Johnstone’s paint is to sponsor the Football League Trophy, open to teams from League 1 and League 2, in a bid to take on trade market leader Dulux.
The trophy will be re-named The Johnstone’s Paint Trophy for the entirety of the three-year sponsorship. The seven-figure deal is reputedly the biggest financial investment ever made in the history of the Football League Trophy.
The competition has been previously sponsored by both B2B and B2C brands, including LDV Vans and Coca-Cola.
The sponsorship runs alongside a complete rebranding for Johnstone’s, carried out by Leeds-based Poulters, which aims to strengthen the trade sector of the company.
Angus Blundell, marketing manager at Johnstone’s, comments, âWe are aiming to tackle the Dulux trade market head-on. We chose to sponsor the trophy as football is a male-dominated sport, which attracts decorators: our target market.â
Johnstone’s is part of the Sigma Kalon group, which has recently made a number of key investments. The group acquired the coil coatings activities of Bollig & Kemper in March, which is reputedly worth 18 million Euros annually.
The new logo will be displayed on hoardings around football grounds, throughout programme literature and on team shirts.
The biggest exposure for Johnstone’s will be the Sky 1 televised semi-final and the final of the tournament on 18 March 2007. Eighty per cent of the branding within Wembley stadium (the tournament final venue) will appear in a central sponsored area. Hoardings will also be evident at the 46 games being played by 72 member clubs throughout the tournament.
The Johnstone’s Football League Trophy kicks off in September 2006, finishing with the final in March 2007.
The rebranding will feature heavily in an inhouse magazine, distributed to 60,000 existing customers. Product launch PR exercises organised by Poulters are also due to be held.
Future campaigns are likely to target paint specifiers, e.g. architects.
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