Since the arrival of Lionel Messi at PSG, all of the club's partners are delighted. Main jersey sponsor since June 2019 via All, an acronym for its “Accor live limitless” loyalty program, the Accor group is obviously the most exposed to the economic benefits of the operation. "We are moving into another galaxy", recognizes Mehdi Hemici, director of loyalty and partnerships. And to support his statements, the former subscriber of the Paris tribune delivers a crazy figure: “In the space of a week, the arrival of Messi is 100 million euros in Earned Media Value, it is that is, the equivalent of what we should have spent to make the brand visible to so many people. One hundred million ! It is spectacular. "
If the group's social networks have, like those of the club, also benefited from the Messi effect (+ 20% just after his arrival), they are not the only ones.
The stay at the Royal Monceau of the Argentine star, an establishment of the group, also had repercussions.
"Google searches have increased fifteen-fold in one week," says Mehdi Hemici.
The attention that this has given to PSG, but also to All, is phenomenal.
All countries have called us.
Japan saw bookings on all.com increase by 30% in two weeks!
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"The partnership has been a huge accelerator of understanding and notoriety"
Does this mean therefore that the 65 million euros annually paid annually by Accor to PSG, which could appear overvalued when the contract was signed in 2019, ultimately prove to be very reasonable? “It is a substantial sum, recognizes Mehdi Hemici. But it is not expensive. This is what Sébastien Bazin says
(Editor's note: the former president of PSG, now at the head of the Accor group)
: it all depends on the value we attach to this investment. When you position a brand on a global scale, like All, you need to have an influence at the same level and that's a lot of money. Especially during the Covid period because the hotel industry is going through complicated periods. There, the partnership was crescendo and the visibility is there. "
While the three-year contract - with an option for another three years - will reach an important stage next June with a probable renegotiation, Accor welcomes the current situation. "We are on very good terms with the leaders of PSG and the whole team of Jean-Claude Blanc (deputy general manager of the club), underlines Mehdi Hemici. For us it's a strong relationship. I cannot tell you how we will work in the future. But the partnership has been a huge accelerator of understanding and notoriety of a brand that we have created. One in five customers around the world know All today. It is enormous. This is what now allows us to attract many customers to our platform to offer them the other brands in our ecosystem. For us,PSG is a partnership that makes sense but also a showcase that shines on the world. "
