Manchester United Just Signed Ronaldo. So Why Is a German Tech Firm Smiling?

The signing of Christian Ronaldo from Juventus yields instant value for the German IT company TeamViewer, whose global brand awareness had already doubled since signing its sponsorship with Man U.

- Written and edited by Idy Uyoe

Imagine being the software company TeamViewer. You are barely two weeks into your new shirt sponsorship with Manchester United, a package that cost you $17 million dollars LESS than the previous sponsor, and your club just signs a player who brings 500 million social media followers to your brand. Contextually, Ronaldo has a social media following larger than there are people in the United States, Canada and Mexico combined. Between merchandizing (Ronaldo will wear the #7 shirt), earned media exposure and impressions, it appears the TeamViewer sponsorship objective of growing its global IT footprint, just received a significant boost.

It's worth noting that the mere announcement of Ronaldo's return to Old Trafford last Friday, sent Man U share prices up 8%, which translates to $292 Million in added market cap value for the Club. Following the season, there will likely be a Summer tour for the club, made feasible by the nuanced scheduling of next year's FIFA World Cup in December instead of the traditional summer due to the Qatari heat. These global tours easily sell out venues across North America and Asia, and offer tremendous revenue and branding opportunities for the club and its sponsors.

Stating the obvious, the signing of Ronaldo has lots of commercial marketing implications for football league's, associations and media outlets, but none will likely approach the exponential benefits accruing for TeamViewer. - Idy Uyoe