The Football Association of England (The FA) has recruited Coca-Cola marketer Simon Freedman to become its new head of marketing. He takes over from Ed Coan, who has overseen the marketing department on a consultancy basis since 2005 and will report to group commercial director Jonathan Hill. While at Coca-Cola UK, Freedman was responsible for the marketing strategy of the brand’s football sponsorship activities including the £15 million sponsorship deal in place with the Football League.
It’s understood that Freedman’s role will cover the new Wembley Stadium, relationships with major brand partners, Nationwide, Carlsberg, McDonald’s and E.ON, as well as negotiations over the 2008 to 2012 television and digital rights to the FA Cup and England home matches. “We did not have a central marketing department prior to two years ago, and we’ve come a long way in that time. With a growing team and a fully-fledged design studio we needed a full-time appointment and are delighted to have secured Simon, with all the relevant experience he will bring,” Hill commented.
The FA has already issued an invitation to tender for the audio-visual rights of the FA Cup and England home matches. The 15 new live match packages are the most ever offered by The FA for these properties and will be complemented by additional packages for highlights, near-live services, video-on-demand and clips for both mobile and internet use. The new deal will cover the four-year period starting from the 2008/09 season. Packages include the FA Cup, England matches, Community Shield, Youth Cup, FA Trophy and FA Vase. All interested parties should contact The FA’s commercial and broadcast manager James Elliott by email James.Elliott@TheFA.com to request a copy of the tender.
It’s understood that Freedman’s role will cover the new Wembley Stadium, relationships with major brand partners, Nationwide, Carlsberg, McDonald’s and E.ON, as well as negotiations over the 2008 to 2012 television and digital rights to the FA Cup and England home matches. “We did not have a central marketing department prior to two years ago, and we’ve come a long way in that time. With a growing team and a fully-fledged design studio we needed a full-time appointment and are delighted to have secured Simon, with all the relevant experience he will bring,” Hill commented.
The FA has already issued an invitation to tender for the audio-visual rights of the FA Cup and England home matches. The 15 new live match packages are the most ever offered by The FA for these properties and will be complemented by additional packages for highlights, near-live services, video-on-demand and clips for both mobile and internet use. The new deal will cover the four-year period starting from the 2008/09 season. Packages include the FA Cup, England matches, Community Shield, Youth Cup, FA Trophy and FA Vase. All interested parties should contact The FA’s commercial and broadcast manager James Elliott by email James.Elliott@TheFA.com to request a copy of the tender.