Overview

Looking to put their business on the map as a major player in the UK car business, SportQuake worked with Vanarama to help the vehicle leasing company become the naming rights partner of The National League.

The Challenge

Since launch in 2004, Vanarama had experimented with various marketing activities, including mainstream TV and radio advertising to amplify their brand message across the UK. With aggressive growth plans, the brand wanted to develop a sports sponsorship strategy that would drive front-of-mind awareness with customers across the UK.

The Solution

Following an extensive analysis of available opportunties, SportQuake worked with Vanarama to naming rights strategy with The National League for four key reasons:

  • Mainstream UK-Wide Awareness – With strong weekend coverage across influential mainstream TV, print and digital media, including BBC and Sky Sports, the partnership would give Vanarama regular exposure to National League fans and the UK’s wider 25m+ football audience.
  • Key Demographic Engagement – With football indexing as the favourite pastime of Vanarama’s key demographic, The National League provided the perfect platform for the brand to communicate with their desired audience en masse.
  • High-Density Digital Marketing Platform – As a digitally focused ecommerce business, Vanarama could leverage the digfital footpring The National League and the league’s 68 clubs to grow their own online following and boost their SEO search ranking.
  • Unique Events & Experiences – Activating the partnership through The National League’s 68 regional club hubs, spread throughout the UK, plus The National League’s Wembley final would put Vanarama on the map nationwide in the real world.

The Result

The partnership made an immediate impact upon launch, generating 105% increase in web traffic and a 321% upturn in SEO rankings after one year of the deal.

Vanarama embedded themselves in non-league football culture, directly reaching 1.6m+ match-going fans through initiatives including the Vanarama Big Day Out & Non-League Day (which trended on Twitter – #ThumbsUp4NLD).

The partnership received widespread recognition from the UK sports industry, winning the coveted Best Competition Sponsorship Award at the 2019 Sports Industry Awards, leading to Vanarama extending the partnership to also include the Evo-Stick leagues from 2019.

Find Out More

To find out more about Vanarama’s naming rights partnership with The National League, contact Pat McColgan at [email protected].