Is it Worthy? IronFX Pays Nearly 3 Million Euros to Sponsor FC Barcelona
The Cypriot firm has agreed to pay a sum of nearly three million Euros for a sponsorship deal with The
Forex Magnates has learned that Cypriot broker, IronFX has agreed to pay nearly three million euros for a sponsorship deal with the Spanish football club, FC Barcelona, so that the broker can use the club’s and players’ images in its advertises anywhere in the world, other than in Spain.
Sports club sponsorships are usually a very expensive deal and thus serve as a way for companies to show potential clients that they are well established in their markets and must earn enough in order to spend on such arrangements. However, such very high costs are hard to explain when the primary focus of advertisers in the FX industry right now is to lower the costs of client acquisition via targeted online campaigns and signing on successful Introducing Brokers.
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Being associated with a worldwide respected image such as that of FC Barcelona can definitely be a major boost to any brand, but only time will tell if such a mass marketing approach would ever actually be beneficial enough to cover the costs and not just become a net loss for IronFX.
Other examples for FX brokerages that sponsor sports team are, Alpari which signed a 3-year deal with West Ham United in 2011, GAIN Capital’s sponsorship of Manchester City, and FXTCR partnership with Galatasaray Sports Club to Launch GS Forex. Notable examples besides football are Saxo Bank and FxPro that sponsor Formula 1 car racing teams. Forex Magnates reviewed the practice of sport’s sponsorships last year.
what about fxopen?
how does one measure the success of these types of advertising?
Is this even true? So far no confirmation by FC Barcelona
WELL DONE IRONFX .. ONE STEP TOWARD THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
Was confirmed to all Barca fans by email today and the Logo is on Barca sponsor website
http://www.fcbarcelona.com/Sponsors
@Denis why? unlike binary options, this is purely a gaming product, it’s not trying to hide itself as a financial trading product.
@Denis why? unlike binary options, this is purely a gaming product, it’s not trying to hide itself as a financial trading product.
@Denis – looks like TRADOLOGIC is on the right track with this….
meant stock options and other leveraged instruments
I think that ads are one thing and the typical Linkedin groups aggressive posting and commenting is another – I tend to ignore the latter and that is the reason why I left almost all the groups I was in.
He did share some stats, which I can’t disclose, and they are quite impressive otherwise I wouldn’t have written about Linkedin at all.
Regarding your broken conversation, I’m not the middleman for such things…
I think that ads are one thing and the typical Linkedin groups aggressive posting and commenting is another – I tend to ignore the latter and that is the reason why I left almost all the groups I was in.
He did share some stats, which I can’t disclose, and they are quite impressive otherwise I wouldn’t have written about Linkedin at all.
Regarding your broken conversation, I’m not the middleman for such things…
meant stock options and other leveraged instruments
@Denis – looks like TRADOLOGIC is on the right track with this….
What a great deal! What a great club to be linked to and really this seems a small price compared to a straight up shirt sponsor deal.
From beginning I knew IronFX is on the right track. I hope their next step is to decrease their spreads to compete with other brokers i.e. LMAX
Its a great deal that opens up access to global markets where Barca have a presence. The ROI can easily be measured because the rights include extensive digital, social media and access to Barca database for targeted campaigns. We act for a number of similar high profile clubs where similar deals can be achieved in the top 5 leagues. http://www.sportsmediagaming.com
@Nael, @Nasser: I think its clear that you guys don’t work in the forex industry. This is a clear branding attempt and an effort to start building buzz around the brand in preparation to an IPO within the next 1 to 2 years. This is exactly the same pattern that FXpro did a few years back right before their two failed attempts to list the company in the UK. Where are those guys now? I said it before and I will say it again. A company that came out of the woodwork 2-3 years ago, CAN’T spend money in this… Read more »
first offline remarketing!
first offline remarketing!
they both have one thing in common. impending bankruptcy!
@MC: Very interesting and deep analysis! Thank you.
By the way, @Nael is in fact working at IronFX, http://cy.linkedin.com/pub/nael-saleh/11/7a5/79a
@MC All that makes a lot of sense. All I know is they have an ocean of Russian money backing them up. I hope Mr. Kalashnikov will not come looking for the CEO (who is does not look very competent)
Perhaps the answer is more business related MC. Football fans are more likely to bet on sports. FxTrading is akin to betting, so you pick up more clients. Alpari sponsor West Ham as they are focused on the lucrative UK market, by sponsoring a team like Man City, or Barcelona you want global appeal, especially a team that has a large Asian fan base. You may also be correct about the IPO, but I doubt that this is the principal reason. As for spending big and not making a profit, isnt that part of any start ups life cycle at… Read more »
@Andrew Lane: I am sure a lot of people will claim that it is but the fact of the matter is that when you run an online brokerage or any online business you usually want to be able to track all your marketing activities in order to know what works and what doesn’t. For example, if their marketing department has any clue what they are doing I am sure they could come up with a lot smarter ways to spend 3 million Euro that would generate direct and measurable results. So this is mainly a branding exercise. Don’t get me… Read more »
They should better invest in African kids… This investment in FC Barcelona will be without profit
From a quick search on the internet of IronFx’s fellow official partners it seems to me that they are really trying to punch way above their league with this sponsorship deal by spending a disproportionate amount of money to their business size, kind of like buying a really fancy car to appear rich when in reality you have a low paid job and owe a lot of money to the bank. It’s a matter of time for things to go wrong. Lets have a look at the net income of the other official partners: http://www.fcbarcelona.com/Sponsors Intel – Net income: $11… Read more »
@Roger: Exactly like you said. What they are trying to do is pass off as someone in the same league as those other sponsors with the hope that there is enough buzz around their name so that people jump on the IPO without really looking at the real business. Anyway … lets wait for them to make their move. The pattern that they will follow (which i have seen before) is that shortly before they make the official announcement that they are planning an IPO, they will start announcing some of their results which they will claim is because they… Read more »
I would take IronFX a lot more seriously if it clamped down on their employees continually spamming every FX related group on linkedin with their promotional garbage.
Smacks of desperation and a high pressure sales environment.
@ Chooks: I couldn’t agree with you more.
Here is some proof: http://i.imgur.com/HcOzDjr.png
Everyone should note that I am NOT this persons client, yet the email says “Dear Client” (lazy copy/paste job). Also, this is direct solicitation of business from the company itself so there should be a risk warning in this message at the very least.
Hey! CySEC! Shorten the leash on this one please.
well done IronFX. Strong stable firm
The moon? The solution for that problem http://www.dcmagnates.com/to-the-moon-dogecoin-trading-launched-by-canadian-vault-of-satoshi/
The moon? The solution for that problem http://www.dcmagnates.com/to-the-moon-dogecoin-trading-launched-by-canadian-vault-of-satoshi/
Something tells me that bookmakers would give out odds of 1.01 that the above comment came from an employee.
Strong and stable is apparently a byword for spam and direct solicit in certain circles.
Looking at the above i would say that Bookmakers wouldn’t even dare to bet 1.01 on the fact that the adverse comments are coming from employees of competitors, driven by jealousy, incompetence, inability to accept that someone is better than them.
Rather than attacking someone that managed to achieve so much in so little time aiming to bring him down your levels, would be wiser to become incentivized by their achievements and try following their example.
Oh dear…wrong I am afraid George….but nice try and again a good attempt at self promotion in there also. I don’t work for any of your competitors but have been in this business for the best part of over twenty years in various capacities. Mainly on the buy side but with some sell side thrown in, so in a way I could have been at one point in the past a potential client. George, I think you have again proved mine and other posters points correct that IronFX needs to implement some kind of policy to keep its employees from… Read more »
@George K: Really George? I guess you must have some unique insight and excellent knowledge of the industry to be able to so objectively judge “how much IronFX has achieved” in such a short time. Do you care to share with us any of your arguments on the actual achievements that you are referring to? Maybe back them up with some facts? And don’t presume to know who is on commenting on this forum.
@ George K: I challenge you to show proof (right here on this page) of your statement “managed to achieve so much in so little time”.
And since we are on the topic of proof…here is some proof to backup Chook’s comments about IronFx “self promote and spam continually on any forum/discussion board”.
1. http://www.forexpeacearmy.com/public/review/www.ironfx.com
2. http://www.forexpeacearmy.com/forex-forum/spammers-hall-shame/22206-spam-ironfx-employee.html
3. http://www.forexpeacearmy.com/forex-forum/spammers-hall-shame/25729-spam-institutional-account-manager-ironfx.html
4. http://www.forexpeacearmy.com/forex-forum/scam-alerts-folder/19137-ironfx-scammed-sold-off-my-entire-ib-agreement-banking-information-stay-away-them.html
5. http://i.imgur.com/HcOzDjr.png
And last but most certainly not least…
6. http://forexmagnates.com/exclusive-ironfx-accused-of-unauthorized-activity-in-colombia-operations-suspended/
This is just what I found in 5 minutes on the web.
@ George K: Your move.
so much jealousy in here…
has this set a pb for longest thread
more proof: http://i.imgur.com/nxD20i0.png
Taken from ‘EuropeanCEO’s article on IronFx.
From the brilliant mind of their CEO.
“Prior to founding IronFX, a lot of time was spent analysing the industry and its biggest players. During that time the company came to a simple realisation. The industry was spending too much on marketing for very little results and was facing ever-diminishing marketing returns in the future. In addition, little attention was paid to the customer, with FX brokers offering basic customer support, which did not identify and address customer needs. The opportunity was therefore present for differentiation through a best-of-market, customer-focused service.”
@Jimmerson: Great find. I like the quote about “The industry was spending too much on marketing for very little results and was facing ever-diminishing marketing returns in the future” …
That’s what the “industry” did … it’s a good thing that IronFX is here now to save the industry from such stupid practices.
I guess “practice what you preach” is not a concept they are familiar with.