More than a shirt - Qualcomm Snapdragon and Manchester United

Growing up, I didn't support a football (soccer) team. There were few notable teams near where I lived and the closest one was languishing near the bottom of, the then, Fourth Division. And neither my dad, nor my brother were much interested in football, so it never ingrained itself on my soul in the way it has been to so many.

I was therefore likely not the perfect invitee of 高通 to join them for a weekend with their partner Manchester United a couple of weeks ago. Or maybe I was – someone unattached and vulnerable to a charm offensive.

For those who don’t know, Qualcomm's Snapdragon is the front of shirt sponsor for Manchester United – a deal that is to last several years. It’s a big commitment from Qualcomm that doesn’t usually get involved in quite such high-profile marketing activities.

The weekend was enthralling. The lucky few of us that attended were taken to the Carrington training facility where we got to see the team going through their paces ahead of the Sunday game. We also go to see the U18 team facing off against Everton; lots of young talent on show. And we also got to spend time with some considerably older talent in the shape of ex-players and support staff from Sir Alex Ferguson’s glory years.

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On Sunday we had a great view of the action as Manchester United put three goals passed a lackluster Leicester City team. Manchester United have not had a great season so far and are languishing in mid-table – just one point ahead of Leicester in the Premier League going into the game. Manchester’s erstwhile manager Erik ten Haag had recently been fired, and assistant manager and Manchester United legend, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, was in charge for his final match before the new manager, Ruben Amorim, took up his position. But on the strength of what we saw, there is plenty of talent at Manchester United that Amorim can build on.

Between Saturday's training and Sunday’s game, we were able to spend some time getting a better understanding of what Manchester United and Qualcomm have in mind for this partnership. And it’s considerable. Sport is a strange business – its product is essentially raw emotion, something no other business can generate in quite the same way. Sport is a form of entertainment, but one that is unscripted, unpredictable and that brings people together in an escape from everyday life - and it's one of the few things that still garners viewers to live TV. Sports teams as storied as Manchester United form lifelong relationships with fans, who invest with their emotions as well as their purses in the trials and tribulations of their team. Nevertheless, while Manchester United is a colossus in football terms, the actual organization is quite small and so it uses partners to help it develop in ways it wouldn't be able to on its own.

As a chipmaker, Qualcomm is not obviously a natural partner for someone like Manchester United. However, Qualcomm is trying to make itself, or at least its Snapdragon brand, a household name. The logic here is simple. Chips are often rated on their performance as measured by specifications and benchmarks. But if Snapdragon is able to develop a value that transcends its bits and bytes rating, such that an OEM or a final consumer perceives greater value in Snapdragon than its competitors – even if those competitors can match Snapdragon on a spec comparison basis -- it makes Qualcomm’s products more resistant to price pressure and therefore likely more profitable. And being the shirt sponsor of Manchester United is more efficient at raising the Snapdragon profile than more conventional forms of media spending.

In addition, there are opportunities for Qualcomm to be a true technology partner to Manchester United as the club contends with its need to reach fans and other stakeholders across more, and more diverse, channels.

One way that we saw this in action, was meeting with Manchester United’s in-house photographers who are supplementing their use of D-SLRs with smartphones – a Sony Xperia 1 VI and a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. These are used to grab quick, often candid, shots and videos that supplement the more formal photography and videography. And some of the shots achieved are outstanding – follow along on Instagram for examples. ??

We’re excited to see this partnership develop. And on a personal note, I might be on my way to becoming a United fan.