“Our partnership with Liverpool Football Club shows how the AXA brand has been reinvented”

Why get closer to sports sponsorship?
To support and showcase AXA transformation, we have defined a new brand platform, supported by a strong brand promise: Know You Can. This promise, in line with our purpose, has enabled us to reinvent our way of communicating to the greatest number of people. It has also enabled us to be a partner to our customers in a more immersive and emotional way and explore new territories that complement traditional advertising campaigns. This is how we became interested in sports sponsorships, a mature and growing market which is a powerful lever of engagement. For example, 45% (1) of sports fans would be ready to buy a product from the brand that sponsors their favorite team. We also know that the commercial effect of the brand increases by 71% (2) when fans are aware of this type of partnership.

Why did you choose football and the Liverpool Football Club?
We wanted to be associated with one of the most popular and most followed sports in the world, by both men and women. And only football has this kind of power. It's no coincidence that it is by far the most popular sport in which brands invest globally, with nearly 15% (3) of disclosed transaction values, representing approximately €8.7 billion (3) in 2021.
The choice of the Liverpool Football Club was an obvious one for us. Firstly, because we share common values such as courage and integrity. Then because the club great reputation, its authenticity as well as its track record, inspire respect from all football fans. Not forgetting, of course, the club participation in the Premier League, which enables us to reach nearly 565 million (4) fans around the world.
Like AXA, the club has a strong history and its legendary anthem, You'll never walk alone, echoes our desire to partner with customers at key steps in their lives. This partnership with the LFC is a sign of our transformation and illustrates our strategic move. The message is simple: trust enables customers to move forward and achieve their projects, and AXA reinforces this trust by protecting them.

What does this partnership mean in concrete terms?
We started humbly but with a strong conviction, that our place was on the side of training, on the side of those who everyday train and transmit this individual and collective confidence to move forward. In 2018, we started by becoming the official insurer of the club. In 2019, we became the club Training Kit Partner – which means the training gear sponsor. In 2020, we went one step further and became the partner of the training center, the AXA Training Centre. We have had the opportunity to work with the LFC men's and women's team, coaches, and health professionals to promote wellness, health, and confidence as we do for our customers yet. Today, we are in the second phase of this partnership, and we are looking to have stronger and more engaging activations always in line with our Purpose: Act for human progress by protecting what matters.

In general, what is your ambition for the AXA brand?
The AXA brand enjoys a very high level of awareness in France and internationally, but I think we can still improve the brand's consideration. In other words, we need to strengthen people's appetite for the AXA brand when it comes to buying a product that meets their needs. To achieve this goal, people need to know about the company and its values, what is behind the brand. Partnering with the LFC enables us to showcase these values and illustrate our Purpose. Just like the climate campaign, launched during COP 26, which presents our vision of the world. It showed that our business and social issues, such as climate change, are inseparable. How can we properly insure homes if forests are burning, and floods are multiplying? How can we protect people's health if the air we breathe is polluted? Our brand must remain ambitious, continuing to project itself into the future while remaining connected to its time. It must be a bearer of meaning and progress while remaining close to the expectations of our customers and society.

1: GWI, The sports playbook Report, 2021
2: WARC, Nov 2019 - Generating fan goodwill: The key to increased sponsorship effectiveness
3: Source: Nielsen Sports, Nielsen Sports’ Sponsor Globe
4: Source: Global Web Index, data Q3-Q4 2019 Premier League Fans defined as those who regularly follow, watch on TV, or watch online