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August 20 – Cadbury has completed a clean sweep of English football’s traditional ‘Big Six’, extending its Liverpool partnership just days after renewing deals with both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
The four-year Liverpool agreement takes that relationship to a decade and means the UK’s biggest chocolate brand now has a commercial presence across Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea, while parent company Mondelēz International has a regional partnership with Manchester City which makes Cadbury City’s official snacking partner across a number of major markets.
Add in Cadbury’s partnership with the Premier League itself and there are not many corners of the top end of English football left uncovered.
The Liverpool extension continues a partnership which began six years ago and covers both the men’s and women’s teams. It follows four-year renewals announced by Arsenal and Spurs earlier this week, both of which will also take those relationships through to ten years.
Cadbury’s strategy is all about building a broad football footprint, using club partnerships for supporter giveaways, community projects and branded content.
At Liverpool, that has included work with Fans Supporting Foodbanks and Alzheimer’s Research UK. A limited-edition Liverpool Champions bar also raised £25,000 towards the club’s Virtual Employability Programme.
Cadbury said its dementia campaign generated 8.9 million impressions and 3.1 million video views through Liverpool channels last season.
Liverpool chief commercial officer Ben Latty said: “We’re delighted to extend our partnership with Cadbury and continue what has been a highly successfulcollaboration over the past six years. Together, we’ve created some fantastic experiences for supporters, from exclusive content to unforgettable moments that have brought fans closer to the club. We look forward to building on that success over the next four years and delivering even more opportunities for our fans around the world to engage with Liverpool FC.”
Louise Page, Partnerships & Cadbury Owned Channels Lead at Mondelēz International, added: “For six years, Cadbury has proudly stood alongside Liverpool FC’s fans and communities, supporting the causes that matter most to them. From helping raise awareness of dementia to tackling food insecurity with Fans Supporting Foodbanks, this partnership has always been about making a real difference where it’s needed most.
“We’ve also loved giving thousands of fans the chance to attend matches and have incredible once-in-a-lifetime experiences at Anfield. We’re incredibly proud to extend our partnership with the LFC Men’s and Women’s teams and to continue having an impact together.”
Individual club deals overlapping with fierce rivals are hardly new in football sponsorship. Cadbury, though, has taken the approach further than most.
Red or blue, north London or Manchester, it appears happy to sell chocolate to all of them.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at harry.ewing@insideworldfootball.com