SL Benfica — The first big step to launch something even bigger in the sports world.
When you’re building something new; a product, service, network or community you always aim to bring onboard the biggest players on the market.
When you do that for the first time you get a big sense of accomplishment, but the most fascinating thing is realizing that you barely even scratched the surface and that this is only the first step of many.
What comes next is the real deal: When you aim to disrupt the market in your industry you need to keep going, improving your service/product and growing your influence. But the key aspect of this is that you will be doing it alongside one of the biggest players on the market.
That’s why partnering with SL Benfica means so much to us and why we are tremendously proud to announce the launch of our SL Benfica — BBox Sports.
This feels like an accomplishment for us here at BBox Sports, but most importantly it’s just one of the first steps to propel us forward on our mission to change the way fans interact with sports clubs all around the world. We desperately want to live in a world in which fans are more connected, closer and deeply engaged with their sports teams. BBox wants them to feel the pride of delivering something unique. A fan experience so different, so intense, that in many ways mimics their excitement, enthusiasm and passion for the game! BBox Sports wants to be the bridge between fans and clubs, be part of the game.
Sometimes the process of making this work can be long, from the very first moment you identify a partner that you would like to work with, until the final moment things are official; but when you see value in working together, both parties will make it work. Our team couldn’t be more proud to announce this partnership with SL Benfica, one of the biggest football clubs in the world, with a rich history full of championships, both nationally and internationally.
SL Benfica is a true pioneer in the way they look at the club and their brand. They want to make this about the fans, in the same way BBox Sports does. When you have two entities with shared values and a sense of mission so strong revolving around purest aspects of football it can only be a no brainer that we end up partnering up together to create things that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.
SL Benfica is also going through a pivotal moment in their history. On the pitch they are looking dominant, racking up championships in Portugal, but the most impressive aspect of this is how they are doing it — Focusing on a sustainable model that shortens the gap between the fans and the SL Benfica brand, creating the perfect ecosystem for their teams to perform at the highest level. They realized football needs to be sustainable and they found the perfect balance that speaks to traditional fans, that have been following the team for years, but also allowing the brand to grow and reach new markets.
Benfica has been the true innovator here, they not only realized that sustainability is going to be a major factor, but they acted on it. As time passes, more and more clubs will be realizing this, but the ones that succeed the most will be the innovators, the ones who had the vision and realized this necessity sooner than the others.
If I had to make a prediction for the next 10 years of football I would say that having the ability to understand that football needs to be sustainable will be, by itself, the single most important factor in differentiating success from failure. The most successful clubs in the upcoming decade will be those who understand this; grow their brand, influence and make it all a huge experience for the fans.
Success on the pitch is what fans live for, and Benfica fans have a lot to be hopeful for in the future with a squad flooded with very talented youngsters from their youth academy that excites fans, brings huge crowds to the stadium and most importantly delivers a spectacular attacking style of football that has been working and delivering championships.
This, all things considered, puts SL Benfica in a very promising situation for the future; a key player on the market that BBox Sports wants to be associated with for many years to come. And yes, this is a business, but business only makes sense if you have a mission and a vision. Our team wants to make sure that every partner we work with is doing it for the passion of the game. The fan must true beneficiary of partnerships like this one.
We can only hope that this will inspire many more clubs to be creative and go the extra mile in creating cool things for the fans and making football overall more sustainable — And if you read this, remember, BBox Sports is here to help and facilitate the process!
The box:
Each box brings inside a set of official products of your football club, e.g. official scarf, collectible items, mugs and many more sports goods. We want to focus on the mystery aspect of the box, surprising the fan.
The key aspect of the experience is making it as exciting as possible, different and unique. The fans will get exclusive items, that otherwise wouldn’t be accessible to them.
BBox Sport stands out because it offers exclusive and unique experiences to the fans, bringing them closer to their club and players, narrowing down the existing gap. Some lucky fans will get experiences such as: meeting a player, stadium tours, tickets to a VIP area or even having autographed products, among other experiences — 5% of the boxes sold will have access to this kind of experiences that money can’t buy.
