world of opportunities for our brand.” Thinius declined to comment on the question if the AllyouneedFresh logo will appear on Schalke esports’ jerseys as well. He did guarantee, however, that esports-specific campaigns are planned.
It’s safe to assume that this is a multi-million-dollar deal—and one that esports helped to secure. And that’s regardless of the club’s competitive success. Indeed, it’s now clear that Schalke’s stubbornness to stick with esports truly paid off. Sure, Schalke’s esports section wasn’t the main reason for AllyouneedFresh to become the club’s the sleeve sponsor, but it was the icing on the cake. And it proves once again that esports make brands more attractive to marketers.
