EXCLUSIVE: Liverpool commercial director Ben Latty on sponsorship deals, the USA and Anfield Road

The inner workings of Liverpool's commercial team were well known to Ben Latty when he arrived at Anfield back in February.

The departure of former Liverpool commercial director Matt Scammell to Formula E in January left a void that it was vitally important to fill for the Reds, especially with a number of key deals on the horizon that needed to be guided to completion.

Liverpool turned to Latty, who had spent eight years in the commercial team at Liverpool, rising to the the position of vice president of global sales, but had departed in August 2021 to become the group commercial director at Bristol Sport, the company that oversees the business, commercial and operational interests of Bristol City, Bristol Bears rugby and the Bristol Flyers basketball team.

After a conversation with Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan, Latty was back in the fold with the Reds seven months on from his departure, guiding the commercial operations of the club post-pandemic into a period where key renewals such as the front of shirt and sleeve sponsorship were up for renegotiation.

The first of those was ticked earlier this month during Liverpool's tour of Thailand and Singapore when a new four-year extension was inked with Standard Chartered for a figure reported to be in excess of £50m per year, a deal that would take the overall length of the relationship between the two to 17 years.

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Speaking exclusively to the ECHO, Latty said: "It is weird how things work out. It was an amazing announcement for us and to be able to do it in Singapore, in Standard Chartered's key main market as well, it was just the icing on the cake for them and for us to be honest.

"I think you will hear, and it's repeated a number of times, the sort of the way we run our club. Everything we do is sustainable, every single penny we make we put back into the football club. So terms of the importance of it, it's huge for us, it's huge.

"But more so than just the money, it's the message it sends to the market for us in terms of having a partner for 12 years that will be 13 come the end of this term, extending for another four. It's huge and it just shows the relationship we've built up with them over the years, it shows the effectiveness of the partnership every time it comes up for renewal with them. (When the deal is up for renewal) they go and see what else is out there that can give them the exposure that they need, the cut through that they need as a bank in emerging markets in Asia and they always come back to Liverpool as being the number one solution for them.

"There is increased commitment and investment into both the men's and the women's team. It is an incredibly important part of the partnership, and I guess with them being promoted to the WSL as well, this was the perfect time for them too."

As is the norm when sponsorship deals come up for renewal, Liverpool went on something of a fishing exercise to try and ascertain the true value of their sponsorship opportunities post Covid, attempting to try and find out where they sat in the marketplace. The last time that the Reds had engaged in a new deal with Standard Chartered was before the 2019 Champions League success and 2020 Premier League title, meaning that the brand value of the club had soared beyond where it was previously.

Liverpool remained in negotiations with Standard Chartered from the off but also entertained interest from firms in other sectors, such as media and entertainment, travel and tourism, electronics and emerging markets such as blockchain and cryptocurrency. Having assessed the options the decision was taken to retain status quo, albeit for a much-improved sum.

"The reality is we've been partners for 12 years," said Latty, who has also held previous posts at Fulham and the NBA.

"We've been talking to them for a long time around what the future looks like, and even at times when maybe we weren't aligned, there was always a communication with them around the direction we were going in the direction they were going.

"It's something that's just naturally evolved over the past few months. (We said) 'let's get together and figure out what the future looks like for both of us', and that happened. We got together and we agreed the deal. We don't look back now.

"The process we did, they were very aware of that, it is normal that we would do as every other club does and go and test the market. We did hold conversations with other brands within other industries. We just felt that this was the right deal for us for a number of reasons."

The very essence of the model at Liverpool under the ownership of Fenway Sports Group is trying to achieve sustainable success. The health of the business should underpin the health of the team and how it progresses. If revenues rise then that directly impacts the ability for Jurgen Klopp to spend in the transfer market. With such a model comes plenty of pressure on the shoulders of Latty and his team to deliver high commercial revenues, but with a club with a social conscience such as Liverpool the Reds commercial director says that there has to be a balance.

Latty said: "As a leadership team led by Billy (Hogan) we've got responsibility to operate and make decisions in the best interests of the football club. That's the best interests of everyone connected to the football club as well, whether it's our ownership, our fans or other partners. The way we operate now, and let's make this really clear, every decision we make, whether it's positive or negative, is done with the club's best interests at heart.

"I'd like to think that we're almost the guardians of the commercial side of the football club here. So, if we're at odds, ends with other areas of the football club that doesn't make sense. We always make sure that whenever we're partnering with someone that we've done our full due diligence around them. We look at it and see whether there's any risk attached to it.

"I think with Standard Chartered, we'll be 13 years by the end of this current season. We've got to know them inside out as a business and I think that came into into the decision making process that we took. They're a blue chip brand, they operate in our key markets as well. We've got a huge fan base in Asia, the Middle East and Africa where they operate and I think there was just a number of factors that came into that decision making process. Look, we've got responsibility and we felt it was the right brand for us to extend for another four years and be on the front of the iconic Liverpool shirt.

"This is a partner that for some Liverpool fans, let's be honest, it's all they've known. It's Standard Chartered on the front of the Liverpool shirt. So we've got responsibility, and every decision we make is based on what we think is the best interest of the club."

With the Standard Chartered deal now put to bed for an extended term the focus for Latty and his commercial team pivots to the sleeve sponsorship.

Currently, Expedia hold that space having signed a three-year deal for a reported £10m per year back in 2020. But with that deal up at the end of the coming season, and with values of sleeve sponsorship for some of the Reds' Premier League rivals having reached the £20m per year mark, Liverpool will be looking for another uplift, whether that be by retaining Expedia as a partner or going in another direction.

"We are having conversations around with brands around our sleeve opportunity at the moment, said Latty. "I think we'll be in a position probably in the next month or two where we would have made a decision on which direction we're going there.

"That is the next major partnership we're working on but also it's not just focusing on that. We talk about our secondary business, which is so important to us as a football club, and evolving that and adding to that I've been incredibly proud of the number of blue chip brands that we've added to our portfolio over the last few years.

"It's amazing that we've got the belief of some of the biggest brands in the world that are actually partnering with us and long may that continue and I think when you look at our principal partners, for example, Standard Chartered, Nike, AXA and Expedia currently, it's at the very top of world football in terms of the the company we keep and so we just need to continue adding to that. We need to continue delivering credible value to those partners, not just the principle but also the secondary partners as well.

"When I say value there are a number of reasons. Why they choose us is sort of our story and what we stand for as a club, and the story, quite frankly, that we can help those brands tell. The exposure that we provide them, just talking about TV exposure alone throughout the last four seasons, we've been the most watched football club on TV.

"In world football's most engaged club on social, top of the football sustainability league, which is incredible, and we want to continue that and improve what we're doing with regards to our sustainability. We've got incredibly personable and marketable talent that runs through the veins of the football club.

"There is no quiet time for us, quite honestly, and we are constantly looking at how we grow our business and our partnership business, but doing so in an authentic way and in a way that provides value to our current partners as well as new partners that come on board."

Liverpool completed their tour of Southeast Asia last week, the legions of Reds fans in the region packing out stadiums in Thailand and Singapore to catch a glimpse of their heroes.

Asia is an important market for the Reds and has been for some time, but by the time next summer comes along the long-haul trip that Liverpool makes before the Premier League season may well be heading to the US, with CEO Hogan hinting at the Reds potentially returning to America in 2023 having last been there for pre-season in 2019 when they took in stops in South Bend, Boston and New York.

A club with US ownership has strong roots across the Atlantic, but in a market that is booming with a World Cup on the horizon in 2026 and a TV deal with the Premier League worth £2bn over the next cycle, Liverpool's positioning there is key.

"Our audience in the US is what I would say is unrivalled really to any other football club and even some of the domestic sports out there," said Latty.

"We've got a number of US partners now which are helping us in the US market. You look at the stats that we've got and the data that we've got around our market and our sort of exposure in the US we're helping them as well.

"We've got this unique window in the US sporting calendar every week where we don't have competition and we've got this real opportunity to capitalise on that. The broadcast partners at the Premier League, they're doing a great job of taking the Premier League to that market and as a result we are doing our own activity, whether it's through our social channels, whether it's through on ground events or actually pre-season tours/ We're doing our own bit to try and grow our own fan base out there.

"Every the datasets we get through in terms of TV audiences, digital reach etc, the US is a market that's growing immensely. The other part of it is that we have partnered with a number of US brands over the last last few years as well, and I think US brands are seeing the power of Liverpool Football Club both domestically in the US because they think the stats do marry up with anything else that's out there in terms of US sport at the moment.

"But the great thing about Liverpool is it's not just US, it has global reach and so these brands are sort of seeing the benefit of partnering with Liverpool that can actually do a job for them in the US but also promote them into Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, and you know that's I think the the sweet spot that we're finding with that market at the moment."

The commercial landscape of football has altered greatly in recent years.

Where there was a rush for gambling firms to sponsor Premier League clubs the likely voluntary ban on such deals being implemented beyond the next three years means that there is a space for other emerging markets to come on board, as has been seen with the likes of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. Manchester City were the latest Premier League team to ink a deal with a crypto firm, earning a reported £20m per year from their multi-year kit deal with a firm called OXC.

It isn't just crypto that has opened up new revenue opportunities for clubs, with the rise and what now appears to be the fall of NFTs, something Liverpool tentatively engaged with earlier this year, and the embracing of 'Web3' and the metaverse by global sport filling some of the gaps that were left when the pandemic affected some more traditional revenue streams.

Knowing exactly where the trajectory is going is something that every commercial director would dearly love to know, but while Latty acknowledges the new markets and opportunities that are coming on board he also urged an element of caution.

"We all wish we had crystal balls to figure out what will happen but I'd like to think we've got good people at this club, intelligent people, and so looking at the way we operate different business borders and how we're delivering value for partners, we've got an incredible team that look for the next industry, the next category that we think is going to be big.

"There's obviously different markets we can look at and how we expand into different markets where we see opportunity. There's no set blueprint, every market it's different and you have to treat every market for what it is.

"Clearly, Asia is important for us, as is the US, that's an incredibly important market for us. So I'd expect us to be doing more in that market. There are current trends, crypto obviously being one. We can never rule anything out but I think back to my original point, we have a responsibility for the football club and we are the guardians of the commercial side of the club in its entirety, and the owners are. We have a responsibility on what we do commercially. So before entering into any industry, we will always do our due diligence and we always make an educated decision based on the facts in front of us. But I think whatever we do, we would make sure we're doing it with the club's best interests at heart and we'd make sure that we turn leave no stone unturned.

"In terms of the evolving commercial landscape, probably if you're looking 10 years from now, things will change. But I think for us it's about how we make the most out of you know the the the popularity of this football club right now. The power, the reach, the values of this football club and partnering with partners that actually share those values and share that alignment. That's going to be incredibly important to allow them to tell their story that they need to tell."

This summer saw the return of live music to Anfield as the Rolling Stones, Elton John and the Eagles all packed out the Reds' home stadium and delighted crowds.

It had been two summers without such entertainment due to the pandemic, also representing another financial boost that was missed out on by the club.

Despite the success of the summer gigs there won't be any on the calendar for 2023 due to the work that is required to complete the Anfield Road development taking precedent. They will, however, be back for 2024 and are expected to become a regular fixture of Liverpool's off-season offering, also providing a welcome revenue stream at a time without football.

But with the importance of Anfield Road's expansion clear, the decision to have a blank 2023 was unavoidable with the 7,000 uplift in capacity to take the total past 61,000 meaning considerably greater revenues for the Reds moving forward.

"We're trying to increase the amount of events we put on throughout the year and not on a match day, and there's a great team that do that, whether it's conferences, events etc," said Latty.

"We always work closely with the local residents and the community as well in terms of making sure that we're doing things the right way. But stadium concerts are absolutely a key part of how we bring major events to the city of Liverpool and we're incredibly proud.

"There's an opportunity to do to do that and continue to do that but next year we won't be able to. We've got a big project ourselves going on, which is the Anfield Road End and that's an important project for us as a club. The way we run our club is sustainable, so for us to increase the capacity it gives opportunity for people to come and see us meaning more tickets and more hospitality.

"But of course, we will be looking at bringing more world class acts to the city of Liverpool and long may that continue. Everyone that has played that Liverpool, at Anfield, has been incredibly complementary and positive about the experience they've had. We've had some of the biggest acts in the world. So yeah, absolutely, we will be looking for that."

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