Marketing chiefs unveiled their signings of the summeras Birmingham’s two biggest football clubs united as partners in a plan to raise the city’s profile.
Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill and Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish took time off from the training field to back a new initiative which intends to put football at the heart of the city’s marketing drive.
Both looked back on their time spent managing Glasgow’s two top teams – Celtic and Rangers – and said they wanted to re-create the feel-good factor from their time in Scotland that emanated from success on the football pitch. They also recognised the strides that Birmingham has made in recent years in terms of regeneration.
City council leader Mike Whitby (Con Harborne) said: “Tourism is essential to supporting the regional economy and with challenging economic times ahead it is more important than ever to maximise on existing big-profile brands associated with the city to improve perceptions and attract visitors.”
Marketing Birmingham’ chief executive Neil Rami said the organisation had spent months setting up the deal which involved talks with Villa owner Randy Lerner, who was keen on the community aspects of the partnership.
The partnership will see the www.visitbirmingham.com URL promoted on perimeter boards around the pitches at every home game, in match programmes, on media interview backdrops and through both club’s websites.
Managers, players and staff at Villa and Blues will also be working on marketing projects that help promote the city as part of the project, which is expected to generate publicity worth an estimated £7.5 million within the UK and abroad.
