Liverpool's commercial efforts have been handed a boost after the Reds landed a new partner and a lucrative extension.
Boston-based Wasabi Technologies and has come on board as official cloud storage partner, while video game giant EA Sports has extended its partnership with the club with a new deal that will see them continue to create bespoke digital content for the club having initially come on board in the summer of 2019.
The two deals further boost a Liverpool commercial portfolio that has managed to ride out the impacts of the pandemic and deliver continued growth, with the 2019/20 commercial performance seeing their commercial revenues rise to by £29m to £217m, with the deal struck with EA, along with partnerships forged with Iugis and extensions with Nivea and Carlsberg key to driving commercial performance forward.
Liverpool are set to announce their financial results for the 2020/21 campaign in the next few weeks, where a season that was played almost entirely without fans in stadiums will likely still see commercial performance rise once more thanks to the first impact of the kit deal with Nike and the deals struck with both AXA and Expedia.
And with this season seeing fans back in stadiums, the Reds in fine form on the pitch, a bumper media rights payday to come from 2022 and an increasingly lucrative Champions League to take revenues from, Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group are likely to be able to deliver record revenues over the next two seasons that will surpass their £533m set in the Champions League winning 2018/19 season.
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Founded in 2017, Wasabi has become one of technology's fastest growing firms and the link up is the second time they have entered into a deal with FSG, having secured the title sponsorship for the inaugural Wasabi Fenway Sports Bowl, a college American football game that was organised by Fenway Sports Management and ESPN and that took place at Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox at the end of December.
Drew Crisp, senior vice president of digital at Liverpool, said: "We are always looking for ways to innovate and enhance the technology we use to store and share important files and information across the business.
"Data is becoming increasingly central to how the world of sports operates. As a result, our data is incredibly valuable, so safely and efficiently storing and accessing that information is critical to the way we operate as a business and a football club. So we’re excited to welcome Wasabi Technologies as our new cloud storage partner.
"As Wasabi looks to continue its exponential growth and provide a highly competitive cloud storage alternative in this rapidly expanding market, it wanted to partner with a brand that has huge global reach and could provide the platform to drive brand awareness and engagement.
"With LFC’s huge global audience and marketing capabilities, we’re delighted to provide the brand platform that Wasabi needs."
Wasabi branding has already been seen around Anfield on matchdays through LED advertising boards.
EA Sports' content for the Reds has included the popular FIFA Ratings Reveal videos that have generated more than 64 million cross-platform views across the club’s social channels during the past three seasons.
The Reds and EA Sports FIFA 20 Ratings Reveal video remains the club’s most-viewed YouTube video of all time. Currently, Liverpool and EA’s FIFA 22 Ratings Reveal video is ranked number one in terms of views on YouTube compared with other European club content.
Continuing as the club’s official football simulation game partner, EA is looking to build on the past few years’ success and continue to innovate with the club to connect the club to fans in Liverpool and all around the world. The new deal provides EA with more access to men’s and women’s players, digital rights, former players and Liverpool events.
Crisp said: "The exciting worlds of football, online gaming and e-sports are becoming increasingly intertwined, as fans seek new digital engagements as a means to connect with footballing action across physical and virtual settings.
"Throughout our partnership with EA Sports, we have worked hard to give our supporters unique content and more opportunities to engage with Liverpool FC through the innovative and exciting world of e-sports.
"We are delighted to be extending our relationship and look forward to seeing what else we can achieve together through the power of gaming and play."
Commercial performance is expected to improve once more when the Reds publish their 2020/21 accounts.
Matt Scammell, Liverpool's former commercial director who departed the club last month, told the ECHO : "If you look back at the number of partnerships that we've launched over the last 12 months, I think it has been one of if not the most successful years for Liverpool in terms of the number of partnerships that we have brought on board," he said.
"I'm not going to go into the commercials behind those, but commercially for the club it has been a strong year. That isn't by accident, good things don't happen by accident and that is all about demonstrating the value that we can bring to those partners."
