The BK8 x Norwich City Shirt Sponsorship Canceled
Newly promoted Premier League side Norwich City have canceled their shirt sponsorship deal with Asian gambling company BK8 following backlash. The deal for the upcoming 2021-22 Premier League season, which was only signed three days ago, has now been canceled. The shift in attitudes came after Norwich City’s new primary betting partner was found to have been using sexualized images of young women in marketing material, all of which fell short of the UK Advertising Standards Agency requirements for any publicly available campaign.
The power of football fans to influence commercial and B2B deals in the highest levels of the sport was exemplified this week, as Norwich City canceled a shirt sponsorship arrangement with Asian-based bookmaker BK8. The backtrack came after fans vocally disapproved of the gambling companies marketing material deployed in its domestic market. ©LoboStudioHamburg/Pixabay
There are numerous cascading branding problems for Norwich City that have come to light after this deal was closed. Another surprising revelation came when it was revealed by The Athletic, a British football news and editorial platform, that a BK8 brand ambassador with nearly 300K followers on social media had direct links to sexually explicit content providers. This of course is something no football club in the world wants to be associated with via sponsorships.
A number of fan groups across the social-media space have reacted to the news this week. Norwich supporters on Twitter wrote complaint messages to the club in their troves. Several fan channels on other platforms made video statements, and throughout this ordeal, more than 100 complaints were received in writing by the club’s public relations office. Given the unified message of disgust by the Norwich fans, the club was forced to acknowledge the situation and take appropriate action.
After receiving such passionate feedback from their supporter base, the Norwich City management took a closer look at the deal the prospective sponsorship deal from BK8. The Asian-based firm would undoubtedly damage the brand image of the club, upset the supporters, and be a lingering controversy going forward. Despite the large cash injection Asian sports club sponsorship deals can provide, the club has decided to abandon the plan entirely, and pursue other sponsorship arrangements.
How Norwich Handled the Brand Sponsorship Crisis
Following the tremendous backlash from the supporter base against plans to work with BK8, an Asian gambling company, Norwich City announced the commercial partnership deal had been mutually terminated. Both parties acknowledged the feedback they had received from supporters, customers, and partners as the primary drivers for closing the possibility of a commercial partnership.
Norwich City is a club that has worked tirelessly to build a strong-communal bond with its locality and supporter base, like any esteemed football organization this spirit of integrity is something so valuable and intangible. Forming a commercial partnership with a brand like BK8 was always likely to draw criticisms, but the attention is drawn on the marketing methods used in Asia by BK8 certainly crossed a line and made the sponsorship deal untenable.
The club has come out and got ahead of this issue, apologizing to fans for their mistake in this sponsorship arrangement. Interestingly the statement released by the Norwich City chief operating officer mentioned the importance of trust between the fans and the club, alluding to the numerous community projects Norwich City has undertaken to reinforce that pledge. The predicament between keeping integrity and commitment to values, versus building commercial partnerships that generate revenue is a tough balancing act.
The club issued direct apologies to former players Grant Holt and Darren Eadie who were involved in the launch campaign with BK8. They’ve reinstated their pledge and commitment to diversity in football and inclusivity at the club. All discrimination and behavior that doesn’t align with the moral values of this traditional club will be rejected earlier in decision-making processes for future sponsorship selection.
BK8 Mutually Agrees to Abandon the Commercial Partnership
This whole ordeal certainly has backfired for the Asian betting company. They set out with the intention of being the primary shirt sponsor for the newly promoted Premier League side Norwich City. In what would have been an excellent branding opportunity for the gambling operator, the club has completely abandoned plans due to the questionable marketing tactics used by the firm in its domestic Asian market.
A bookmaker has a primary responsibility to serve the interest of its customer base, and having a suitable brand identity and tone of voice is an integral part of this journey. Ultimately, promoting the company in a responsible way is an important part of any potential partnership with a highly globalized and public entity like Norwich City.
The betting brand seems resolute to show the footballing world that they have learned from their mistakes in previous advertising campaigns. Upon mutually agreeing to terminate the deal with Norwich City they have pledged to make further improvements to the way they conduct marketing campaigns, promising to align their message closer to the core values of football fans around the world.
So the next steps in this debacle are clear, Norwich will begin its hunt for a new sponsor. One thing is for sure this time, they are unlikely to work with a gambling company although the revenue potential is far greater. But this solution is not entirely off the table, as it was the marketing material produced by BK8 which ultimately blew up this deal.
Furthermore, the cost of this deal blowing up is approximately £5 million, which is a gigantic hole in the budget of the club which they will have to try and resolve with a different sponsor. Chances are though, any deal that is eventually struck will not be anywhere near the value BK8 was able to put on the table. As the new season draws closer the pressure will undoubtedly mount over which sponsorship solution to go with.
