UEFA
Integrating purpose into the Men’s National Team Football’s commercial offering.
Strategy
Partnerships
© IMAGO
THE CHALLENGE
Brands, athletes, and fans expect sports organizations to embrace purpose and use their influence to benefit people and planet if they are to remain relevant and offer a compelling proposition to sponsors.
With this in mind, we were tasked with evaluating UEFA’s media-driven commercial model to better integrate their sustainability commitments, specifically as an extension of their commercial offering around Men’s National Team Football (MNTF).
This included creating a purpose framework for MNTF’s commercial division and opportunities for partners to collaborate with them in achieving their vision, both in the short-term and long-term.
OUR SOLUTION
We held a workshop to educate UEFA stakeholders on the value of sustainability and purpose for sports organizations, and how integrating them can translate into increased financial returns through successful partnership renewals and additional revenue from new brand categories.
We then evaluated UEFA’s commercial offering and philanthropic efforts to craft an emotive narrative to attract brand partnerships. This included identifying strategies to incorporate a sustainability offering into MNTF partnerships, leveraging existing programs and building potential for sustainability in future commercial offerings across the entire organization.
17 sport’s role
01
02
Purpose education
Commercial strategy evolution
Tailored Strategy Recommendations
03
THE RESULTS
Based on our evaluation, we recommended that UEFA evolve from an events-focused commercial offering to an always-on 4-year program with ongoing projects, communications, and opportunities for activation.
We proposed a multi-tier structure that offered a combination of MNTF-only and overall sustainability partnerships, allowing for the sustainability lever to be ‘turned up’ or ‘down’ based on the sponsor prospect’s objectives and priorities. We also introduced a deeper, more compelling narrative for the commercial value proposition to highlight the positive impact UEFA has on society through football.
