Van leasing company Vanarama.co.uk has enjoyed record commercial results thanks to its sponsorship of the top tier of non-league English football, a partnership created by London based sports marketing agency SportQuake.
Vanarama has successfully placed football at the core of its marketing strategy since becoming title sponsor of the National League, formerly known as the Football Conference, for the 2014-15 season.
Vanarama accelerated ahead of its competition with an 85% surge in enquiries resulting in a 56% growth in sales volume, versus average growth of the commercial vehicle sector of 11%.
Thanks to record interest and attendances for non-league football, 25% of UK football fans surveyed by Repucom are aware of the Vanarama brand.
Across the National League’s three member divisions, regular season matches were attended by 1.6 million fans. The end of season showpiece, the Vanarama Big Day Out, drew 47,029 fans to Wembley, a larger attendance than the League Two Play-Off-Final.
The sponsorship has also boosted Vanarama’s online presence, key for a business which is largely e-commerce based, with a 105% increase in web traffic, 321% improvement in SEO ratings and a 1,995% rise in Twitter followers.
In its first season, Vanarama was shortlisted for a BT Sport Industry Award alongside prestigious company including BMW’s Ryder Cup and Stella Artois Wimbledon Championships.
In January 2015, Vanarama announced a one-year extension to the sponsorship. Next season, Vanarama will also support the pioneering National-League TV (NLTV) Broadcasting Academy which will offer training and equipment to students in partnership with BT Sport. Live Vanarama National League match coverage and highlights will be available through the NLTV online portal.
Andy Alderson, Managing Director of Vanarama said:
“I believe that the increased brand awareness has led new customers to consider leasing for their next vehicle, accelerating Vanarama’s growth at the same time as boosting the leasing industry as a whole. This means we are ideally placed to grow further in the 2015-16 season.
“Our first season has demonstrated just how effective a major sponsorship can be in achieving brand recognition. As we move towards next season I look forward to raising the profile of non-league football while cementing that brand awareness still further in the minds of van driving football supporters!”
SportQuake Founder and CEO Matt House commented:
“I loved the disruptive nature of what Vanarama were doing to re-invent van leasing but having worked successfully building many emerging brands felt strongly that a smart sports marketing campaign would get them 0-60 faster.
“Non-league football fans and van drivers go together like strawberries and cream. So the audience fit was there and we had huge amounts of data on how a Title Sponsorship Naming Rights campaign drives brand awareness and understanding and SEO. So I felt it was a winning partnership if I could get Vanarama to see it and like all good entrepreneurs Andy made a bold, calculated, budget-breaking decision and we are delighted to see it pay off so handsomely for him and his team
“SportQuake specialises in creating and delivering world-leading two-way partnerships for rights-owners and brands at a global, regional and national level and The Vanarama National League is a textbook example of this.”
Brian Barwick, Chairman of The National League said:
“I think Vanarama and The National League are a great fit. I also applaud Vanarama for their ambitious move into sponsoring a sporting competition. I think they can now prove how effective it has been and will be going forward. They have worked very hard in terms of getting the message out there – and it has worked brilliantly for them.”
–ENDS–
Please contact matt.hall@sportquake.com / 0203 8198 784 for further information.