Shaq, Messi: Big stars for big brands
Lowe’s and Home Depot have recently enlisted a pair of sporting-world superstars to build connections with their sports-fan customers.
In the blue corner, Lowe’s announced a partnership with Lionel Messi, the international superstar and Argentine national considered by many to be the greatest soccer (futbol) player of of all time. In the orange corner, that’s Shaquille O’Neal, all 7’ 1” of him. He’s a hall-of-fame basketball player and highly visible NBA broadcaster.
Both sports-celebrity endorsement deals, terms of which were not revealed, build on their connection with sports fans, the companies say.
Lowe’s Vice President of Brand Marketing and Sports Partnerships Gerardo Soto told HBSDealer that when the Lowe’s executive team was approached with the idea of teaming with Messi, they saw the opportunity to expand well beyond the retailer's National Football League Partnership (a partnership which will continue).
Under the latest deal, Lowe’s also becomes the Official Home Improvement Partner of Messi’s current team, Inter Miami CF. And through a multiyear agreement, Messi becomes a member of Lowe’s Home Team, making him the first soccer player to join the lineup of top NFL and NBA athletes who have helped improve communities around the country since 2020, the company said.
There are about 34 million soccer fans who aren’t NFL fans, he said. And when you add in the overlap, “then you have a pretty passionate audience that will follow soccer even more intently now that Leo is a big part of the MLS and Inter Miami,” Soto said.
Lowe’s also has big plans to include Messi in marketing efforts when the Copa America tournament, coming to several cities across the U.S. beginning June 20. Argentina, Messi’s national team, is defending champion. (One such initiative will offer to Lowe’s MVPs Pro Rewards loyalty members bonus points redeemable for Messi memorabilia.)
For The Home Depot, a “How to March Madness” television campaign featured Hall of Fame basketball big man Shaquille O’Neal, offering “Tips from the Tool Shaq.”
The television spot was part of a campaign that marked an expansion of The Home Depot’s collegiate sports footprint. The Atlanta-based giant became an official corporate partner of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA).
The three-year NCAAA partnership came just in time for March Madness, the wildly popular college basketball tournaments for both men and women. One attractive aspect of the deal is the timing: the tournaments occur during the retailer’s busy spring selling season.
“The Home Depot’s customers are also big sports fans, and March Madness is one of the most exciting times of the year,” said Molly Battin, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at The Home Depot. “We’ve had a long-standing commitment to collegiate sports, and we’re excited to add the NCAA and its March Madness tournaments to our roster. We look forward to connecting with our customers in a fun, authentic way and empowering them as they tackle their spring projects.”
On television between games throughout March, O’Neal shared home improvement tips, including “How to Protect the Paint” and “How to Clean the Glass”—projects in which O’Neal excelled on the basketball court.
There was a time in the sports marketing universe when Home Depot and Lowe’s went head to head on the weekend sports scene on the race track. It was the orange car of Tony Stewart against against the blue car of Jimmie Johnson. Superstar against superstar.
Home Depot ended its NASCAR run about 10 years ago. Lowe’s exited in 2018.
[Note: The third largest home center retailer, Menards remains in auto racing, not only with the Menards Racing Team, but also as the title sponsor of the ARCA Menards Series. ARCA stands for Automobile Racing Club of America.]
Lowe’s Soto offered the following analysis of the changing sports marketing landscape: “I think NASCAR continues to be a great sport,” he told HBSDealer. “But as we look at the audiences that we want to serve today and the trends that we follow from an industry perspective, we find our audiences are more aligned today with NFL and soccer, so that's why we have our focus set on those two sports.”
He added that the NFL and Major League Soccer seasons do not overlap, “that helps us have a position within live sports year-round.”
