BY Raheeem Akingbolu
Barely a year after the management of the Nigerian Breweries rolled out the drums to celebrate its partnership with five European clubs – Arsenal, Manchester City, Juventus, Real Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain – and a national partnership with the Nigerian Professional Football League, the company has announced a fresh partnership with FC Barcelona as the club’s official supporter in Nigeria. Just  as  patrons of the brand were relishing the import of  the  news, promoters of the brand announced its  novel initiative to bring together music and football through what it tagged “Star Music The Fusionâ€. For  those who had followed the history of the brand, again this was not really news; Star Lager has over the years been a pioneer of ground breaking platforms, including Star Music Trek, Star Mega Jam, Star Super fans Show and Star Quest. Â
With the new initiative, the brand is promoting six teams of football legends, music artistes and DJs, Â competing in a series of music and football concerts. The novel platform has since begun to enthusiastically engage music and football fans with series of concerts, online and offline activities to pick a winning team.
Sponsorship of sport and entertainment activities has gained prominence over other platforms in recent times because of the huge followership they command. To this end, leading global brands are daily using the two platforms as tools to connect with more consumers. From Coca Cola to Adidas, Nike to MasterCard, sports and entertainment have remained permanent tools for positioning.
With the partnership, Star lager beer will now possess the right to promote its connection with Barcelona fans and keenly enhance visibility of the club in Nigeria.
Speaking on the new partnership, Marketing Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Franco MarÃa Maggi, said as a brand, Star would love to connect with as many football fans as possible. “We see this partnership as a way to further consolidate our commitment to millions of fans and bring quality enjoyment of football with unrivalled consumer interaction experience,†Maggi said. “Star is committed as a brand to nurture this partnership like others which will positively impact on the development of the football  landscape in Nigeria. The brand is investing in order to tap, among other things, also in the possibility  of world-class knowledge transfer.†Â
Knowledge transfer in this regard refers to the learning of tactics, communication processes, club structure, team formation gathered during coaching clinics that will further enhance the current experience available in Nigeria.
The established  partnership between both entities will have Star drive digital and outdoor amplification, viewership engagement and attendance at live matches that involve Barcelona.
For Star Larger, sports and entertainment are like Siamese twins that are used periodically to boost the profile of the brand. In the last five years, promoters of Star have not only leveraged entertainment to persuade consumers, they have  used it  to  nurture talents and gain more market share. This explains why activation platforms like Star Trek, Star Quest and Star Mega  Jam, have  always  been  recurrent  decimals  in  the  nation’s entertainment scene.
In the  area  of  sports,  over  the  years,  the  Star  brand  has  consistently supported  football  initiatives  with  platforms  such  as  its  highly  impactful campaign to rally Nigerian football fans during the World Cup in 2014. The Star Super Fans Show also showcased and rewarded football fans for their passion and knowledge of the game.
Commenting on the partnership, FC Barcelona legend Edgar Davids confirmed that FC Barcelona was  exploring new regions, especially in Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria.