Company: XanGo, LLC
Contact: John Digles, XanGo's Chief Marketing Officer
Location: Lehi, Utah
Industry: Consumer packaged goods, B2C
Annual revenue: $1,000,000,000
Number of employees: 700

Quick Read:

XanGo, LLC prides itself as a company of firsts. Founded in 2002, it was the first to market a beverage containing mangosteen, a Southeast-Asian fruit that contains xanthones, which purportedly aid cartilage and joint function, maintain intestinal health, and boost the immune system.

In November 2006, it also became the first to land a jersey-front Major League Soccer sponsorship, a landmark deal that is changing the face of professional sports in the US.

But alongside the many opportunities lay inherent risks: It was the first US sports sponsorship of its kind, and there was no model or promotional framework to follow—nor any guarantee that the American public would welcome such advertising.

With the help of sports-sponsorship specialist Amplify Sports and Entertainment, XanGo rose above those challenges, and in the process succeeded in increasing sales and brand recognition, doubling its distribution and securing a reputation as a company of firsts.

Challenge:

Soccer appeared to be a natural fit for XanGo, a global multi-level-marketing organization that places a strong focus on health and family. "Organically, we love the game," said XanGo Chief Marketing Officer John Digles. "We're an international company, and many of our people attend games worldwide."

The timing, too, seemed right. Ghana's Freddy Adu was about to be traded to Real Salt Lake (XanGo's home team), and David Beckham was getting ready to sign with the LA Galaxy. "We took a gamble that soccer would grow in the US, and we wanted to be an active participant in that growth," said Digles.

XanGo had three main goals when it set out to publicize the first US sports sponsorship of its kind:

  1. Increase brand awareness (XanGo products had hit the market only four years prior).
  2. Expand its distributor base (the company primarily generates sales through a multi-layer, multi-level marketing structure).
  3. Gain public approval (although jersey-front logos were common in Europe and abroad, it was a level of sponsorship not previously seen in American sports outside of NASCAR).

"We understood the potential for backlash," recalled Digles. "We wanted to make a clear message that, yes, we are the first to do this [in the United States], but this is a long-running soccer tradition."

With this in mind, XanGo was further determined to show that it was a strong partner to Real Salt Lake and a true supporter of the game—not simply an advertiser in pursuit of only its own agenda.

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Case Study: How a Young Company's History-Making Soccer-Jersey Sponsorship Increased Sales, Brand Recognition and More

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kimberly Smith is a freelance writer. Reach her via dtkgsmith@gmail.com.

LinkedIn: Kim Smith