EFL AND EBAY – SMALL BUSINESSES UNITED

Covid decimated many of the small businesses that trade on eBay. But Covid hit football too, with lost revenue, ticket sales and a severe impact on commercial operations.

The EFL and eBay formed a partnership designed to support SMBs hit hard and link them to football, in a mutually beneficial relationship… introducing Small Businesses United. Power by eBay.

The world’s first micro-sponsorship programme allowed UK SMBs to sponsor their local football teams, all funded by eBay and amplified via a partnership with the EFL and a fully-rounded communications and marketing framework.

Over 100 SMBs have been connected to nearby grassroots and EFL Clubs. Each small business gets local exposure via on-shirt branding at their local team and EFL matchday rights which include access to space in match programmes, in-stadium advertising, LED perimeter boards and club marketing, social and digital channels.

In the first year of the partnership:

• 72 local businesses have been linked via the programme – and many other grassroots clubs engaged
• Over £50k already invested back into grassroots football
• Over 500,000 localised impressions for local businesses across AdSmart to regionalise Sky Sports content
• 1.2m views across social media for Sky Sports content
• 95M cumulative ads reached on ITV
• 7.7M views delivered on Sky content