Aon Aims To Increase Global Goals with Man U Sponsorship

I guess it was actually announced about a year ago, but a story just last week in the Chicago Tribune revealed to me that Chicago-based insurance giant Aon will replace disgraced insurance giant AIG as the primary sponsor of English soccer behemoth Manchester United.

Although the image above is just a rendering, created by Zoran and showcased on his Football Kits Design blog, the Aon logo will become the main imprint on Man U's uniform (or "kit" as per the Brits).

Although Man U won three English Premier League championships and one Champions League title in the four years of AIG's sponsorship, repercussions from revelations about AIG's derivatives trading--including its need for a $180 billion federal bailout--precluded the New York-based insurer from renewing its agreement.

After Manchester United--itself embroiled in a bit of controversy ever since American billionaire and Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer bought the team in 2005--sent out a sales pitch to possible successors, Aon, led by CEO Greg Case, decided to pony up $80 million for the 4-year rights (the Tribune article says $80 million, but this Telegraph article from June 2009 says 80 million British Pounds, which today equals about $116 million).

If this isn't the largest soccer shirt deal ever, it's certainly well up there. Though it sure sounds like a lot of money in the midst of a recession, according to the Tribune's Greg Burns, Aon had both the money and incentive. "Having jettisoned low-margin underwriting for more profitable reinsurance, the company wants global clients to view it as a broad-based professional-services consultancy."

I won't pretend to know much about the global insurance industry, or English soccer for that matter, but it seems like a pretty good investment to me. Consider these factoids, from the Tribune article, the Telegraph article and an Aon website about the new partnership, which officially begins on June 1 although the new jersey won't debut until after the World Cup ends in July:

• Manchester United is the #1 brand in the #1 sport in the world
• 333 million fans worldwide follow Manchester United, which claims to have 6 times more fans in India than the UK
• The Manchester United web site has 60 million web page impressions per month — 70% outside of UK 
• In 2009, Man U sold more than triple the sales of all NFL jerseys combines
• Approximately 6.6 million Man U shirts are sold each year (official/non-official).
• After one year's sponsorship of Manchester United, the AIG brand was entered as the 47th most recognized brand in a survey of globally recognized brands
• AIG then jumped from 84 to 30 on Barron's most respected list

So not only does Aon get its logo seen by millions of "football" fans worldwide, they also get over 6 million "walking billboards." Yes, the expense seems a bit daring, but the exposure should be tremendous.

For a company that made $7.5 billion dollars last year (ranking #298 on the Fortune 500), but has considerable room to grow, putting itself top of mind--and front of chest--to Man U, its millions of supporters and myriad other observers seems like a shrewd way to get a real worldwide "kick."