HJK and stadium operator HSM agreed to a partnership deal with a Finnish staffing agency Bolt.Works for the upcoming six years. The deal included status as HJK’s main sponsor and name rights for the club’s home stadium located in Helsinki. The new ground was named as Bolt Arena.
Bolt.Works’ brand was still unknown in Finland and the most important incentive in this partnership was to build brand awareness and popularity through HJK’s strong brand. What made the partnership unique was the logic behind a success dependent compensation model. The full compensation would be paid only if there’d be growth in Bolt.Works’ brand awareness and popularity. A case where a well-known sports brand such as HJK ties a major partnership with a less-known brand and where in order to receive the full compensation all the goals set had to be achieved, was exceptional.
Results turned out to be outstanding. According to a research conducted by Sanoma and specifically tailored to measure HJK’s partnership results, Bolt.Works’ brand awareness was 9% in January 2020. Nine months later according to the same research this rate was 20%.
The partnership was built around the theme of employment. HJK had recognized the problem that many footballers were left without job opportunities retirement. As part of the partnership Bolt.Works promised guaranteed employment for all retiring HJK athletes. A great brand matching story and carefully planned actions that included event related promotions, social media campaigns and DOOH media resulted in one of a kind sponsorship example.
