WITH NEWS emerging this week that Carling reached the end of its exclusive re-negotiation period with the Football League without agreement on a renewal of its League Cup sponsorship, rights to the competition will be up for tender for the first time in 14 years.
MolsonCoors have held the title rights to the League Cup over that period, having previously lent its Worthington brand to the competition before Carling took over in 2003, in a deal which saw the lager brand paying around £3.5m per year.
“Obviously the Football League will be looking for more,” says Sean Jefferson, CEO Entertainment, Sport and Partnerships at Mindshare Worldwide, commenting on the potential price a new sponsor may have to pay for the naming rights.
“£3.5m is a good price, but only if you do something with it,” he adds. “It is more expensive than sponsoring a low-mid Premier League team but compared to sponsoring one of the top teams, it's great value.”
Widely-respected for building brand awareness and strong association with the tournament, Carling will be a tough act to follow says Jefferson. “There will be a certain amount of residual awareness for Carling. They did a terrific job, but if a new brand comes in and is creative and innovative and works hard then there is no reason that they can’t establish themselves.
“Rather than looking at it as the third or fourth tier of English football, which it is, it’s an opportunity to reach out to all football fans in every town around the country.”
With that in mind, coupled with the fact that exposure is limited due to universal evening kick-off times for the Carling Cup, therefore bypassing key Asian markets, Jefferson hints towards an already well-established brand with an anti-elitist ethos to take up the mantle.
“It’s not the right fit for new brands looking for high level exposure,” he says. “It’s about consolidating a brand reputation and presence and getting people involved.
“I could see it being a good fit for a supermarket chain or a brand that sells on their shelves. They could activate in stores and reach out to all types of fans. It will be interesting to see who comes in for it over the next 12 months.”