Futurebrand appointed to sports sponsorship platform Myfavorito’s branding account
International sports startup Myfavorito has appointed Futurebrand Australia as its global branding partner, charged with delivering the brand strategy, identity, and customer experience.
Futurebrand’s chief executive, Rich Curtis – who bought the business from IPG in July – will act as Myfavorito chief marketing officer as part of the relationship, according to the companies.
Schlenzig and Curtis
Curtis said the partnership is a first for his agency, “and it’s one of the ways we’re challenging ourselves to think differently about how we do business”.
“We are testing the limits of what a branding company can do by partnering with a business and integrating our team into their operations to build and scale a global brand and deliver transformational brand experiences,” he said.
Myfavorito’s chief executive and founder, Dirk Schlenzig, explained that the startup’s mission is to help sports clubs – 5m worldwide and more than 70,000 locally – attract more sponsors through a digital sports sponsorship platform.
“Our partnership with Futurebrand Australia is exciting, as it will help us build the MyFavorito brand globally and deliver brand experiences that make it easy for millions of sports clubs around the world to attract more sponsors, get more revenue and engage more fans,” Schlenzig said.
The partnership is effective immediately, and comes as sports sponsorship deals are called into question and attracting headlines. Last week, Qantas ended a 30-year partnership with Rugby Australia given COVID-19’s impact on the travel sector, and will not hand over cash to its other partners, Cricket Australia and Football Federation of Australia. Instead of payment, those organisations will have access to benefits such as corporate flights and access to Qantas’ marketing channels.
And today, Dettol inked a four year deal with Cricket Australia, involving naming partner rights and a COVID-19-appropriate mission to develop hygiene practices across the sport, both at an elite and club level.
According to Curtis, Myfavorito has the potential to connecting “sports clubs with a radically improved way to attract sponsors and engage fans”.
“By embedding ourselves in MyFavorito’s business, we will broaden our collective experience and learn new skill sets in the name of building a global brand from the ground up, rather than the boardroom down,” he added.
“At Futurebrand, we’re fortunate to have some very strong relationships with our clients – relationships with like-minded people who want to build transformational brands – and it’s great to be able to welcome MyFavorito to the Futurebrand family too.”
Futurebrand has also carried out branding projects for other sports brands such as the AFL, Big Bash League, Cricket Australia, Football Marketing Asia, and World Rugby. Its clients also include Air Trunk, Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation, Flight Centre, Luye Life Sciences, New Zealand Natural, New Payments Platform, NIB, Orygen, Vocus and Zenitas.
Curtis’ acquisition of the agency followed McCann CEO Ben Lilley buying McCann Australia from IPG early this year.
“Simply put, I liked my job so much that I bought the company,” Curtis said at the time of the transaction.
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Brittney Rigby was Mumbrella's deputy managing editor - news and analysis. She left Mumbrella in April 2021.
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