Red Bull’s strategy at Leeds United is becoming increasingly clear.
The half-energy drink, half-sports investment firm bought a significant minority stake in the West Yorkshire club earlier this year.
Red Bull was one of the early proponents of the increasingly popular multi-club model and owns five other clubs around the world in addition to Leeds.
As part of the deal to buy Leeds, Red Bull also became the club’s shirt sponsor, a record deal for a Championship club.
Red Bull have reassured fans that, unlike their entry into clubs in Germany, Brazil and elsewhere, there will be no changes to the Leeds name as a result of the partial takeover.
But that doesn’t mean the Austrian company will have an inconspicuous presence at Elland Road.
To explore the multinational’s plans for Leeds, TBR spoke exclusively to Liverpool University football economics lecturer and Price of Football author Kieran Maguire.
Red Bull wants to take Leeds global
While many fans are excited about what the group can bring to the table, many were left unsettled when images of the club’s new Red Bull-sponsored home kit emerged earlier this week.
Some were disappointed that Leeds now have a red-coloured sponsor due to links with arch-rivals Man United.
However, Maguire predicts that these concerns will be more than outweighed by the financial boom Red Bull will bring.
“While some Leeds fans may be a bit excited at the prospect of having some red on their shirts due to their rivalry with Man United, the vast majority are pragmatic,” he claimed.
“They’ll know that if you’re going to be sponsored by a company called Red Bull, having a red sponsor is part of the whole deal.
“It will be hugely profitable and will help catapult Leeds’ profile as an international brand.
“It’s going to bring a lot of money to the club, so I’m sure they’ll see that the benefits outweigh the cultural costs.”
How much will the Leeds Red Bull deal be worth?
No specific numbers have been revealed regarding the collaboration on the front of the shirt, although it will certainly be a big improvement on the club’s previous deal with Boxt.
The fee will consist of a base rate and a number of performance-related bonuses, which is common in the sponsorship industry due to the potential for increased exposure.
Maguire claims this could take the total value of the deal in excess of £10m per season.
The deal will be highly structured and linked to the club’s success on the pitch.
“It’s a good deal in the Championship to get anything over £1m.
“This deal is probably going to be worth at least seven or eight times. If Leeds can get into the Premier League and do well, we could be close to £10m.
“The club has a huge fan base and the nature of Red Bull spending a lot of money on marketing is that they want to be associated with vibrant and progressive brands.”
Leeds could host ‘Red Bull Cup’
It is not unusual for sponsors to lend their name to a pre-season tournament organized by their partner clubs.
For example, Arsenal have the Emirates Cup, while West Ham have the Betway Cup.
These events are another way for the sponsor to deepen their links with the club and increase the exposure of their brand.
Red Bull are global marketing experts and carefully cultivate their brand through associations with several sports, including Formula 1 and various extreme sports.
They have already shown signs of wanting to include Leeds in their sporting network, with a number of Leeds players visiting Red Bull Racing recently.
This is territory Leeds are already familiar with, as their majority owner is the investment arm of the NFL team San Francisco 49ers, whose chairman Paraag Marathe is now chairman of Leeds.
Maguire predicts that more such commercial tie-ups are in the works.
“Connections with other markets and products are likely to be a commercial step forward for Leeds.
“We’ve seen Liverpool take a similar approach with Nike and their relationship with their ambassadors like LeBron James and so on.
“That’s why we could see Leeds hosting the Red Bull Cup with RB Leipzig and so on.
“There is also the possibility of a link with Formula 1. This could mean some drivers visiting Elland Road.
“It would be part of an overall leveling and globalization of not just the Red Bull brand, but Leeds United itself.”