Background
With the growth of women’s football I was alerted to the sponsorship opportunity at Lewes FC, which As you may know, in 2017, Lewes FC were the first professional or semi-professional club to start treating its women footballers the same as the men- the same playing budgets , same pitch, same training facilities earning them the nickname of “Equality FC”. They are a community owned not for profit club consisting of benefactors and members.
I had stayed in touch with Emily Kraftman, the UK Marketing Director at Deliveroo who joined Who Gives A Crap in 2022 and started to float some partnership opportunities in the sports and entertainment area from time to time. By following the progress of Who Gives A Crap and buying the product I started to “get on a roll” and set up some meetings with rights owners whereby I learnt more about the brand values and which ideas had the most potential in terms of “fit” and amplification. With Who Gives A Crap donating 50% of its profits to help provide clean water in developing countries I knew that any potential football club partner had to have genuine credibility in terms of sustainability, community focus and also fun.
The Process
Once I had a greater understanding and identified a relevant opportunity, I would ask the rights owners for a mandate and to send me an initial proposal to Emily for her feedback. Emily considered each proposal on its own merit and then advised me on which rights owners she would like to speak to and video calls were set up. I always knew that Lewes FC was a very interesting proposition and under their Head of Commercial, Stef McLoughlin they would pitch well. Their materials and idea were very strong. Emily did her own research and understood football both as a fan and previous brand partnerships e.g. Deliveroo partnered with the FA which included England Teams’ training kit and also had a 2 year partnership with Leeds United. I also insisted on asking my own questions to Lewes FC to ensure that Emily had all the information she required to assess the opportunity and discuss with the owners who are based in Australia. Emily and her team were extremely enthusiastic and brainstormed ideas and share them with Stef at an early stage
The Result
Who Gives A Crap will become the main shirt sponsor of Lewes FC for two years commencing in season 2024-2025. They will enjoy a package of rights across both the women’s and men’s team and also be an integral part of the club’s charity activity. The shirt launch encapsulates the fun element of the partnership. The designs really stand out and give Who Gives A Crap an opportunity to continue to turn their customers into influencers and enhance their trade marketing as the brand continues to grow in distribution. As the “Missing Linke” I have shown that patience is required to bring people together and timing is key. It is early days but already both the rights owner and the brand are developing new activations and working very closely together to increase the fundraising from this partnership.
Matchday 1 activity on instagram
“Thank you to Gary Linke for the introduction to Who Gives A Crap. It’s not always easy to understand the value of Lewes FC, our ROI will always look different. Gary’s felt more like a colleague than an agency, the work he does is phenomenal and Lewes FC will always be grateful.”
Stef McLaughlin – Head of Commercial at Lewes FC
“I first met Gary when I was the Marketing Director at Deliveroo who partnered with the FA and Leeds United who he brought to our attention at the right time. He has a genuine desire to find interesting opportunities for brands and a good marketing brain so the ideas are well thought through rather than a “scatter-gun” approach. For Who Gives A Crap he has certainly found us a “gem” in Lewes FC and we are all delighted.”
Emily Kraftman – Managing Director UK and Europe