remark September 2017 | Page 5

1 REPLAY A few of the latest sponsorship campaigns from the last month Hublot backs Mayweather Before the gargantuan fight with Conor McGregor, Mayweather reignited a trusted and proven fight partnership, reuniting with the watch brand Hublot. This is not the first time that the brand and athlete have joined forces, having had a similar partnership at his fight against Manny Pacquiao in 2015. This partnership included allowing Hublot to display their logo on the waistband of the 50 and 0 champion for the fight , delivering a platform to millions of viewers. The one fight partnership has been an interesting prospect for Mayweather, allowing him to pick and choose who he partners with at each fight; this has provided opportunities for ‘Money’ Mayweather to live up to his nickname in selecting the most lucrative deals. Allianz Arena on Airbnb? Southampton’s Big Issue McGregor lands Betsafe Not quite I’m afraid… you won’t be able to find the Allianz Arena on the Airbnb app any time soon... However, there was an opportunity for a lucky family to experience home comforts with a view of the famous pitch. Both Airbnb and Audi teamed up to transform a section of the pitch-side viewing into the interior of a home. This was part of a competition to give fans the chance to watch the 2017 Audi Cup literally “from the comfort of your home”. Premier League football club Southampton have this month entered into a new collaboration with The Big Issue, the weekly street newspaper traditionally sold by homeless people. This new initiative displays an effort by the Saints to provide new opportunities for some of The Big Issue vendors. In the run up to his big money fight against Mayweather, Betsafe shrewdly signed a personal endorsement deal with McGregor, becoming arguably their most relevant brand ambassador to date. This deal gave Betsafe great exposure during the highly publicised event. Not only did Betsafe’s logo appear on McGregor’s waistband during the fight, but Betsafe also played on some very clever activations, including giving all new customers the exclusive offer of 49 -1, which would have replicated Mayweather’s record if he had lost. Families were asked to share their favourite shared footballing experiences to be in with a chance of watching games with a home-style viewing. The winners not only got to catch four games, but also stayed overnight in the Allianz Arena, with two bedrooms and one bathroom created for the competition. Not only did The Big Issue create a special edition of the newspaper for the first game of the season, but vendors will also be provided the opportunity to enrol in an eight-week employability programme, run by the Saints Foundation, which will prepare them with skills and training. Southampton hope that there may be potential to create long-term job prospects off the back of this initiative, in an attempt to give back to the local community. Perhaps surprisingly, McGregor signed with Betsafe instead of the more appropriate PaddyPower, who actually decided to side in a controversial partnership with McGregor’s rival Mayweather.