Macron: The Strategic Role of Sponsorship to Sustain Brand Growth

Macron is one of the fastest growing sportswear companies in Europe, ranked today as the 3rd most widespread football brand by UEFA. The case describes sponsorship model utilized by Macron in sport marketing, used by the company as a core element to sustain the company and brand growth in several geographies. Operating in a fast growing, but complex global market, whose key players are international brands such as Nike, Puma and Adidas, Macron decided to leverage on Pro-clubs’ sponsorships, as a key marketing tool to generate revenue in its core business - teamwear and merchandising. As a result, Macron created a new business model that became a reference for some competitors such as Errea, Jako, Hummel and Erima. Core management decisions have been a) to identify the right strategy for pro-clubs’ sponsorship (e.g., how to segment in tier and which Tier of Pro-Club to sponsor, how, etc.), b) to select sports and brands that could be sponsored according to specific criteria (e.g. brand image, values, etc.), c) to define the reference market where to compete (e.g., Brands with main focus on sports-wear vs. Brands with main focus on teams-wear) d) to strengthen Brand Equity while maintaining the integrity of company values. As a result, today Macron is an international company that sponsors more than 60 professional clubs, which has chosen the brand based on trust, reliability and quality perception. The management should then reflect on how to utilize sponsorship, co-marketing and partnerships to sustain growth in merchandising and teamwear and strengthen own position in a complex market.