ENGLISH PREMIER League team Liverpool announced a two-year commercial tie-up with Turkish Tourism earlier this week, in a deal valued by Frontloaded at between £0.5m and £1m per year.
The agreement, which will see Turkish Tourism awarded an advertising presence around Liverpool’s Anfield stadium, is the first for the organisation in the UK, having recently signed a one-year deal with German Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin, valued at around £0.5m.
The agreement follows suit of similar partnerships in the Premier League. In September, Chelsea announced a three-year deal with the Barbados Tourism Authority to promote the Caribbean island in the UK, while Manchester City signed a three-year deal with the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority in May last year, strengthening their links to the Gulf region, valued at around £0.5m per year.
Elsewhere in the Football League, the Malta Tourism Authority was the principal and shirt sponsor of Sheffield United from 2008 to 2011, paying approximately £700,000 across the three-year tenure.
Liverpool, of course, has a distinctly positive association with Turkey after winning the UEFA Champions League in Istanbul in 2005, where The Reds came from 3-0 down to beat AC Milan on penalties.
Despite memorable links, the deal is more significant as the latest activation of Liverpool’s strategy to globalise its brand, having recently brought in ex-Nike sports marketing director Graham Bartlett to oversee the club’s commercial activity.
Turkish Tourism will join compatriot brand Turkish Airlines in the Premier League, which agreed a three-and-a-half-year deal to replace Air Asia as the official carrier of Manchester United in January 2010, reported to be worth around £2.7m per year.